Mediacom Communications announced today a series of initiatives directed at helping families address connectivity issues while dealing with the challenges of social distancing, school closures, and self-quarantines. Senior Director of Communications for Mediacom Phyllis Peters describes a few of the directives her company has pledged to keep people connected: “We are offering a special to people not currently signed up for our service. Instead of being $29.95 per month, we have lowered that by $10 for 12 months. We call it Access Internet because it really is a bridge that gives access for people who don’t have sufficient Internet because of the service they are currently using. They can sign up and get 60MB speed at the reduced price, which is good for a year at that price.”
She said that pausing data allowances for all broadband service tiers through May 15th also is going to help alleviate some of the at-home network congestion for existing customers. She also recommends a speed boost for $9.99 to go up on speed tiers. Low income parents of K-12 children also have the option to sign up for a special program. “Connect2Compete is good for students, but it also helps parents stay connected, as well. We have elevated the speeds on that. Instead of it being 10MB service, it’s 25MB service and it will stay that way permanently. The price on that is a flat fee of $9.95 per month. To be eligible, the family needs to have at least or more students qualifying who receive free or reduced-price lunches through the National School Lunch Program, and they need to be a household that isn’t currently using our Mediacom Internet service. Again, part of this effort is what we call access – to get more people who are either not using Mediacom Internet or who don’t have the Internet at all to have a path to get there in a very affordable way. Now more than ever, you don’t want to be disconnected or not connected.”
Peters says that Mediacom realizes the Internet is much more of a utility rather than a luxury during this time. “Real carefully, we always try to -and especially now- keep a pause on disconnecting a customer that’s unable to pay for their service. We want to work through those situations customer by customer. We will refrain from assessing late fees and we certainly don’t want to disconnect anyone right now. It’s vital that everyone stay connected as much as possible. They may have family members in other parts of the country or world that are experiencing more of the pandemic that we are here in the Midwest. Being connected is just essential, and that’s at the core of these initiatives.”
Mediacom along with several other Internet Service Providers signed on to the Federal Communication Commission’s 60 day Keep America Connected Pledge this past Friday in the wake of the pandemic declaration. More information about the budget plans or upping your current service plan can be found at mediacomcable.com.