Once again France has born the brunt of what is currently being treated as another terrorist attack. During late night celebrations for Bastille Day, a large truck plowed through crowds on the Promenade des Anglais, killing 84 people, with 18 more being injured. The driver was shot dead by police and bystanders have said that they saw the driver swerve left-to-right in order to hit as many people as possible. As France calls for three days of mourning, Google and US carriers are offering free calls to France to make sure that their relatives, friends and family are all okay.
On Google’s part, the Internet giant has, as usual, been offering alerts of any new info on the Nice attacks through Google Now, and they’re also giving people options to get in touch with those across the Atlantic for free. Hangouts users will be able to make calls to France for free, and those using Google Voice will be able to do the same. Users on Google’s experimental cell network, Project Fi, will be getting the same treatment and they can place calls to France as they would any other call, totally free.
The “Big Four” of AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon have naturally followed suit, each issuing a press release stating that fees on calls made to France will be waived. AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile are offering free calls to France from July 14th, through to July 17th, however Verizon is cutting this a day short and only offering free calls up until July 16th. It’s also worth noting that while the aforementioned three offering calls up until July 17th listed no extra charges in their press releases, Verizon advises people that “applicable taxes and surcharges will apply”. Regardless, those needing to get in touch with people across the Atlantic can do so this weekend without having to pay extra, and hopefully this won’t lead to more reports of US casualties like Texans Sean Copeland and his Son, Brodie. It goes without saying that our thoughts are with those that have been affected by this terrible attack and hopefully this news will help those worried make sure that their loved ones are okay.