With the COVID-19 virus having unprecedented impacts on our society and keeping millions of students and teachers home for the foreseeable future, AT&T* is stepping up to enable virtual classrooms across America. AT&T is offering schools a way to save on unlimited wireless broadband connectivity for students.  Through May 22nd, qualified schools activating new lines on qualified data-only plans for school-issued tablets, 4G LTE-enabled laptops and hotspot devices will get the wireless data service at no cost for 60 days.

And schools know they need to protect their students while online – which is why AT&T is also making  AccessMyLAN^TMfor the qualified lines available at no cost for 60 days.¹ This service allows school administrators to manage the internet sites their students can access to help protect them from unsafe content and also to block malicious sites, malware and hacking attempts.

“We know that schools and universities across America are grappling with the impact of COVID-19, and that moving the classroom into the home requires access to the internet for all students,” said Mo Katibeh, EVP-chief marketing officer, AT&T Business. “This is an important step to help schools address the challenge.  AT&T is committed to finding innovative ways to support education institutions during this public health crisis.”

To keep administrators, teachers, parents, and students connected, we’re also offering AT&T Office@Hand Premium powered by RingCentral at no cost for eligible new customers in K-12 education, as well as healthcare and non-profit social services for up to 60 days with agreement. This enables schools to quickly activate video meetings and always-on chat groups where teachers and students can share files and collaborate on assignments. Schools can setup hotline, phone, fax and SMS capabilities through Office@Hand mobile and computer apps.

Supporting eLearning Tools

Beyond helping schools meet the connectivity challenge, AT&T is directly supporting the development and deployment of eLearning resources. This includes launching a $10 million Distance Learning and Family Connections Fund to give parents, students and teachers tools they need for at-home learning. The fund launched with a $1M contribution to Khan Academy – to help them improve and expand online learning resources to meet the growing demand from parents, teachers and students.

Additionally, to help keep families connected during this uncertain time, AT&T is funding 60 days of free access and unlimited usage of Caribu, a video-calling application that allows family members to read, draw, and play games with one another while in distant locations.

Keeping Communities Connected

To further support Internet access to communities across the country, we’ve expanded our low-cost option for home Internet service, the Access from AT&T program. In addition to those previously qualifying as limited income households for $10 per month service, now households participating in the National School Lunch Program and Head Start are eligible. We’re also offering new Access from AT&T customers two months of free service.