Trump Talks With Verizon, Comcast About Internet Network Strains

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump held a call Tuesday with telecom giants including Verizon Communications Inc., as wireless and internet service providers experience significant new strains on their networks while Americans telework their way through the coronavirus outbreak.

In addition to Verizon, internet providers including Comcast Corp., AT&T Inc. and Charter Communications Inc. participated in the call, according to the White House. The president’s daughter and adviser, Ivanka Trump, was on the call, along with her husband, adviser Jared Kushner, and Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council.

Internet providers have seen a surge in traffic, with AT&T saying in a press release that wireless voice minutes last Monday were up 39% compared to an average Monday and that network internet traffic was up 27%. Verizon said in a release that it was seeing an average of 800 million wireless calls each weekday -- nearly twice the volume the company sees on Mother’s Day.

“While Americans are using the internet to work, learn, shop, and connect with loved ones at unprecedented rates, our free-market based networks remain strong, secure, and the envy of the world,” the White House said in a statement.

During the call, Trump thanked the executives for extending services and waiving bills and late fees, the White Hosue said.

The federal government has also contracted with service providers to help with coronavirus response efforts, with Verizon announcing over the weekend that it was providing connectivity for the USNS Comfort, a Navy hospital ship that arrived this week in New York harbor.

The internet firms might also be useful should the U.S. decide it needs to enforce social-distancing practices. Scott Gottlieb, the former FDA commissioner advising the White House coronavirus response, has recommended using GPS tracking on cell phones to enforce social isolation.

Trump said Monday he thought the idea was “very severe” but said the administration would be “taking a look at the proposal.”

“So what happens?” Trump said. “A siren goes off if you get too close to somebody? That’s pretty severe.”

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