(Hagerstown, MD) Antietam Broadband announced today they are extending their FCC Keep Americans Connected pledge through June 30, 2020.
The Keep Americans Connected Pledge was made by more than 700 media companies who committed to support their residential and small business customers during the pandemic by waiving late fees and not terminating service because of an inability to pay. Further, participants agreed to open up all WiFi hot spots to increase broadband connectivity. The original pledge expired April 30th.
As an early adopter of the FCC pledge, Antietam Broadband made the decision to extend their pledge to Washington County residents and small businesses to June 30th. In addition, Antietam will extend sign-ups for the broadband Edu-Net Program through June 30th to support students of low-income families.
This extension includes:
• The Edu-Net Program, available to Hagerstown Community College (HCC) students and Washington County Public Schools (WCPS) students K-12 who:
o Are enrolled in credit classes at HCC and are fully eligible for the PELL Grant Program (FAFSA completion required) or attend WCPS and meet the program criteria.
o Live in an Antietam Broadband service area and have not subscribed to high speed internet in the last 90 days.
o Information can be found at Edu-Net HCC program registration and Edu-Net WCPS program information or contact Antietam Broadband at 301-797-5000.
• Maintaining free access to over 120 Community WiFi Hotspots. To locate hotspots, download the free Antietam WiFi Finder App from Google Play and Apple App Store, or consult the map on its website: Antietam WiFi Hotspots Map
• Suspension of fees for exceeding data caps for all customers.
• Temporarily suspending disconnections of service due to failure to pay and waiving late fees for customers.
“This is the right thing to do,” said Brian Lynch, President Antietam Broadband. “As we continue to see the impact of the pandemic on our customers, we believe this extension is needed, “said Lynch.
The Human Society of Washington County (HSWC), like many non-profit organizations, has been negatively impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Antietam Broadband has extended its long-standing partnership with the Humane Society by creating online and on channel resources to support the organization. “The impact of Antietam Broadband’s efforts on behalf of HSWC has been tremendous”, said Noel Fridgen, Communications and Digital Fundraising Manager. “As a result of their promotions, we’ve received urgentlyneeded donations, and there has been great interest in our new Remote Adoptions process.”
Recently the Humane Society has instituted Remote Adoptions in an effort to clear the kennels and to provide protection for potential Adoptive Families. In addition to Remote Adoptions the organization continues to look for volunteers to foster animals and donations to support the mission of education and animal protection. To view WCPS PSA
About Antietam Broadband:
Antietam Broadband was founded in 1966 and was purchased by Schurz Communications, Inc. in 1968. It is a full-service telecommunications company offering a complete range of residential and business-class technology solutions including digital television, high-speed Internet and digital phone services in Washington County, MD. Antietam introduced Flight Gigabit Internet service in 2016 and made Hagerstown the 75th gigabit city in the USA. The company is focused on enhancing the lives of its customers by providing the latest telecommunication services and maintaining the highest standards of excellence in customer care and world class technical service. Antietam Broadband contact: Brian Lynch, President, [email protected]