The FCC said that over 750 ISPs have renewed the Keep Americans Connected pledge through June 10. 

The pledge was initially supposed to expire May 12, but FCC chair Ajit Pai lst month asked ISPS to extend the pledge as many members of the public remain under orders to shelter-in-place in the face of COVID-19. 

Related: Pai Extends Connectivity Pledge 

According to the FCC, since that request even more ISPs than made the initial pledge have signed on to the extended one. 

The pledge is to: 

(1) "not terminate service to any residential or small business customers because of their inability to pay their bills due to the disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic;  

(2) "waive any late fees that any residential or small business customers incur because of their economic circumstances related to the coronavirus pandemic; and 

(3) "open WiFi hotspots to any American who needs them." 

Related: FCC Is Monitoring Compliance with Pledge 

"I am grateful to all who are working to keep Americans connected and those who continue to go above and beyond to help consumers during this pandemic," said Pai. 

The FCC has also told consumers to call their ISP directly to talk about their specific circumstances and needs.  

“ACA Connects members have been looking out for their customers and communities long before COVID-19, and all of them will continue to do so long afterward," said ACA Connects President Matt Polka. "It’s just the thing that ACA Connects members do. ACA Connects members extending the FCC’s ‘Keep Americans Connected’ Pledge is more proof of this point. In times of trouble, consumers can count on their local small broadband provider.

“ACA Connects, too, has reaffirmed the association’s endorsement of the Pledge through the June 30 extension period.”

ACA Connects has released its version of a broadband dashboard, which it said shows that despite the COVID-19 crunch, its members are handling the load. 

According to the data for small and midsized providers, said ACAC, while broadband traffic has understandably surged, its members continued to provide a high-quality service. 

Related: COVID-19 Crisis Hits TV Industry

"Even while usage surged, network utilization – the key metric for user experience -- remained within normal operating ranges in virtually all instances," said ACA Connects. 

ACAC said that when there was a network issue, it was "slower-than-expected" speeds, not outages, and that they were usually dealt with in less than 24 hours. 

And while it says COVID-19 has had relatively low impact on service, its members have identified some parts of the traffic surges (video conferencing and chat, for example) that might be the new normal long term. 

Among the actions taken to handle the traffic load were adding transit capacity, splitting nodes and upgrading hardware. 

The dashboard data is from the past three weeks, collected by consulting firm Cartesian.

It appears that the FCC is encouraging ISPs to extend their pledge to keep subs connected, even if they can't afford to pay, during the pandemic. 

Following Verizon and Comcast's announcements that they were extending the pledge from mid-May to June 30, AT&T said it was on board as well. 

Verizon suggested that it was the FCC's new pledge, but a spokesperson for FCC chairman Ajit Pai had no comment on whether the FCC had urged the extension to June 30. 

Pai asked ISPs to sign the Keep Americans Connected pledge, which was initially for 60 days.  

Look for other ISPs to extend their pledges--more than 700 signed the first one. 

The pledge is to: 

(1) "not terminate service to any residential or small business customers because of their inability to pay their bills due to the disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic;  

(2) "waive any late fees that any residential or small business customers incur because of their economic circumstances related to the coronavirus pandemic; and  

(3) "open its WiFi hotspots to any American who needs them."