The coronavirus pandemic has proven to be disruptive on a global scale. Businesses all over the world are facing sharp declines in demand and revenue. Global commercial activity has slowed down considerably. A large majority of the American workforce is now being forced to work from home in an effort to prevent the infection from spreading freely. At a time when people need dependable internet to work from home, Cox Communications has announced it will be boosting residential internet speeds. Read on for more information.
Cox’s Response to the Pandemic
Last Friday, the provider announced that it would be boosting speeds on select residential internet packages (excluding Cox Internet Ultimate and others). This is part of an effort to help subscribers who are in self-isolation and need internet access to work from their residences. The provider has also promised to offer additional resources to help these subscribers.
How it Works
The increase in speeds is temporary, and will only be for the next 60 days, according to the provider. Subscribers to the following packages can expect increased speeds during this period:
- Starter
- StraightUp Internet
- Connect2Compete
The new speeds will not apply to faster connections like Cox Gigablast. All of the above packages will be upgraded to speeds of 50Mbps.
Additional Support
For the packages mentioned above, the provider is also offering Cox Complete Care for no extra cost. The remote desktop support can help residential users trying to set up programs under these unique circumstances. Many subscribers are working professionals or students. This means they need to use programs for remote conferencing or online classes.
Recognizing that there may be issues for inexperienced users, the provider is offering support. The Complete Care remote desktop support will be able to assist you in case you are unable to load these programs.
Early Upgrades for Essentials
The provider originally announced plans to upgrade the speeds of the Internet Essential plan. Under the upgrade, subscribers would receive speeds of 50Mbps. The original speeds under the plan were up to 30Mbps. Based on the pandemic situation, the provider has also announced that it will be deploying the upgrade earlier than planned.
Connect2Compete Support
The provider’s Connect2Compete initiative is to help low-income households gain access to dependable internet services. The idea is to help digital equity for students from low-income households so that they have everything they need for online learning. The provider is now offering the first month of its Connect2Compete product free of cost for a limited time. Of course, the speeds are considerably lower than plans like Internet 150Mbps. But it still means easy internet access for families that have children enrolled in income-assistance programs.
Conclusion
Of course, the coronavirus pandemic is globally disrupting economies and businesses. At times like these, people are finding it difficult to find common supplies like hand sanitizers, masks, and other essentials. With many employees and students now confined to their homes, network traffic is going to increase significantly. Senators, including Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, have called on internet providers to suspend data caps and overages temporarily. While Cox’s response is different, it may still be something to help Americans working or studying from home.
