Telco giant Vodafone drops struggling customers’ bills to $10 per month during coronavirus crisis
New $10 deals will be rolled out by a telco giant, in a bid to help financially struggling Australians cope during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Cash-strapped Australians have been given a reprieve by a telco giant who has rolled out temporary $10 plans.
One of the nation’s largest telcos, Vodafone, has introduced a new temporary plan to provide financial relief for customers struggling with money woes amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new “Stay Connected Plan” will be available from Monday, April 20, for existing Vodafone consumer postpaid voice customers and business customers.
To be eligible customers must apply via the Vodafone website.
The telco’s chief executive officer Inaki Berroeta said they hoped the new deal would ease the financial burden for many people struggling with their ongoing costs during the coronavirus outbreak.
“We recognise this is a very stressful time for many of our customers who have lost employment or income as a result of COVID-19 and we are a key part of their support network,” he said.
“The plan will allow customers to stay connected to the people important to them and the services they need without worrying about their phone bill.”
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The new deal is available for three months and includes 3GB of data for use in Australia and proof of financial difficulty must be shown.
After three months the customers will then return to their existing plan.
Telco comparison website WhistleOut’s spokesman Kenny McGilvary said he’s been “really impressed” with the different offers telcos have rolled out to help customers during COVID-19.
“Vodafone’s temporary $10 Stay Connected plan will be well received by anyone who is experiencing financial hardship and needs a great bang-for-buck phone plan,” he said.
“This $10 deal represents the best value for 3GB data available right now and we hope affected Vodafone customers take advantage of the deal.”
Telcos have been rolling out new initiatives in recent weeks to respond to COVID-19 including Optus who said doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers would not have to worry about paying mobile phone bills for three months.
Vodafone also has supported health workers, offering two months of free phone service to registered practitioners to help them get on with the job and stay connected.
Telstra and Optus also announced additional broadband and mobile internet access free of charge during the coronavirus pandemic.
Telstra is providing unlimited downloads until the end of April while Optus is giving its postpaid smartphone users access to an extra 20GB of data during April, and 10GB for prepaid users.