Verizon lifts broadband caps and offers free data upgrades to customers amidst COVID-19 outbreak

In context: As COVID-19 continues to spread around the globe at breakneck speeds, world governments and corporations have been struggling to cope with the fallout. Thousands upon thousands of employees have been told to stay home from work to mitigate the disease's spread. As more people stay inside, internet usage has skyrocketed, and many telecommunications firms have decided to lift some of the restrictions that come with their internet and data plans.

Indeed, Verizon (as well as several other telecoms) has already agreed to lift late fees and end service cancellations (due to payment delinquency) for the next couple of months due to the COVID-19 epidemic.

Now, the company is taking things a step further. In a recent press release, Verizon announced that it will be instituting several new policies intended to keep Americans online and alleviate some of the headaches that traditionally come with managing your data plan.

For starters, all wireless consumer and small business customers will automatically get an extra 15GB of high-speed data added to their billing cycle effective immediately – no action required. Furthermore, Lifeline customers will see their service charges for the next two months of internet and voice service waived entirely.

Fios and DSL plans for both consumers and small businesses will have their data caps removed (though we're not sure for how long), and – to end things on a high note – Verizon will be introducing a new Fios broadband discount program for low-income households. Verizon didn't go into details regarding this program's eligibility requirements, but we'll be reaching out for clarification.

Regardless, with the discount, the plans would come out to 200Mbps for $20/mo, 400Mbps for $40/mo, and 1Gbps for $60/mo. Furthermore, just for good measure, Verizon is waiving the router rental charge for each plan (for 60 days) and throwing in a free year of Disney+ to keep you entertained during this pandemic.

We look forward to seeing what other pro-consumer plans Verizon comes up with over the coming months, but for now, these latest announcements are certainly several steps in the right direction.