(COLUMBUS, Ohio)—Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted today commended Ohio high-speed internet providers who have announced they will take part in the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) “Keep Americans Connected” Pledge to help Americans impacted by disruption caused by the Coronavirus Pandemic. These providers pledge that they will not terminate service to any residential or small business customer for failure to pay during the pandemic; they will waive late fees for those customers, and open their Wi-Fi hotspots to anyone who needs them. 

K-12 schools in Ohio will temporarily close their doors beginning on Tuesday, March 17, 2020 by order of the Ohio Department of Health. The move, announced by Governor DeWine yesterday, is intended to help curb the spread of the virus. As a result, internet connectivity for everything from distance learning and telecommuting are being more widely used. This makes high-speed internet connectivity more important than ever.

“I want to thank these providers for their part in helping the many Ohioans impacted by the virus,” Governor DeWine said. “Access to online resources and information continues to be vital as we navigate the widespread effects of COVID-19.”

“The people of Ohio are responding to this outbreak by coming together and working together to make sure everyone has what they need to stay safe and healthy,” said Lt. Governor Husted. “People are responding to the leadership they’ve already seen from our Governor - that even in crisis, Ohioans will pull together. We know it won’t cover every student or every school district, but this is a meaningful step at connecting more students to their teachers.”

The following companies have taken part in the “Keep Americans Connected” Pledge. InnovateOhio will continue to update this list on their website as more companies commit to the pledge.

• Arcadia
• AT&T
• Bresco Broadband
• Cable One
• CenturyLink
• Charter Communications (Spectrum)
• Cincinnati Bell
• Continental
• Comcast
• Consolidated Communications
• Cox Communications
• Frontier
• Little Miami
• Mediacom
• Oakwood
• Ohio Rural Broadband Association
• Ohio Telecom Association
• Sprint
• TMobile
• TracFone Wireless
• US Cellular
• Van Lue
• Verizon
• Windstream

For more information on Ohio's response to COVID-19, visit coronavirus.ohio.gov or call 1-833-4-ASK-ODH.