Dear Howard University Community,

As schools across the country move to online learning, some internet service providers are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic by providing students with free broadband and WiFi access. Enterprise Technology Services (ETS) wants all Howard University students to be aware of these beneficial services and other IT resources to help you with your remote learning experience.

To provide relief to their customers in light of the coronavirus pandemic, carriers such as Comcast, Sprint, T-Mobile and AT&T have dropped fees, added data and offered other perks to people coping with this health crisis. Many of the carriers' efforts are a response to the Keep Americans Connected Pledge issued by the Federal Communications Commission, which is asking companies to aid their customers.

To help you stay connected during our transition to a remote learning environment, here are several limited-time IT service offers that are currently available to households with K-12 and college students who are impacted by the coronavirus pandemic:

• Charter Spectrum is offering 60 days of free broadband access.
• Xfinity WiFi hotspots across the country will be available to anyone who needs them for free – including non-Xfinity Internet subscribers.
• Comcast, which owns Xfinity, will also make it 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.
• AT&T will keep public WiFi hotspots open for anyone who needs them. The company is also waiving all wireless data overage fees and will not cancel service for non-payment over the next 60 days.
• Verizon Wireless has announced they will not cancel service for non-payment over the next 60 days.

Please take advantage of the helpful deals that are available to you. We will continue to look for and provide other IT tools that will assist you through this unavoidable transition.

Excellence in Truth and Service,

Enterprise Technology Services (ETS)