A growing list of voice providers are showing their support for the tragic events that have uprooted millions of Ukrainians by offer free long distance to the war torn country. Astound Broadband, AT&T, and Cox are just a few of the providers who have stepped up to provide a lifeline for friends and family to stay connected, by waiving long distance charges and in some cases offering unlimited free long distance from the US to Ukraine. Cox Communications took it even a step further for a period of time by offering toll-free service to Hungary, Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, and Moldova.

” Believe it or not, it helps me to cope with things by communicating with friends and family, not knowing if I will have an apartment to go back to in Kyiv.”

Tim S., US citizen living in Ukraine

What about rural voice providers?

To date we have not heard of any rural voice providers who are offering this benefit on their landline phones, but one company commented that they were considering it and felt that the PR value to the landline would far outweigh the call costs that would be incurred. This also brings to mind a question, would offering a landline phone service with one free international long distance code be enough to entice people to add a landline service to their home?