California Mayors Urge ISPs to Maintain Free Internet for Low-Income Families

Keep providing free internet to low-income families who need it amid COVID-19, said San Jose, Los Angeles, San Francisco and eight other California mayors in a Thursday letter to AT&T, Comcast, T-Mobile, Frontier Communications, Charter Communications and Cox Communications. San Jose's Sam Liccardo (D) and other mayors from both parties urged the companies to extend interim free service at least through July 31. Expand program eligibility including by permitting multiple households with the same address to enroll and qualifying as eligible all families with children at schools with a high percentage of students eligible for the National School Lunch Program, they said. Frontier "shares the concerns of California leaders and is responding to the meet immediate needs during the pandemic through an array of options that provide relief, expand internet access, and promote connectivity to the communities we serve," a spokesperson emailed. Other ISPs didn’t comment.