7/1 Update: Verizon is prepared to serve customers during COVID-19 crisis

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. – During this unprecedented period challenging the world’s health and economy, Verizon stands ready to support our employees and serve our customers and public safety.

Verizon’s networks have been engineered to perform during moments of crisis and disaster such as hurricanes, snow storms and flooding. During this time of heightened worry and concern, our primary goal is to keep our customers, employees and society connected to the things that matter most to them: their family, friends and business customers.

Verizon is closely monitoring network usage in the most impacted areas. We will work with and prioritize network demand in assisting many U.S. hospitals, first responders and government agencies, as needed.

We are providing daily updates to our employees and our consumer and business customers on our network performance, offering help and support for their connectivity needs, tips on how to work in this new environment and more. We encourage you to check here every day at noon ET, for the latest updates.

Daily updates, offers & resources:

Update Effective July 1:

On March 13th, Verizon made a commitment to its customers to not terminate service or charge late fees for postpaid wireless, residential and small business customers* who notified us of their inability to pay their bills due to disruptions caused by the Coronavirus pandemic.  We extended that commitment for almost an entire quarter – through June 30 – and Verizon has kept that pledge.

Starting July 1, customers who signed up for the Pledge will automatically be enrolled in our Stay Connected repayment program to provide options to stay connected.

We’ll continue to work with customers to provide the best financial options available now and moving forward.

*Includes small business customers with 50 lines or less

Update Effective May 27:

Los Angeles Unified School District and Verizon announced today they have amended their original agreement1 from March of this year to help other school districts in California enable distance learning. The original agreement with Verizon enabled Los Angeles Unified to provide internet access at no cost to students whose families could not otherwise afford it.

Update Effective May 26:

COVID-19 makes preparations for hurricane season even more critical. With first responders and healthcare workers deeply engaged in the COVID-19 response, restrictions on transportation, enterprise operations and personal mobility still in place in many communities, and usage on communications networks up dramatically, this year’s preparations for hurricane season are more important than ever.

Verizon Business released findings from a recent survey, “Small Business Response to COVID-19” to better understand the impact small business owners and decision makers feel COVID-19 has had on their businesses. The survey, conducted by Morning Consult, focused on 500 small and medium businesses that are currently open or plan to reopen. One of the survey’s key results is that small businesses have renewed confidence, with 68% believing they can recoup COVID-19 related losses.

Dave Matthews will return to Pay It Forward Live, Verizon’s weekly live streamed entertainment series in support of small businesses affected by COVID-19 for a second live performance on Thursday, May 28 at 8:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. PT. Matthews kicked off the series on March 26 from his home in Seattle, where he will perform again for the final installment of the weekly version of the series. Details about how Pay It Forward Live will evolve this summer, as Verizon continues to support and provide resources for the small business community, will be announced soon.

The second round of grants from LISC’s Verizon Small Business Recovery Fund was announced. Over 200 small business owners from across the country will receive up to $10,000 to support their businesses. This second round of grants brings the total number of small businesses supported to over 400, helping them meet payroll, pay rent and address additional immediate operational needs.

Separately from the small business grants, Verizon will also be providing free one-year access to its premium BlueJeans Enterprise video conferencing service to each of the small business grant recipients of LISC’s Verizon Small Business Recovery Fund to help keep these small businesses productive.

Update Effective May 22:

Saquon Barkley and Tua Tagovailoa to play Madden on Verizon’s Pay It Forward Live in Support of Small Businesses

Verizon’s Pay It Forward Live, the weekly live-streamed entertainment series in support of small businesses affected by COVID-19, will pair New York Giants Saquon Barkley and Miami Dolphins Tua Tagovailoa in a battle on EA Sports Madden NFL 20 on Tuesday, May 26. The event will stream live at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m PT on Twitter @Verizon, Twitch, Yahoo, Verizon’s Facebook page, and Fios Channel 501. The event will be available on Verizon’s platforms for one week following the live stream.

Update Effective May 21:

Network call and texting volumes return to normal springtime levels

COVID-19 related network anomalies have returned to pre-Covid springtime levels, according to the latest Verizon Network Report. Over 776 million calls were made and 5.87 billion texts sent on Monday of this week, showing a significant decline from peak pandemic volumes.

