12 Apr ecta endorses the Joint Statement by EU and Ukrainian operators on connectivity in support of refugees from Ukraine
Brussels, 8 April 2022. At a virtual event today, telecom operators based in the EU and in Ukraine have signed a Joint Statement on their coordinated efforts to secure and stabilise affordable roaming and international calls between the EU and Ukraine.
Since the first days of this crisis, telecom operators, including the ecta members, are all hands-on deck to ensure connectivity across the board. Several Telecom operators based in the EU have immediately implemented measures on a voluntary basis. They have distributed millions of SIM cards free of charge to refugees from Ukraine, enabled free roaming and provided free WiFi and charging in border areas or shelters, waived or reduced international call charges, to mention but a few.
To further show their willingness to help and support Ukrainians in these tragic circumstances, European and Ukrainian operators have signed a Joint Statement to establish a coordinated approach to ensure that they can continue to provide affordable connectivity to refugees from Ukraine.
The following ecta members have already signed the Joint Statement: Bouygues Telecom, Colt Technology Services, Fastweb, Groupe Iliad including Play, Grupo Másmóvil, Neterra, and Transatel. Other operators may still join.
Luc Hindryckx, Director General of ecta commented: ”Facing the tragic situation the Ukrainian population is confronted with, the ecta members could not stand by and do nothing. We all hope that wisdom will prevail, and that peace will be given a fair chance so that the dramatic situation will end soon.”
ecta is grateful to Executive Vice President Vestager and Commissioner Breton for their leadership. ecta thanks DG Connect and BEREC for their intense work and commitment and looks forward to continuing to work together to help separate families to stay connected.
More information about the voluntary actions taken by the ecta members can be found here
The Joint Statement can be downloaded here and the European Commission Press Release here
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ecta members are united in their belief that competition is the best driver of efficient investments and the greatest enabler of innovation, choice and benefits for citizens and businesses, as well as for the European economy overall. This is the key message that ecta and its members continuously promote.