SW Arizona News

Gov. Doug Ducey received 200 Internet hotspots and private internet service providers (ISPs) also stepped up to help provide online access to students while schools are closed during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Hundreds of online hotspots were donated following a call by Ducey and Arizona Public Instruction Superintendent Kathy Hoffman and ISPs have been providing temporarily free internet access services.

"This may make it easier for you to stay connected and access your online and hybrid classes," Maricopa Community Colleges said on its website announcing a list of services being offered by the service providers. "This way you can continue to work on your assignments, projects and related tasks."

While much of the push to get online services to students who don't have it began in early April, the need is continuing into May.

Ducey extended his stay-at-home order through May 15, saying social distancing and other measures had flattened the curve of COVID-19's spread in Arizona, but that available data didn't support a full reopening of the state's economy.

"Arizona's focus has been protecting public health and slowing the spread of COVID-19 — and this approach is working," Ducey said in a news release issued Wednesday, April 29. "Physical distancing is making a difference. We’re slowing the spread. The last thing we want to do now is undo these gains. Today’s announcement continues Arizona’s calm, steady approach while taking new steps to breathe life into our small businesses. Arizona is eager to reenergize our economy, and we will continue to take a gradual, step-by-step approach that’s guided by data and public health."

The extension order means that students who already are being homeschooled or who otherwise need technologically-based ways to continue their educations will have to keep at it a while longer. That requires technology that itself requires access to the Internet, in which many of them lacked.

On April 8, Ducey called for the donation of about 200 un-used Internet Wi-Fi hot spots for students to use while schools in the state are closed.

In about a week, those hot spots became available.

"We have a state warehouse, and in that state warehouse, there were 200 hotspots buried away for folks – used in other state agencies," Arizona Commerce Authority Vice President and State Broadband Director Jeff Sobotka told AZFamily. "We were able to get them out and clean them up, make sure they worked and powered up, that sort of thing."

Arizona Commerce Authority collected the donations.