To support the people in Ukraine and those who have friends and relatives there, mobile operators in Germany and their partner brands are not charging for phone and Internet connections for the time being.
Deutsche Telekom had announced on Friday that it would not charge for connections to Ukraine for the time being. In the meantime, the network operators Vodafone and O2 and their partner brands have followed suit – including, for example, Congstar and the prepaid brands Aldi Talk, Penny Mobil and ja!mobil. In concrete terms, this means that calls, SMS and MMS to Ukraine will be free of charge until at least March 31, 2022.
Network operators show solidarity with Ukraine
The network operators had announced the move via Twitter. Here, Telekom, Vodafone and O2 commented on the events in Ukraine as follows:
We don’t know what to say about what’s currently happening in Ukraine. ???? Until further notice, we will make calls and SMS from landline & mobile to Ukraine free of charge. This applies to private and business customers and to congstar. Roaming in Ukraine will also be free of charge.
– Deutsche Telekom AG (@deutschetelekom) February 25, 2022
The situation in the #Ukraine Makes us deeply concerned. We want to help: Calls & SMS from the German @vodafone_en Network calls to Ukraine are now free of charge. Roaming is also free of charge. In addition, the @VodafoneFdn will donate up to €500,000 to refugees from Ukraine.????
– Hannes Ametsreiter (@H_Ametsreiter) February 25, 2022
We are shocked by what is happening in Ukraine and our thoughts are with those who live there or have relatives and friends. We provide our customers with free calls/SMS to Ukraine and roaming there until further notice.
– Telefónica Germany (@telefonica_de) February 25, 2022
Congstar got a bit more specific in its announcement. The brand, which belongs to Telekom, said it would retroactively remove charges already incurred for connections to Ukraine from mobile phone bills until February 23, 2022. For prepaid users, it said, connections already billed will be settled with a credit as part of the next billing.
Even those who have booked a DSL and fixed-line complete package from Congstar will not have to pay anything for calls to Ukraine from the fixed network or mobile network for the time being. “We would like to support customers who want to reach relatives or friends in Ukraine or who are located there within the scope of our possibilities,” is how the provider advertises its current promotion.
Data usage in Ukraine also free of charge
Provided users are in Ukraine, Telekom, Vodafone, O2 and Congstar and Co. also do not charge roaming costs. Ukraine belongs to country zone 3 or 4, so higher charges would otherwise apply for data usage. However, all providers also offer roaming passes for a period of one day to four weeks.
At Telekom, for example, the day pass with 100 MB for country zone 3 costs 4.95 euros, while a four-week pass with 2 GB is available for 49.95 euros. Bookings can be made via pass.telekom.de or by text message to 7277. All roaming packages on offer can be found on the website.
Congstar offers the DayPass S with 50 MB regularly for 3 euros a day. The WeekPass M with 300 MB is available for 15 euros and the WeekPass L with 1 GB data volume for 30 euros. As part of the promotion, Congstar Passes can currently be booked free of charge in Ukraine. Anyone who wants to book a roaming pass can do so via datapass.de or send an SMS to 7277 (keyword DayPass S, WeekPass M or WeekPass L).
O2 also places Ukraine in country zone 3. A daily package (24 hours) with 50 MB is available here for 4.99 euros. It can be booked by sending an SMS with WORLD to 80112.
Vodafone, on the other hand, treats Ukraine as country zone 4. The matching “Travel Package World” costs €7.99 per day or €29.99 per week with 50 minutes, 50 SMS and 500 MB daily. Booking is possible via app or by text message to 70127.
Aid and solidarity for Ukraine
What is happening in Ukraine right now is terrible. Many families are forced to leave their homes and flee the war. This is traumatic for everyone, but especially for the children. The BILD aid organization “Ein Herz für Kinder” (A Heart for Children) would therefore like to help and, together with project partners on the ground such as the aid organization “humedica” and the Action Alliance for Disaster Relief, is asking for donations.
If you would like to help and donate, you can find all the information here.
Every cent of your donation goes to affected children without deductions!