After Russia’s attack on Ukraine in February 2022, we responded quickly and introduced extensive emergency aid services for refugees from Ukraine throughout Europe. The Deutsche Telekom Board of Management devised an extensive set of measures to this end.
In Germany, in coordination with the Federal Agency of Migration and Refugees (BAMF), we provided free pre-paid SIM cards to refugees in the spring of 2022. The SIM cards, which include free phone calls and data volume, were distributed to refugees through our Telekom Shops and through official aid organizations. The offer was valid until June 30, 2022. Starting June 10, 2022, the free SIM cards were incrementally replaced with a new, low-cost rate plan, MagentaMobil Prepaid Ukraine. All users of the existing SIM cards received a text message (SMS) to notify them of the option to switch to the new rate plan. All calls and texts by our consumers and business customers to and from Ukraine were made free of charge retrospectively from February 22, 2022 – for both the fixed and mobile networks, as well as for public phones. Roaming charges for customers who were in Ukraine were also suspended. This offer was also available until the end of June 2022. Overall, we provided telecommunications services worth around half a billion euros in Germany.
Our national companies in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania also distributed free prepaid SIM cards to refugees. In total, we donated more than 1.5 million SIM cards in Europe. T-Mobile US made phone calls to Ukrainian area codes free of charge for months and also equipped shelters for refugees with broadband lines and routers.
We helped aid organizations to establish call centers to provide helpline advice to refugees in all matters. Nummer gegen Kummer e.V. launched Helpline Ukraine, which gives refugees free, telephone counseling for all concerns, problems, and other relevant topics, on June 1, 2022. Helpline Ukraine is a joint project of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ) and Nummer gegen Kummer e.V., and operates with our support. We give Nummer gegen Kummer e.V. the technical infrastructure for this nationwide counseling service free of charge. We also pay for the call charges to the helpline.
We also provided free Wi-Fi access in shelters for Ukraine refugees in Germany and supplied vehicles for aid convoys heading toward the Poland-Ukraine border. We offered jobs in technical and non-technical areas to refugees in many European countries. New employees were also given help to find accommodation, open bank accounts, and organize child care.
Our employees also demonstrated a great sense of solidarity with refugees from Ukraine. Several hundred Deutsche Telekom employees got together in the spring of 2022 to coordinate the aid. Employees at our national companies, for example, in Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia, volunteered their time, working at borders first and foremost. In Hungary, Magyar Telekom provided a building near the border as accommodation for volunteers. We also donated money to help with aid activities in Ukraine. For example, we have donated one million euros to the German Red Cross (DRK). Many employees in the Czech Republic responded to the call to collect donations. T-Mobile Czech Republic doubled the total collected, which meant the final amount was more than 300 thousand euros.
We discontinued our development activities in Russia during the reporting year. At the same time, we offered our team of software developers, which is based primarily in St. Petersburg and provides services to customers outside of Russia, the opportunity to work outside of Russia. Many employees have accepted this offer in the meantime.
Deutsche Telekom provides calls to Turkey and Syria for free After the devastating earthquake in the border region between Turkey and Syria, Deutsche Telekom made all phone calls and text messages from Germany to Turkey and Syria for Telekom and congstar customers via Deutsche Telekom’s mobile and fixed-networks free retroactively from February 6, 2023 to February 15, 2023. What’s more, the Deutsche Telekom Group enabled free roaming for data, text message, and voice services for Telekom and congstar customers in Turkey and Syria up to February 15, 2023. Prepaid customers have already been recredited accordingly for the credit they had already used. The Group also donated one million euros to Germany's Relief Coalition.
After Russia’s attack on Ukraine in February 2022, we responded quickly and introduced extensive emergency aid services for refugees from Ukraine throughout Europe. The Deutsche Telekom Board of Management devised an extensive set of measures to this end.
In Germany, in coordination with the Federal Agency of Migration and Refugees (BAMF), we provided free pre-paid SIM cards to refugees in the spring of 2022. The SIM cards, which include free phone calls and data volume, were distributed to refugees through our Telekom Shops and through official aid organizations. The offer was valid until June 30, 2022. Starting June 10, 2022, the free SIM cards were incrementally replaced with a new, low-cost rate plan, MagentaMobil Prepaid Ukraine. All users of the existing SIM cards received a text message (SMS) to notify them of the option to switch to the new rate plan. All calls and texts by our consumers and business customers to and from Ukraine were made free of charge retrospectively from February 22, 2022 – for both the fixed and mobile networks, as well as for public phones. Roaming
charges for customers who were in Ukraine were also suspended. This offer was also available until the end of June 2022. Overall, we provided telecommunications services worth around half a billion euros in Germany.
Our national companies in Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania also distributed free prepaid SIM cards to refugees. In total, we donated more than 1.5 million SIM cards in Europe. T-Mobile US made phone calls to Ukrainian area codes free of charge for months and also equipped shelters for refugees with broadband lines and routers.
We helped aid organizations to establish call centers to provide helpline advice to refugees in all matters. Nummer gegen Kummer e.V. launched Helpline Ukraine, which gives refugees free, telephone counseling for all concerns, problems, and other relevant topics, on June 1, 2022. Helpline Ukraine is a joint project of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ) and Nummer gegen Kummer e.V., and operates with our support. We give Nummer gegen Kummer e.V. the technical infrastructure for this nationwide counseling service free of charge. We also pay for the call charges to the helpline.
We also provided free Wi-Fi
access in shelters for Ukraine refugees in Germany and supplied vehicles for aid convoys heading toward the Poland-Ukraine border. We offered jobs in technical and non-technical areas to refugees in many European countries. New employees were also given help to find accommodation, open bank accounts, and organize child care.
Our employees also demonstrated a great sense of solidarity with refugees from Ukraine. Several hundred Deutsche Telekom employees got together in the spring of 2022 to coordinate the aid. Employees at our national companies, for example, in Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia, volunteered their time, working at borders first and foremost. In Hungary, Magyar Telekom provided a building near the border as accommodation for volunteers. We also donated money to help with aid activities in Ukraine. For example, we have donated one million euros to the German Red Cross (DRK). Many employees in the Czech Republic responded to the call to collect donations. T-Mobile Czech Republic doubled the total collected, which meant the final amount was more than 300 thousand euros.
We discontinued our development activities in Russia during the reporting year. At the same time, we offered our team of software developers, which is based primarily in St. Petersburg and provides services to customers outside of Russia, the opportunity to work outside of Russia. Many employees have accepted this offer in the meantime.
Deutsche Telekom provides calls to Turkey and Syria for free
After the devastating earthquake in the border region between Turkey and Syria, Deutsche Telekom made all phone calls and text messages from Germany to Turkey and Syria for Telekom and congstar customers via Deutsche Telekom’s mobile and fixed-networks free retroactively from February 6, 2023 to February 15, 2023. What’s more, the Deutsche Telekom Group enabled free roaming for data, text message, and voice services for Telekom and congstar customers in Turkey and Syria up to February 15, 2023. Prepaid customers have already been recredited accordingly for the credit they had already used. The Group also donated one million euros to Germany's Relief Coalition.