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Optus, Telstra, Virgin Offering Free Calls to Italy

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Optus customers who want to contact family and friends following the earthquake in central Italy will be able to make free calls to Italy for the next two weeks.

Optus consumer post-paid mobile and fixed customers will receive free standard voice calls to Italy from 12:01am AEST 26th August 2016 until 11.59 pm on 8th September 2016. This includes calls to mobile and landline numbers. Calls made to Italy during this time will not be charged on your next bill. Pre-paid mobile customers will receive zero-rated standard voice calls made to Italy during the same period.

The high volume on the telecommunications network around Italy may impact calls getting through. You may experience busy tones, recorded voice announcements or the call might go straight to voicemail.

Any customers who wish to discuss their individual circumstances can call our Customer Services team on 133 937.


Details for Telstra customers

To help our customers check on friends and relatives affected by the earthquake, we’re offering free standard voice calls and texts made from personal post-paid mobiles and fixed lines to Italy from 12.01am AEST on 25 August until 11.59pm AEST on 1 September 2016.

For personal pre-paid customers, we’re offering a refund of the costs of your standard voice calls and SMS to Italy from 12.01am AEST on 25 August until 11.59pm AEST on 1 September 2016 (refunds will be applied by 8 September).


Details for Virgin customers

Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the devastating earthquake in Italy. Our Postpaid customers are able to make free voice calls from Oz to Italy to check on friends and relatives from 11pm tonight (25th August) until 12PM on 8th September, and Prepaid from 4:30AM on 26 August until 12PM on 8th September, AEST.

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closed Comments

  • Optus is apparently offering 2 weeks from what I heard on the radio

  • +2

    How about Iraq , Syria , Lebanon , Palestine, Turkey etc

    These Phone companies are just trying to use disasters to advertise their services

    In my opinion they should be using that money for relief aide and medicine, food etc to people suffering in those areas

    No deal here , just forum material

    • +3

      No deal here , just forum material

      Agree that this is just advertising but this is still a deal. Also there shouldn't be a space between here and , ;)

      • Any free calls to myanmar (yes, they had a 6.8 magnitude one yesterday)?

        • That quake killed 4 people, Italy's one killed 247 people, you see how these 2 cases might be a tad different or no?

        • +1

          @didntknowicould: Yes, the Burmese aren't westerners.

        • @didntknowicould:
          247
          Aren't we still killing about this many every month in iraq and afganistan for energy piracy. Where's the free calls and sub-genuine media generated sympathy for those poor devils?

      • What u mean just advertising…. u get free calls

    • +2

      using that money

      using what money?

      • Obviously the money they are spending to connect to overseas telcos. Although I'm not actually sure they are charged. But that's my best common sense guess.

    • +2

      I hear you bro. #Whitelivesmatteronly

      • +1

        #iseenocolorsonlyshadesofwhite

        Lol

      • #callstoitalyarecheaperthanallstosyria

        • I think you missed a "c" there..

        • callstoitalyarecheaperthAnallstosyria

      • Dude #Onlysomewhitelivesmatterreally :-)

    • "easternculture" says 'In my opinion they should be using that money for relief aide and medicine, food etc to people suffering in those areas'

      Why don't you donate money instead of writing crappy comments on here.

      • Eastern culture said how he feels.

        Perhaps you can donate money and comment?

      • How do you know he didn't donate? I'm not saying he did but you don't either. No deal from me either. Like people who really need to call Italy because of the disaster is going to care about the "free call". Opportunistic advertising is all it is.

        What would really help people is for anyone in Italy to have no roaming charges so they can call back to report on their safety

        • It is a bit rediculous really.
          I would NEG this deal, but experience lends that if I do, my other comments can be removed entirely as a consequence. And my right to neg vote revoked for months on ozbargain. So beware having an opinion. ;-)

  • +2

    Vodafone?

    • +1

      No word from them yet :/

  • +1

    any free pizza?

  • Someone is going to make a joke about getting a pizza order anytime soon

    • -1

      I'm getting a Pizza order sometime soon.

