Andrew Heinzman
Fast internet is essential to anyone who’s working from home or participating in online classes. And thanks to Google’s COVID-19 response plan, some working families and students will be able to stay online throughout the pandemic. The company is juicing Google Fi data plans for customers nationwide, as well as providing free internet access and Chromebooks to students in California.
There’s a lot to go through here, so let’s start with Google Fi’s response to COVID-19. The mobile service provider (not to be confused with Google Fiber, a home internet provider) is extending its payment grace period to 60 days. This grace period includes payments that were due on March 1st and covers any device protection plans that are a part of your plan.
Additionally, Google Fi customers will see an increase in their data limits. Flexible and Unlimited subscribers will have their full-speed data limits increased to 30GB per user and have the option to pay an additional $10 per gigabyte for the rest of their cycle. Previously, Flexible plans permitted 15GB of full-speed data while Unlimited plans capped at 22GB.
These modified Google Fi plans should help people stay online across the nation, but Google is also trying to help students in California. As part of a partnership between California and Google, the company will provide 100,000 free access points in rural areas for at least three months. Google will also provide 4,000 Chromebooks for “students in greatest need,” but hasn’t clarified how these laptops will be distributed.
Either way, Google’s COVID-19 response is genuinely helpful to those who need it most in these specific areas.
Sources: 9to5Google, Google
