Following a devastating 6.2 magnitude earthquake hitting central Italy yesterday (about 13:36 AEST) Telstra and Optus are offering free calls to their customers who need to contact friends or relative who might be in the region.
Telstra landline and post-paid mobile and pre-paid mobile (pre-paid via refund on 8 September) customers will be able to call both fixed and mobile numbers in Italy free of charge between 12:01 am AEST Thursday 25th of August until 11:59 pm on the 1st of September.
Optus landline and post-paid mobile and pre-paid mobile customers will be able to call both fixed and mobile numbers in Italy free of charge between 12:01 am AEST Friday 26th of August until 11:59 pm on the 8th of September.
Remember that there will be both a high volume of calls as well as potential infrastructure damage in the area so getting a connection may be difficult. If you have people you are trying to connect with you can also try services such as Facebooks Safety Check that automatically makes contact with people they have tracked to be in the affected areas.
If you do have friends or family in Central Italy our thoughts are with you and hope you are able to communicate with them soon.
