WASHINGTON (Reuters):
CINGULAR WIRELESS, the No.1 U.S. wireless carrier, has said it would give customers in the areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina discounts on their cellphone bills, including roaming charges and text messages.
Customers in the New Orleans and Biloxi, Mississippi, markets will receive a one-time 50 per cent credit on their monthly fee and will not be charged for roaming, extra minutes, long-distance or text messaging from late August through September 30, according to a September 8 letter made available on Friday.
Cingular's subscribers in the markets of Mobile, Alabama, Jackson, Mississippi, Baton Rouge and Lafayette, Louisiana, will get a one-time 25 per cent discount on their monthly charge as well as unspecified discounts on roaming and text messages.
EXPRESSING CONCERNS
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) sought details from the companies on what they were doing to help displaced hurricane victims who had not paid their bills since they had to be evacuated.
Cingular told the FCC the carrier would not shut off customers in the affected areas for 30 days and would stop collection efforts in Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
The company declined to say what impact, if any, the policies would have on its revenue.
Verizon Wireless, the No.2 carrier, said it was working on a case-by-case basis with customers, would not cut them off and had stopped bill collections. Sprint Nextel the No. 3 wireless carrier, said it would give a month of free wireless service to subscribers in the hardest-hit areas and would also give free long-distance, extra minutes, roaming and text messaging.
Sprint also said in its own letter to the FCC that it would not cut off customers and has stopped trying to collect on unpaid bills. It did not reveal how long it would do so.