    • +1

      Your lack of sympathy is, frankly, earth shattering.

  • -5

    Who gives a flying $#&@. People dying everyday in the middle east why not free calls to there? Pfffttt…

    • +5

      Because the humans doing the war instead the nature doing the earthquake ? That s why they call natural disaster.Am i clear enough?

      • No…. Because they are ongoing conflicts that would necessitate long term free calls. Only offering it to selected events for limited amounts of time is much cheaper and gets the same publicity.

        Exempting disasters just because they're done by humans would be an incredibly moronic, nonsensical policy.

        • +1

          Why? If humans caused it they are in control. They are making it happen. Natural desaster is not our fault so more simpathy to help

        • @suicine94: Interesting. So if your entire family are stabbed to death, you don't deserve as much sympathy as if they were killed in an earthquake because it was done by humans?

          Unless you're blaming every individual civilian in those areas for the wars, which is blatantly absurd.

        • @callum9999:

          Bad analogy cos the killer is external uncontrollable factor. a better analogy would be if you came home and got angry and trashed your house and broke everything, you wont get any sympathy or support from anyone.

          But if an earthquake trashed your house and broke everything there are government support packages and probably community efforts to support you.

        • +1

          @suicine94: What a horrifically vile person you are.

          Worse in fact. To state that children being bombed have brought it on themselves in beyond disgusting. But then I guess most of them are Muslim, so who cares right?

    • I really wish Ozb allowed 20 'plus' votes when needed.

  • +1

    jv hasn't commented yet to say he has international calls included and that there is no saving here

    • +3

      Maybe cautious as # 6 of Ozbargain's Top 10 Negatively voted comments is:
      jv joking that Telstra’s free calls to the Philipines are to Telstra’s call centres. -144

  • +2

    Just to make it clear..in Italy they don t need overseas money or food etc.the institution and the people from all the regions will provide for everything their needs.The problem of the destroyed areas cannot be fixed by money.They lost relatives,parents and kids and in this way a overseas call from a relative or friend can really do the difference for the moral.So,for me, does not matter why the phone company doing that, it is a right thing would be really appreciated and that s the only point here.

    • +1

      Lots of damage, they economy no good need money

  • +9

    This again. Far out I hate these 'deals'. Show me someone personally affected by the tragedy in Italy who would not call unless seeing this deal on Ozbargain and I'll show you an (profanity).

    No offence to OP.

    • I m here mate!So waiting for..

      • +4

        You know people affected by the earthquake but would refuse to spend money to see if they're ok?

        • You have no idea how would cost a call to Italy.You have to be rich.Be free cost you really can spend 30 minutes calling and try to cheer up.

        • @Ciccillo: No, YOU have no idea. You can call for a few cents a minute. Surely these Italians you want to check on are worth a few minutes of your time to have researched that?

    • +1

      Really needs to stop

      • I think so,i cannot believe what the people here posting and the upvotes for them.I am really asthonished.Incredible.

    • Spot on Bob!

  • -3

    Okay what happened to Italy.

    • The answer was literally in the first line of the description.

  • +1

    Interesting that optus starts on Friday…
    Are they trying to keep people in suspense?

  • +1

    Telco company jumping on the bandwagon yet again. It brings a little vomit up every time they do it.

    Vote me down or up I know my heart is true

  • 247
    Aren't we still killing about this many every month in iraq and afganistan for energy piracy. Where's the free calls and sub-genuine media generated sympathy for those poor devils?

    Perhaps a million civilians killed in iraq and afganistan, and Australia and allies haven't even had an official mention of sympathy (or apology? or donation drive) to them, or to imigrants from those countries living their lives here and in other western countries.

    • +1

      They've had millions of hours of media coverage (not an exaggeration) and countless charity drives.

      Sad perhaps, but it should be quite obvious why sympathy wanes when the same event is happening day after day for countless years. I know I personally would have committed suicide by now if I maintained the feelings of horror I had the first time I heard about it forever…

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