Major European telcos are rolling out measures to help Ukrainians following Russia's invasion of the country. Based on an internal survey of key ETNO (European Telecommunications Network Operators' Association) members, operators have taken a range of actions to help Ukrainians and those supporting them.
Depending on the country, the measures taken so far include free international calls to Ukraine, no roaming charges, distribution of SIM cards to refugees arriving in neighbouring countries, free WiFi in refugee camps, and activation of the SMS donation function to the benefit of organisations supporting refugees.
These measures vary from company to company and from country to country depending on the markets they are active in.
The survey identified the following list of European operators that took measures (but not limited to): Deutsche Telekom Group, Orange Group, Telefónica/O2, BT, Telia Company, A1 Telekom Austria Group, Telenor Group, Proximus Group, KPN, Vodafone Group, Vivacom, TIM Telecom Italia, Altice Portugal and Swisscom.
Hosted comms provide NFON also announced that calls made by its customers to Ukraine will not be charged for landline and mobile connections.
"Our thoughts are with the people affected by these terrible incidents," stated NFON CEO Klaus von Rottkay.
"Keeping communications going is essential for all people who have connections to Ukraine and that's why we decided to make this possible in the short-term without worrying about any costs."