Just as everyone is, we're overwhelmed at the images and videos coming out of Japan, where countless residents and travelers are affected by last week's devastating earthquake and tsunami. We're happy to pass along, though, that AT&T, Sprint, Verizon Wireless, and Verizon are all offering free calling and text messages to Japan for their U.S. customers who want to check on loved ones.
AT&T will not bill postpaid (monthly contract) wireless customers for voice calls or text messages to Japan from a U.S. wireless number, and says that landline customers may call to request an adjusted bill to waive charges for up to 60 minutes of international long distance calls to Japan. Those offers are effective March 11th (i.e., retroactive to the day of the disaster) through March 31st.
Sprint and Verizon Wireless have also both decided to waive charges for cellular voice calls and text messages, and Verizon will waive charges for calls from landline (presumably including FiOS) numbers. We haven't heard about the date range, but they are likely offering the same "through the end of March" deal. Can't hurt to check with customer service before making long calls.
There's some clear PR potential for AT&T here, but we'd prefer to think this offer is as altruistic as it sounds. If you have friends or family members in Japan, I hope you'll be able to reach them.
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