Update Effective May 19:

Verizon’s Pay It Forward Live continues with performance from Usher featuring Jermaine Dupri and B.Cox on Thursday, May 21

Usher, joined by Jermaine Dupri and B.Cox, will perform on Pay It Forward Live, Verizon’s weekly streaming entertainment series in support of small businesses affected by COVID-19, on Thursday, May 21.

Additionally, Usher’s song “Will Work for Love” was featured in a recent public service announcement in calling for support for small businesses. The public service announcement, which Usher also narrated, can be seen here: https://youtu.be/f57LpCkyjGY

Update Effective May 18:

Verizon’s Pay It Forward Live continues small business support with Dignitas’ ViolentPanda and NFL tight end George Kittle playing Rocket League

Appointments for store visits are no longer required but are recommended for customers visiting Verizon stores that are open. In addition, in-store pick ups are no longer required but are recommended. While we will welcome any in-store transaction, remember our website and My Verizon app are an easy way to manage your account or make a device purchase and upgrade.

Also, please note not all Verizon store locations are open. And those that are open will be open from 11am – 4pm, Monday-Saturday. In addition, face coverings are required for employees and customers. Social distancing guidelines and other Touchless Retail initiatives remain in place. You can always see the latest store hours and locations open by visiting our store locator page.

Update: Effective May 13:

Chance the Rapper will perform on Pay It Forward Live, Verizon’s weekly streaming entertainment series in support of small businesses affected by COVID-19, on Thursday, May 14. Viewers can watch the performance live at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT on Twitter @Verizon, Yahoo, Verizon’s Facebook and YouTube pages, Fios channel 501 and 604, Yahoo Finance on Samsung TV Plus on channel 1017, The Roku Channel, AXS TV, FOX NOW and Ovation TV or listen on iHeart and SiriusXM.

Update: Effective May 11:

Separated, but not apart: Mother’s Day calls surpassed last year

This year, Mother’s Day was different.  There weren’t luncheons at local restaurants or big family gatherings to honor the women most important to us. But that didn’t stop people from connecting with their moms. Mother’s Day 2020 saw an increase  in calls by more than 13%  over a typical pre-COVID Sunday and almost 10% more calls than last Mother’s Day, according to the latest Verizon Network Report.  Customers talked for over 1.75 billion minutes yesterday – up almost 11% over the previous Sunday.  The report also shows over six billion text messages were sent, a more than 25% increase over last Sunday.

14 Team Penske Drivers and motorsports reporter Jamie Little team up on Verizon’s Pay It Forward Live

Verizon’s weekly live-streamed entertainment series Pay It Forward Live, continues on Tuesday, May 12 at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m PT with an iRacing simulation event when all 14 Team Penske drivers, representing five different racing series including NASCAR and INDYCAR, will race from their homes on the virtual tracks.

Update: Effective May 7:

Verizon’s total COVID-19 crisis commitment now stands at over $55 million

Verizon today announced a $1 million donation to the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund (NJPRF) to support their mission to organize and coordinate resources for New Jersey’s most vulnerable communities. One hundred percent of donations received online by NJPRF will be used to fight the medical, social and economic impact of COVID-19 on New Jersey’s most vulnerable, supporting organizations that provide essential services and aid to those on the front lines of the pandemic.

Update: Effective May 6:

Verizon gives customers free video game bonuses and more entertainment

Verizon customers have enjoyed multiple ways to watch and learn with More at Home on Us, the program that gives customers access to premium TV channels and new learning tools at no additional cost. As communities continue to ask residents to spend time indoors to aid public safety efforts, Verizon now offers customers more entertaining ways to virtually connect with others or play popular games and platforms like Pokémon GO, Roblox and Sago Mini World.

Fallen law enforcement officers to be honored during virtual candlelight vigil on May 13

The annual National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund Candlelight Vigil will take place virtually this year due to the COVID-19 public health crisis. For over 30 years, the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund has held a Candlelight Vigil to honor those who have died in the line of duty. This year, the names of fallen U.S. law enforcement officers will be formally dedicated on the walls of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial during a virtual Candlelight Vigil on Wednesday, May 13 at 8 p.m. ET. The vigil will be broadcast via Verizon Media’s BUILD by Yahoo Series and on its social platforms Facebook and Twitter, @VZUpToSpeed and LawMemorial.org.

