Amid Coronavirus Outbreak Comcast’s Internet Essentials Made More Accessible


04/07/2020

Staying commenting at this time when the world battles with coronavirus pandemic is proving to be an essentially important part of life. Therefore, Comcast has stepped forward to play its role as an internet service provider.


Dailycsr.com – 07 April 2020 – America is busy addressing the Covid-19 emergency, while Comcast Corporation recognises the “important role” it plays in keeping its customers connected to the world be it their families, workplaces, schools or the latest update about the development of the virus through its internet service.
 
While Dana Strong writes in an article:
“We also know that for millions of low-income Americans who don’t have Internet service at home, this uncertain time is going to be even more difficult to manage. As schools and businesses close and families are encouraged, or even mandated, to stay home, Internet connectivity becomes even more important”.
 
Comcast has been trying to find ways in which the company can be of help especially through its “Internet Essentials program”, America’s “largest and most comprehensive broadband adoption program” meant for low income citizens. The programme has a “hallmark” flexibility, whereby the Internet Essentials can be adjusted according to the customers’ need. From, March 16, 2020, Comcast put in place “two substantial program enhancements” to help the low income families through the crisis period.
 
While, on March 13, 2020, Comcast informed, as mentioned by Dana Strong:
“We will make it even easier for low-income families who live in a Comcast service area to sign up by offering new customers 60 days of complimentary Internet Essentials service, which is normally available to all qualified low-income households for $9.95/month.
 
“Also, we are increasing Internet speeds for the Internet Essentials service from 15/2 Mbps to 25/3 Mbps for all new and existing customers, which will be the speed of the service going forward. In this way, we will ensure that Internet Essentials customers will be able to use their Internet service for all their increased needs as a result of this health crisis”.
 
The company has tried to make the connection “as fast” as possible while keeping it simple enough for accessing the service, while on March 13, 2020,  it had added:
“To receive the increased Internet speeds, existing customers will not need to do anything. The new speeds will be rolled out nationally over the next few days. “We’ll send all new customers a free self-install kit that includes a cable modem with a Wi-Fi router. There will be no term contract or credit check and no shipping fee. “To sign up, applicants can simply visit www.internetessentials.com. The accessible website also includes the option to video chat with customer service agents in American Sign Language. There are also two dedicated phone numbers 1-855-846-8376 for English and 1-855-765-6995 for Spanish”.
 
 
We’re also reaching out to our thousands of governmental and nonprofit partners to help us spread the word. Our hope is that broader access and faster speeds will help all of our Internet Essentials customers more easily work from home, access educational resources, obtain important government health care alerts, and stay in contact with their families during this difficult time.
 
 
 
References:
3blmedia.com