Last Updated on: 22nd March 2020, 09:57 am
Rogers offering free TV channels, global roaming and more in response to COVID-19
Toronto-based national carrier Rogers has implemented a number of measures and free services to help its customers during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Rogers and its brands are waiving long distance voice calling fees across Canada from now until April 30th. This applies to wireless, home phone and small business customers subscribed to Rogers, Fido and Chatr.
Further, for customers who need to be outside of Canada or are making their way home, Rogers and Fido are going waive Roam like Home, Fido Roam and pay-per-use roaming fees in all available destinations for postpaid consumers and small businesses until April 30th.The national carrier also says that services will not be suspended or disconnected for any customers experiencing financial difficulties over the next 90 days. It says it will support its customers facing financial uncertainty because of COVID-19 with more flexible payment options.
They’ll also be offering a selection of family and news channels for free to help keep kids entertained and the rest of us informed until at least April 30th.
And if you’re a company that suddenly has a lot more people working from home than it used to, you may also be happy to know that thanks to a partnership with Microsoft, free access to both Microsoft Teams and Office 365 is being made available for the next six months.
But wait, there’s more!
Rogers is one of several companies that will be temporarily suspending their bandwidth limits and not charging overage fees for home and business internet customers. It’s a nice gesture that I hesitate to complain about, but it once again illustrates just how much of a lie and a cash grab those limits have always been. If they were truly necessary to maintain the quality of the system, shouldn’t we need them now more than ever? Should we not be rationing bandwidth as if it were bread or even toilet paper?
Oh well. It’s still the right thing to do, and it’s good that they’re doing it. It wouldn’t have surprised me one bit to see any or all of these companies sit back and do nothing. Thanks for doing your bit to help us all ride this out, guys.