Video streaming declines while movements increase

As stay-at-home mandates roll back, some businesses start reopening, and spring weather takes hold across many parts of the country, people are rolling back their usage of video streaming (-11% week-over-week), gaming (-4% week-over-week) and use of collaboration tools (-5% week over week), according to the latest Verizon Network Report.  At the same time, handoffs (the times when a data session moves from one cell site to another as users walk or drive around) increased by 6.2% – the biggest weekly gain since the COVID crisis began.

Update: Effective May 5:

Verizon’s weekly live streamed entertainment series Pay It Forward Live, continues on Tuesday, May 5 at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m PT when FaZe Clan’s Nate Hill and FaZe Sway battle it out in Fortnite with commentary by sportscaster Joe Buck and special guest actor and fellow “Daddy Issues” podcast partner, Oliver Hudson. The event, in support of small businesses affected by COVID-19, will stream on Twitter @Verizon, Nate Hill’s Twitch, Yahoo, Verizon’s Facebook page, and Fios Channel 501. The event will be available on Verizon’s platforms for one week following the live stream.

Update: Effective May 1:

Verizon is revolutionizing the way it looks at retail both today and into the future with the introduction of “Touchless Retail” — innovations implemented recently that revolve around making the shopping experience both safer and more satisfying. Touchless Retail leverages both physical and digital changes to reduce the number of physical touchpoints, while streamlining the customer shopping experience.

Update: Effective April 30:

Verizon Connect helps businesses and employees with complimentary access to software solutions.

As businesses continue to serve their customers and communities during the COVID-19 pandemic, the ability to easily track and monitor vehicles, assets, employees and the work being done for end-customers is more critical than ever. To help businesses operate safely, save money and increase revenue, Verizon Connect is offering new and existing customers free months of service on its fleet management platform, intelligent video solution and field management solution for small and medium businesses (Reveal Field and the new Reveal Field Plus).

Verizon expands COVID-19 small business support up to $7.5M with new grant to LISC.

Verizon today announced an additional $2.5 million donation to small business support through the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), bringing the total funding of LISC’s Verizon Small Business Recovery Fund up to a potential $7.5 million. LISC, a national nonprofit that invests in affordable housing, economic development and jobs, is offering critical relief and resiliency-building support to small businesses facing immediate financial threat due to the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing especially on historically underserved communities.

To date, Verizon’s total COVID-19 crisis commitment now stands at over $54 million in contributions and donations to nonprofits around the globe. You can find more information on Verizon’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic here.

Update: Effective April 29:

While some usage starts to creep back towards Pre-Covid levels, use of collaboration tools and streaming video continues to climb. As some states ease stay-at-home restrictions, mobile handoffs (the times when a data session moves from one cell site to another as users walk or drive around) are starting to return to near pre-COVID levels in some regions, according to the latest Verizon Network Report.

Verizon and iHeart to donate thousands of chargers as part of cross-carrier COVID-19 relief effort.  Verizon is working with iHeartMedia, as part of a cross-carrier initiative, to donate tens of thousands of smartphone chargers to hospitals across the nation in cities hardest hit by the coronavirus and aid in COVID-19 relief efforts.

Janelle Monáe will perform on Pay It Forward Live, Verizon’s weekly streaming entertainment series in support of small businesses affected by COVID-19, on Thursday, April 30.

When graduations at Fort Jackson needed to go virtual, Verizon stepped in to help Verizon supplied a Satellite PicoCell on a Trailer (SPOT) to provide the coverage needed in support of the Army’s basic training graduation at Fort Jackson for three commercial grade video cameras to film graduations and allow people to view them via a Facebook live stream.

Update: Effective April 28:

Verizon’s Pay It Forward Live, the weekly streaming entertainment series in support of small businesses affected by COVID-19, continues on Tuesday, April 28, when actress Aisha Tyler hosts members of the most prominent and influential gaming collective FaZe Clan: FaZe Adapt, FaZe Jarvis and FaZe Teeqo as they game live at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT on Twitter @Verizon, @Teeqo on Twitch, Yahoo, Verizon’s Facebook page, and Fios Channel 501. The event will be available on Verizon’s platforms for one week following the live stream.

