Altice USA said it is extending its free broadband service to students in its service territory until the end of the 2019-2020 school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Altice USA began offering its Altice Advantage 30 Mbps broadband service for free for 60 days to households with K-12 and/or college students who do not currently have home Internet access in March.
In light of the evolving COVID-19 pandemic, the operators said it would extend that offering until June 30, 2020 to help students and schools stay connected to online teaching and learning.
The company also has been partnering with school districts in the New York Tri-state area to offer its Student WiFi product at no cost for 60 days, a program that provides students who have school-issued devices the ability to use the Optimum WiFi Hotspot Network to access their school’s network and resources from home if they do not have dedicated Internet access.
To date, Altice USA has partnered with more than 100 school districts and connected more than 240,000 student devices to its hotspot network as part of this effort.
In addition to free broadband and WiFi, Altice USA has taken steps during this crisis to support customers and local communities. Specifically, the Company:
- Joined the “Keep Americans Connected Pledge."
- Opened up Emergency Optimum WiFi outdoor hotspots for public use to non-subscribers.
- Is collaborating with large hospital systems, schools and government agencies to ensure they have the connectivity services they need to assist the public during this time, including waiving fees for first responders and other critical entities.
- Is providing free airtime for public service announcements (PSAs) for a number of health and community organizations and government officials, with the goal of helping to educate customers about how to stay safe and healthy.
- Made News12.com available to all to ensure residents have access to what’s happening in their local communities, including school closures and local government press conferences.
- Is delivering free previews of select networks, with live and On Demand content for everyone.
Additionally, Altice USA has rolled out programs to ensure the safety of its employees, including work from home for the majority of teams, enhanced paid leave, and providing premium pay to customer-interfacing field and retail employees, contact center-based employees and News field teams.
