Rogers, Telus, Bell Donate $50K to Hurricane Fiona Relief and More

Image: Bell

As Hurricane Fiona makes landfall in Atlantic Canada, telecommunications services are more instrumental than ever in ensuring that Canadians can stay connected with their loved ones and emergency services.

To that end, Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne is organizing telecom operators in the impacted areas to “ensure their services are working to the fullest extent possible in these circumstances and to assist each other if services go down.”

Minister Champagne said in a tweet earlier today that he has spoken to the CEOs of pertinent operators about the matter.

On the operators’ side, each of the Big Three (Bell, Rogers, and Telus) announced a $50,000 donation to the Canadian Red Cross and other local charities to support efforts on the ground.

Rogers furthermore announced it would waive fees for long-distance calls within Canada and give eligible customers 50GB of free mobile data to use until September 28.

(2/2) We’re also giving eligible customers an extra 50GB of mobile data to use between Sept.24-28 & waiving fees for LD calls within Canada.

— Rogers News (@AboutRogers) September 24, 2022

Telus, meanwhile, has waived charges for calls, texts, and data overages for all customers impacted by Hurricane Fiona.

You can also support relief efforts by texting DONATE to 41010 to donate $20 to the TELUS @FriendlyFuture. If there are any other updates to share, we’ll add them to this thread. #HurricaneFiona

— TELUS (@TELUS) September 24, 2022

The company is also facilitating customers in donating directly to relief efforts. Telus customers can donate $20 to the cause by texting DONATE to 41010.

Bell is offering an extra 50GB of mobile data to eligible customers in Atlantic Canada and the Magdalen Islands, valid until September 28. Like Telus, Bell has also set up a direct donation line for customers. Bell customers donate $10 to relief efforts by texting FIONA to 20222.

You can help by texting FIONA to 20222 to donate $10.

— Bell (@Bell) September 24, 2022

In addition to offering relief, it is imperative for telecom operators to maintain their networks and ensure their services stay online. According to Bell, most of its network equipment sites across Atlantic Canada and Eastern Québec/Îles-de-la-Madeleine are operational, including more than 70 that have been hit by power outages.

2/2 We are continuing to deploy generators to the remaining impacted sites and are working with utilities to restore full power ASAP. As power is restored across the regions, Internet and TV customers may need to turn their modems and receivers off and on again to reboot service.

— Bell (@Bell) September 24, 2022

The company is deploying generators to the remaining affected sites to bring services back online in those areas. Bell is also working with utilities to restore the power supply, the company said.