Update: Effective April 27:

Verizon is extending its commitment to keep our customers connected through June 30. This means we will neither terminate service nor charge late fees to our postpaid wireless, residential, and small business1 customers that notify us of their inability to pay their bills due to disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Customers can notify us by visiting here.

1 includes small business customers with 50 lines or less

Update: Effective April 23:

Verizon has today announced a $2.5 million grant to be shared across a group of international countries and charities offering healthcare support and food relief. Each charity will receive a portion of the funds to bolster their ongoing humanitarian activities.

Verizon recently donated $3 million to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for the World Health Organization (WHO), in addition to a previous $2 million donation, as part of a partnership with Global Citizen’s “One World: Together At Home” global broadcast special to help aid healthcare workers in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. Verizon’s total COVID-19 crisis commitment now stands at over $50 million in contributions and donations to nonprofits around the globe.

Update: Effective April 22:

Pay It Forward Live Concert

GRAMMY Award winning siblings Billie Eilish and FINNEAS will be performing a very special and intimate live concert from their home on Verizon’s Pay It Forward Live. The live stream will take place on 4/22 at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT on Twitter @Verizon, Yahoo, Verizon’s Facebook and YouTube pages, Fios Channel 501 and 604, AXS TV, FOX NOW or listen on iHeart and SiriusXM. Pay It Forward Live is Verizon’s weekly streaming entertainment series in support of small businesses affected by COVID-19.

15GB free high-speed data

Verizon continues to support customers who may find themselves needing additional data in order to learn, work or keep connected during this challenging time. That’s why today, we announced we are automatically adding an additional 15GB of 4G LTE data to consumer and small business* shared data plans, hotspots and jetpacks to be used  from May 1 through May 31. There is no action needed as this data will automatically be added to consumer and small business accounts.

* Includes small business customers with 50 lines or less

Update: Effective April 21:

Verizon partners with American Express for “Stand for Small” to support U.S. small businesses

Today, Verizon announced its participation in the American Express ‘Stand for Small’ program, which is a coalition of more than 40 companies across media, technology, consumer goods and professional services, and many other industries, that have come together to provide meaningful support to small businesses as they navigate the impacts of COVID-19.

Verizon’s Pay It Forward Live continues with Lilly Singh and gamers from DIG Fe on Tuesday, April 21 

Verizon’s Pay It Forward Live, the weekly streaming entertainment series in support of small businesses affected by COVID-19, continues on Tuesday when professional esports athlete Emmalee “EMUHLEET” Garrido and other members of Dignitas’s all-female gaming team DIG Fe will stream Riot Games’ VALORANT with Lilly Singh. The action will start at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT and stream live on Twitter @Verizon, EMUHLEET’s Twitch, Yahoo, Verizon’s Facebook page, Fios Channel 501, YouTube, and XBOX. The event will be available on Verizon’s platforms for one week following the live stream.

Verizon Media launches platform enhancements to maximize streaming reach and revenues

Verizon Media has launched a range of capabilities to enable broadcasters, content owners, and service providers to grow audiences and monetize content in new ways. These include advanced advertising tools that improve transparency in the bidding process and track ad performance. Additional features that maximize audience reach and enhance live event streaming have also been announced.

Update: Effective April 17:

Verizon is donating $3 million to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for the World Health Organization (WHO) as part of a partnership with Global Citizens One World: Together At Home global broadcast special to help aid healthcare workers in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. The globally televised and live-streamed special will air on April 18 and feature performances and appearances from international entertainers. Through the United Nations Foundation, the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund will help support the WHO and partners’ efforts to track and understand the spread of the virus; to ensure patients get the care they need and frontline workers get essential supplies and information; and to accelerate efforts to develop vaccines, tests, and treatments.

Verizon is also powering a text-to-action campaign during the U.S. broadcast to engage the audience and encourage viewers to take action to beat coronavirus. Viewers can visit Act.Me to take action or text ‘ACTION’ to 31318. From taking care to wash their hands, to staying at home, to calling on governments, big business and more, viewers can pledge to take action to increase their impact and help support recovery efforts.

