Telcos and VOIP services pitch in to help facilitate communications during the Nepal earthquake crisis
From free to reduced call rates, Airtel, Aircel, BSNL, MTNL and Viber announce special offerings over the next few days
As Nepal reels from one of the worst natural disasters to hit the region, companies are converting to help facilitate communications to and from the affected areas. Even as fresh rescue efforts are underway following the recent aftershocks, Airtel, Aircel, BSNL and VOIP company Viber have announced reduced and even free calls to and from Nepal.
Aircel stated that all calls from India to Nepal by Aircel customers will be free for two days between 27th and 28th of April. Their customers traveling to the region will also get free incoming while roaming during this time frame. They have also waived off incoming call charges for other customers who are on International Roaming on their network within Nepal.
This comes on the heels of public sector BSNL announcing that all charges from its network in the region will be charged at local rates for the next three days. MTNL has also announced a similar plan on their own network.
VOIP service provider Viber has also announced they have switched off billing on their ‘Viber Out’ feature, which enables their app users to call local and cellular numbers via a WiFi or cellular data network.