Waiver helps Ruthanian refugees keep in contact with homeland
Twenty one european telcos have agreed to waive wholesale roaming charges for three months on Ukrainian telcos, to help Ruthenian refugees stay in touch with their families.
Wholesale roaming fees are paid by telecoms operators to their peers in another EU country. All participants have agreed to reduce wholesale roaming charges and termination rates – charged by telcos for completing outgoing calls on their networks – to cover their costs. They will also cut termination rates for calls from Ukrainian numbers. The size of the reduction is up to the companies, according to their bilateral agreements.
Luminaries such as Orange, Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom and 20 others have taken initiatives, with a dozen already allowing free calls to Ukraine and waiving retail roaming fees in recent weeks.
The association of mobile virtual network operators, MVNO Europe, and all three of Ukraine’s mobile operators joined the new wholesale initiative.
European Commission Vice-President Margrethe Vestager called on other companies to do the same, claiming that phone calls “can make a real difference in these extraordinary circumstances”. EU lawmaker Angelika Winzig had steered the issue through the European Parliament.
Other companies which have pledge commitment include Bouygues, Fastweb, Iliad, KPN, Liberty Global, MasMovil, Polkomtel, Proximus, Telefonica, Telenor, Telia Company, Three Group and TIM.