Verizon’s most recent donation brings the company’s total support of the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for WHO to $5 million and their total COVID-19 crisis commitment to $48 million in contributions and donations to nonprofits directed at serving students, healthcare workers, first responders, and small businesses.

Update: Effective April 16:

Technologies enable federal, state and local governments

New Mexico’s Aging and Long-Term Services Department worked with Verizon to distribute hundreds of tablets to nursing facilities across the state.

A mobile cell site and landline connectivity were recently delivered to Fort Totten Park in Queens, NY, which is being used as a base of operations for the military, fire department, up to 300 ambulances, and as a potential site for a field hospital. Hundreds of smartphones and devices were delivered to the U.S. National Guard who were recently deployed to New York City in a 24-hour window.

Verizon also partnered with the State of Rhode Island Department of Health on a new COVID-19 hotline to better serve Rhode Islanders during this crisis.

Verizon teams on the frontlines with COVID-19 first responders

The Verizon Response Team (VRT) has been engaged since the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic and to date, has deployed emergency services and solutions to hundreds of COVID-19-related response sites in more than 30 states. In addition to day-to-day support of federal, state and local government agencies on the frontlines of the pandemic, the VRT delivers on-demand, emergency assistance during crisis situations to government agencies, emergency responders, nonprofits and communities on a 24/7/365 basis. Its solutions include portable cell sites, WiFi hotspots, free charging stations and other devices and solutions that enable communications and/or boost network performance.

Alicia Keys to perform on Verizon’s Pay It Forward Live on Thursday, April 9

Fifteen-time Grammy winner and global music icon Alicia Keys will perform on Pay It Forward Live, Verizon’s weekly streaming entertainment series in support of small businesses affected by COVID-19, on Thursday, April 9. The performance will stream live at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Twitter @Verizon, Yahoo and Fios Channel 501. The event will also be available on these platforms for one week following the live stream.

Verizon Network Update:

After weeks of significant increases in voice and data usage as a result of millions of people transitioning to working from home, distance learning and virtual socializing, new routines and usage behaviors are stabilizing, according to the latest Verizon Network report.

The report also shows that as new routines emerge, on-demand entertainment is taking center stage. On-demand movie viewing is up 32% compared to the typical pre-COVID-19 average weekly viewing. Customers have also embraced TV series filled with action, suspense and comedy.

Last weekend, the top 5 Fios Video on Demand HD titles were:

1. 1917
2. Bad Boys for Life
3. Onward
4. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
5. Jumanji: The Next Level

The top 5 Fios on-demand TV series viewed last week include:

1. Homeland
2. Westworld
3. Keeping Up with the Kardashians
4. Curb Your Enthusiasm
5. Outlander

Update: Effective April 7:

Yahoo Sports and the Women’s Sports Foundation launch #WeKeepPlaying

Yahoo Sports and the Women’s Sports Foundation announced #WeKeepPlaying, a first of its kind live event bringing together some of the most iconic women in professional sports to inspire young athletes during the COVID-19 crisis. The elite athletes will share their own stories of personal resilience to engage and inspire young athletes across the globe during this unprecedented time. The event will stream live on Saturday, April 11, 2020 at 4:00 pm ET exclusively on the Yahoo Sports mobile app and YahooSports.com.

4/7: Verizon Network Report

More and more people across the country appear to be following shelter-in-place mandates as cell site handoffs continued to decline. According to the latest Verizon Network Report, handoffs have decreased by 35% nationally compared to a typical day, down another 6% from what was reported last week. Verizon’s New York Metro and Upstate New York markets showed the biggest declines at 51% and 61% respectively vs. a typical day. Other Verizon markets like the Mid-Atlantic/Greater Washington, D.C. metro area and New England also showed significant declines of 39% and 41%, respectively, with the Southern California and Northern California markets both declining 41% vs. a typical day.

Update: Effective April 6:

Small Business Webinar Series

Verizon will debut a Small Business Webinar Series to share practical advice, insight and tips to help small businesses survive during these unprecedented times.

