T-Mobile has announced today that they will be providing free communication via voice calling and texting from the U.S. to Taiwan, active immediately and valid through the next week (ending July 14). This is to help ensure that people are able to communicate both while preparing for, and recovering from, typhoon Nepartak. John Legere, president and CEO of T-Mobile, says “Keeping in contact with friends and family is critical during an emergency… Our thoughts are with the people of Taiwan, and anyone else who may be affected by the powerful storm.”
This type of response to emergency situations is not uncommon; in recent times, carriers have been increasingly willing to extend services to their customers at no cost to help them during times of crisis. And even third parties are stepping in, as was evident last month when Google offered free calls via Hangouts to Turkey in the wake of the Istanbul airport attacks.
This offer will not only be available to T-Mobile Simple Choice customers (both prepaid and postpaid), but also those using T-Mobile’s network through one of their partners, including MetroPCS, GoSmart Mobile, and Walmart Family Mobile. In addition to offering free calling and texting to Taiwan, they have also offered to waive any roaming fees for those on a T-Mobile plan for both calls and texts. Data, of course, will be covered as usual for T-Mobile subscribers under their free international data roaming policy. So whether you are communicating with someone in Taiwan, or are in Taiwan and need to get in touch with someone back home, T-Mobile has you covered. You don’t need to take any special steps in order to take advantage of this offer, it will be taken care of automatically. The charges will show on your bill as they normally would, however, you will also see credits in the amount of the charges that are being waived. Although some may question whether the motives behind these kinds of actions are based on publicity, the outcome is still a positive one, as it provides people with a way to get in touch when they need it most. See the “Source” link below for the original press release.