Cox offers free internet for K-12 students amid COVID-19 school closures

SAN DIEGO (CNS) - Cox Communications announced today it will be offering free internet service through mid-July for eligible low-income families with a student from kindergarten through 12th grade at home.

Customers signing up before May 15 can receive the offer, which provides the company's Connect2Compete service free of charge until July 15.

The offer for the Connect2Compete service is available to families who have at least one kindergarten through 12th grade student at home, and receive benefits from the National School Lunch Program, SNAP or TANF programs or live in public housing, and are not current Cox Internet customers.

The offer does not include any deposits or annual contracts. Equipment is provided without additional charges, according to Cox.

Cox Communications is providing the free service in an effort to help students receiving schooling online amid COVID-19-related school closures, according to Pat Esser, Cox Communications' president and chief executive officer.

Those receiving the service will also get download speeds that were recently doubled to 50 mpbs in mid-March. The doubled speeds will also last through July 15.

``The expansion of the Connect2Compete program into the summer recognizes the reality that our students will need months of continued support to recover academically,'' San Diego Unified School District Superintendent Cindy Marten said.

More information is available at http://www.cox.com/connect2compete.