The first event begins April 7 at  2 p.m. EST and will feature entrepreneur Mike Michalowicz, best-selling author of “Profit First,” and U.S. Small Business Association entrepreneur of the year. Mike will offer specific steps small business owners can take now and how to be ready to grow after the crisis.

Access to the Times

From April 6 to July 6, students and teachers will have free digital access to NYTimes.com. The New York Times Company and Verizon joined forces to offer all students and teachers in high schools to support student learning during these turbulent and uncertain times.

Cizzorz and Pokimane joinVerizon’s PayItForwar LIVE line-up 

As part of Verizon’s PayItForward LIVE Cizzorz and Pokimane will be live April 7 on Cizzorz’s Twitch, @verizon’s Twitter, Yahoo, and Fios Channel 501 at 8pm ET for Verizon’s Pay It Forward Live supporting small businesses. Verizon’s  PayItForward LIVE connects big names to small businesses by offering streaming entertainment to those at home and financial support to those small businesses in need.

Update: Effective April 2:

“We’re proud to highlight our Verizon network performance following today’s call with the President and his team. Our network is providing a necessary lifeline today – and everyday – and continues to operate the way our customers have come to expect. I’m proud of our team as we deliver critical connectivity, and essential products and services to millions of Americans, businesses and those on the frontlines.  We are all in this together.”

— Hans Vestberg, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Verizon Communications Inc.

Verizon networks continue to perform strongly

Since the emergence of the coronavirus (COVID-19), the company has not seen a measurable increase in data usage – despite some businesses, schools and other organizations encouraging employees to work remotely and students to take classes online. Verizon’s networks are designed and built to meet future demand and are ready should demand increase or usage patterns change significantly.

Customers rely on Verizon networks

With years of steady month-over-month wireless data usage growth, as a standard practice, the company’s engineers are constantly adding capacity on the wireless and fiber networks to better serve customers. The network improvements are often recognized by independent third party reviews including recent research by RootMetrics, which has ranked Verizon first in overall performance and reliability in each of their last 13 consecutive drive test reports.

Recent technological advancements including the addition of small cells, deployment of carrier aggregation, MIMO antenna technology advancement, use of shared spectrum such as License Assisted Access (LAA) and Citizens Band Radio Spectrum (CBRS), 256 QAM, and fiber advancements have increased efficiency in the wireless and fiber networks resulting in greater capacity and speed for customers.

“Verizon operates its networks every day as though it’s a snow day — events when millions of Americans work from home while family members go online to watch videos, play games and talk and text to their friends and families,” said Kyle Malady, Verizon’s chief technology officer. “Delivering reliable networks is what we do. While this is an unprecedented situation, we know things are changing, and we are ready to adjust network resources as we better understand any shifts in demand. We have the best engineers in the world monitoring the situation closely.”

“We continually evaluate peak data usage times and build our networks to stay ahead of that demand,” said Malady. “While we may see the hours where peak data usage shifts from evening to daytime, our network is built to manage evolving demands. While it is not clear yet how having millions of additional people working from home will impact usage patterns, we are ready to address changes in demand, if needed.”

Like any crisis or significant event in which additional network resources may be needed, the company is able to deploy additional resources to add capacity and has a fleet of mobile assets including portable COLTs (cells on light trucks) and COWs (cells on wheels/trucks), mobile charging stations, and more to support first responders and their mission critical needs.

In addition to its wireless and fiber networks, Verizon also operates a global IP backbone network spanning six continents. It is built with resiliency in mind; it is one of the most connected Internet backbones in the world, offers speeds of up to 100 GB, and deploys mesh technology to enable multiple diverse paths for network traffic as required. Performance is constantly monitored by Verizon’s five global Network Operations Centers, 24 x 7, 365.

Investing today, for the future

The company is pledging to use the power of connectivity now to help keep the nation’s economy moving forward. Equally important, it’s focused on the future, beyond this current crisis, as reflected in Verizon’s announcement on March 12, that the company is increasing its capital investment guidance from $17 to $18 billion to $17.5 to $18.5 billion in 2020.

“We’re looking towards the future and increasing our investments so that we’re poised to offer even more robust networks, to meet future demands, in the years to come,” said Hans Vestberg, Verizon Chairman and CEO. “We are very confident in our company’s ability to meet current demands in providing a great network experience.”

