US providers offer free Wi-Fi for 60 days

Boston: US internet and wireless providers have announced temporary measures to make getting online less expensive and onerous as enforced social distancing due to the new coronavirus forces more human interaction online. Most notable is Comcast’s free public Wi-Fi for all for 60 days, effective Saturday. Major metropolitan areas are thick with Comcast’s Xfinity-branded hotspots.

“I don’t get to say this often: Bravo Comcast!” tweeted Alex Stamos, a Stanford University internet security expert.

Home-based Xfinity hotspots are not included, said Comcast spokesman Joel Shadle, but Wi-Fi access points in public locations and at small businesses are.

AT&T and Charter Communications also announced free public Wi-Fi for 60 days, with Charter offering free broadband for households with students through college age who don’t already have a subscription.