A crisis can be extraordinarily profitable for communications providers as people only want to hear from their loved ones, and stop caring about the cost. But instead of cashing in on the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian military, telcos around the world have chosen to make it free for customers to call Ukrainians and roam within the country. Here is a list of some of the telcos that are keeping ordinary Ukrainians connected to the rest of the world.
Bad leaders want to block communications and separate people to make it easier to control them. The government of Russia is once again actively interfering with social media to stop the truth of the invasion reaching ordinary Russians. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy continues to post videos taken in Kyiv (pictured), disputing the lies of Russian state media who said Zelenskyy fled the country. Zelenskyy displays more dignity during a few minutes of recording himself with a smartphone than Vladimir Putin has known throughout his twisted and deceitful life. If we want to live in a world where peace triumphs over war then we must keep the lines of communication open.
Zelenskyy’s bravery has earned him admirers around the world. There are also some good business leaders who have shown that they care about bringing people together. Employees can feel proud to work for the telcos named below.
The following list is ordered by country and based on announcements made on social media or on corporate websites. I want to avoid third party reports because they may be unreliable and because it is the responsibility of telcos to communicate their costs clearly, especially at a time when customers are in distress and need reassurance. Send me links to other relevant posts found on official corporate channels and I will keep adding to this list.
Albania
Vodafone
Free calls and texts to Ukraine; free roaming in Ukraine; both for five days
Ascension Island
Sure
Free calls and texts to and from Ukraine
Australia
Telstra
Free calls to Ukraine and surrounding countries; free roaming in Ukraine
Austria
A1
Free calls and texts to and from Ukraine
Belgium
Proximus
Free calls and texts to and from Ukraine; free roaming in Ukraine; both until the end of March
Bosnia and Herzegovina
BH Telecom
Free calls and texts to and from Ukraine; free roaming in Ukraine
Bulgaria
A1
1,000 free minutes for mobile calls to Ukraine
Vivacom
Free calls to Ukraine until March 10
Canada
Bell
Rogers
Free calls and texts to Ukraine; free roaming in Ukraine; both until the end of March
TELUS
TextNow
Free calls to Ukraine ‘for a limited time’
Xplornet and Xplornet Mobile
Free calls to Ukraine until March 31
Channel Islands
JT Group
Free calls, texts and parcel postage to Ukraine
Sure
Free calls and texts to and from Ukraine
Cyprus
Epic
Free calls and texts to Ukraine for contract customers until March 31
CYTA
Free calls and texts to Ukraine until March 31
Czech Republic
Vodafone
Free calls and texts to Ukraine; free roaming in Ukraine; both for five days
Diego Garcia
Sure
Free calls and texts to and from Ukraine
Estonia
Tele2
Free calls and texts to Ukraine; free roaming in Ukraine
Telia
Free calls and texts to Ukraine until March 10
Falkland Islands
Sure
Free calls and texts to and from Ukraine
Finland
Telia
France
Bouygues Telecom
Orange and Sosh
Free calls, texts and MMS between mainland France and Ukraine
Germany
Deutsche Telekom
Free calls and texts to Ukraine; free roaming in Ukraine
Vodafone
Free calls and texts to Ukraine; free roaming in Ukraine; both for five days
Greece
Vodafone
Free calls and texts to Ukraine; free roaming in Ukraine; both for five days
Hungary
Vodafone
Free calls and texts to Ukraine; free roaming in Ukraine; both for five days
Ireland
eir Ireland
Free calls and texts until the end of March; free roaming in Ukraine
Three
Charges for calls and text to Ukraine will be credited back; free roaming in Ukraine
Vodafone
Free calls and texts to Ukraine; free roaming in Ukraine; both for five days
Isle of Man
Manx Telecom
Free calls and texts to Ukraine
Sure
Free calls and texts to and from Ukraine
Italy
Iliad
60 percent discount to the cost of voice calls to Ukraine until April 30
TIM
Customers with Ukrainian nationality can register for one week of unlimited voice minutes and data
Vodafone
Free calls and texts to Ukraine; free roaming in Ukraine; both for five days
Latvia
LMT
Free calls to Ukraine; free voice and data roaming in Ukraine
Tele2 and Zelta Zivtiņa
Free calls and texts to Ukraine; free roaming in Ukraine and free mobile services for refugees
Lithuania
Tele2
Free calls and texts to Ukraine; free roaming in Ukraine and free mobile calls, texts and data for refugees for three months
Malta
GO
Free calls and texts to Ukraine; roamers in Ukraine received a EUR100 top-up
Netherlands
KPN
Free calls and texts to Ukraine until the end of March; free roaming in Ukraine
T-Mobile, Tele2, Ben and Simpel
Free calls and texts to and from Ukraine until the end of March
Vodafone
Free calls and texts to Ukraine; free roaming in Ukraine; both for five days
Norway
Telenor
Poland
Orange
Reduced price of calls to Ukraine by 80 percent
T-Mobile
300 free minutes for voice calls to Ukraine, which may be exchanged for texts; 10GB free data
UPC
120 minutes of free calls to Ukrainian numbers
Portugal
Vodafone
Free calls and texts to Ukraine; free roaming in Ukraine; both for five days
Romania
Orange
Vodafone
Free calls and texts to Ukraine; free roaming in Ukraine; both for five days
Slovakia
Orange
Free calls to Ukraine; free roaming in Ukraine; SIM cards for refugees
Spain
Movistar
Free calls and texts to and from Ukraine; free roaming in Ukraine
Vodafone
Free calls and texts to Ukraine; free roaming in Ukraine; both for five days
St Helena
Sure
Free calls and texts to and from Ukraine
Sweden
Tele2
Free calls and texts to and from Ukraine
Telia, Halebop and Fello
Free calls, texts and MMS to and from Ukraine
United Kingdom
BT
Free calls, texts and data to and from Ukraine
EE
Free calls, texts and data to and from Ukraine
giffgaff
O2
Stour Marine
Free calls, texts and data to and from Ukraine
Tesco Mobile
Free calls and texts from the UK to Ukraine
Three
Charges for calls and text to Ukraine will be credited back; free roaming in Ukraine
Virgin Media
Vodafone
Free calls and texts to Ukraine; free roaming in Ukraine; both for five days
United States of America
T-Mobile and Sprint
TextNow
Free calls to Ukraine ‘for a limited time’