Vestberg added: “Our customers — including critical government and public safety agencies — rely on us for proven reliability. I want to thank our dedicated Verizon employees who continue to work tirelessly, day in and day out, to ensure our essential communications services are available to our customers so they can stay connected where and when they need it most.”

Keeping America connected

Verizon announced (March 13), for the next 60 days, it will waive late fees that any residential or small business customers incur because of their economic circumstances related to the coronavirus. In addition, the company will not terminate service to any residential or small business customers because of their inability to pay their bills due to disruptions caused by the coronavirus.

Verizon signed onto the FCC’s new “Keep Americans Connected” pledge. Verizon’s new customer commitment will help ensure connectivity and offer assistance to customers and small businesses facing challenges from the global crisis.

For first responders

We offer priority access to our network for first responders and public safety officials, and our Fios broadband customers always have unlimited access to home broadband service for their work from home or remote learning needs.

For consumers

Our consumer customers have access to competitively priced unlimited wireless plans and can use online tools to make changes to accounts or device upgrades 24 x 7, which includes access to virtual tech coaches and assistance.

Residential and wireless customer inquiries can be answered by using the following links:

• Wireless: https://www.verizonwireless.com/support/
• In Home: https://www.verizon.com/support/residential/home

For business customers

Verizon is encouraging business and government customers, in particular, to review their continuity plans. Proper planning can help mitigate impact and help minimize potential business disruptions.

Here are five strategies businesses should consider:

• Prepare your networks for a remote workforce
• Implement technology that enables remote collaboration
• Prioritize and develop a critical infrastructure plan
• Use tools to give customers confidence and access
• Secure both physical and network access points

Our business customers have access to competitively priced unlimited wireless plans and can use online tools to make changes to accounts or device upgrades 24 x 7, which includes access to virtual tech coaches and assistance. Business customer inquiries can be answered by using the following links: https://www.verizon.com/business/gateway/

We’re all in this together

The health and well-being of our employees is very important and we are taking steps to mitigate risks for Verizon employees. We have increased our cleaning levels. Cleaning solutions approved by the EPA and recommended by the CDC are being used to provide a clean and safe work environment for employees. Surfaces and touchpoints are being wiped down daily as part of the effort to clean and sanitize the retail stores, office workspaces, garages and other people spaces. We are following recommendations of the WHO, CDC and other national health authorities, and are continuously monitoring the situation.

Following the guidance and direction of the U.S. Government, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization, we’ve implemented best practices, travel restrictions and alternative working arrangements where possible to protect the health and welfare of our employees.

FAQS: COVID-19 FAQs

Forward-looking statements

In this communication we have made forward-looking statements. These statements are based on our estimates and assumptions and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements include the information concerning our possible or assumed future results of operations. Forward-looking statements also include those preceded or followed by the words “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “hopes” or similar expressions. For those statements, we claim the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We undertake no obligation to revise or publicly release the results of any revision to these forward-looking statements, except as required by law. Given these risks and uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The following important factors, along with those discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), could affect future results and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements: cyber attacks impacting our networks or systems and any resulting financial or reputational impact; natural disasters, terrorist attacks or acts of war or significant litigation and any resulting financial or reputational impact; disruption of our key suppliers’ or vendors’ provisioning of products or services; material adverse changes in labor matters and any resulting financial or operational impact; the effects of competition in the markets in which we operate; failure to take advantage of developments in technology and address changes in consumer demand; performance issues or delays in the deployment of our 5G network resulting in significant costs or a reduction in the anticipated benefits of the enhancement to our networks; the inability to implement our business strategy; adverse conditions in the U.S. and international economies; changes in the regulatory environment in which we operate, including any increase in restrictions on our ability to operate our networks; our high level of indebtedness; an adverse change in the ratings afforded our debt securities by nationally accredited ratings organizations or adverse conditions in the credit markets affecting the cost, including interest rates, and/or availability of further financing; significant increases in benefit plan costs or lower investment returns on plan assets; changes in tax laws or treaties, or in their interpretation; and changes in accounting assumptions that regulatory agencies, including the SEC, may require or that result from changes in the accounting rules or their application, which could result in an impact on earnings.