Students will be able to phone relatives in Ukraine for free as UK mobile operators waive roaming charges.
According to a report by TechRadar, several major UK mobile operators are waiving charges for calls made to and from Ukraine as Russia continues to invade and bombard the country.
Which companies are waiving roaming fees?
EE, O2, Three and Vodafone have all confirmed that calls made from the UK to Ukraine will be free of charge, while anyone roaming in the country will not be subject to any additional fees for making calls or texts or accessing mobile data.
Vodafone UK CEO Ahmed Essam Shelbaya said: “Effective immediately, Vodafone UK is crediting all calls to Ukraine and waiving any roaming charges for Vodafone UK customers currently in Ukraine. We stand in solidarity with all Ukrainian people at this worrying time.”
Virgin Media O2 offered a similar sentiment as the company said they were ‘deeply troubled’ by the crisis, and understand ‘connectivity will play a crucial role’ for many people to be reassured of the safety of their friends and family.
The statement read: “We are deeply troubled by the events taking place in Ukraine and know that some of our customers or their loved ones and friends may be directly affected.
“As the situation continues to unfold, we recognise that connectivity will play a crucial role and we want to provide support to those who need it.
“To help any of our customers in Ukraine and ensure customers in the UK that need to contact someone in the country can do so, we have removed charges for data use in Ukraine and will also credit charges for calls and texts to and from Ukraine and the UK.”
BT, EE and Plusnet, have all announced similar arrangements, as confirmed by the BT Consumer CEO chief executive, Marc Allera.
Three confirmed it will not apply any additional fees for calls made to and from Ukraine to the UK.
How long will the waived roaming charges last?
For many of the companies the fees will only be waived for a certain time – Virgin Media O2 says theirs is only until March 6, but they will keep it under review.
