US-Iran Conflict: How Telcos are Supporting Customers

Virgin Media O2 is helping customers affected by events in the Middle East by crediting back the cost of calls, SMS messages and data.

The measures, running until 7 March, are for customers sending or receiving texts and calls to and from the UK to Bahrain, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and UAE. 

Virgin Media O2 says the measures are inclusive of O2 Pay Monthly, O2 Pay As You Go and Virgin Media Home Phone customers.

British nationals stuck in the Middle East

Thousands of flights between the UK and the Middle East have been cancelled since 28 February, prompting Virgin Media O2 to extend a helping hand to impacted customers. 

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told the BBC on Monday that there were an estimated 300,000 British citizens in Gulf countries. One British family told reporters they were stranded in Oman after their flight from Malaysia was diverted and did not have access to their luggage.

Cooper also told MPs that the "safety and security" of British nationals was a "top priority".

In a statement, Virgin Media O2 said: "We appreciate this is a developing situation and we'll continue to review the measures we have in place to support our customers."

Lutz Schüler, CEO at Virgin Media O2, added: "We're continuing to monitor the situation and will continue to review how we support our customers in the area."

Other telcos helping nationals in the Middle East

Meanwhile, the US State Department has urged its nationals to immediately leave most of the Middle East due to "serious safety risks", saying Americans should "depart now via commercial means".

Between 500,000 and one million US nationals are estimated to be living in the Middle East, but exact official numbers are not available as Americans are not required to register with US authorities when they move abroad.

Headquartered in Washington, T-Mobile is an international network providing services for the US, UK and Europe. It has provided all its customers residing in Middle Eastern destinations affected by the conflicts with free data for 30 days (from 1 March) to help them connect with loved ones.

The operator currently has 3,800 customers in the Middle East. Each has been given a free 10GB roaming data package, specifically those in Iran, Israel, Bahrain, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan and Oman.

Other telecommunications providers in the UK

At the time of writing, Virgin Media O2 is the only UK telco provider which has taken steps to help its UK customers. 

British nationals have been urged to sign up to the UK Government's 'Register Your Presence' to receive free updates from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) on the situation in the Middle East.

The government office advised those currently affected: "You should continue to follow travel advice and the advice of the local authorities."