The Chief Executive Officer(CEO) at BICS, Matteo Gatta has strongly appealed to telecommunications operators to help facilitate communications between Ukraine and Europe as it hurdles through its invasion by Russia supported by Belarus.

Mr. Gatta said: “We must do everything we can to connect Ukrainian citizens with their loved ones, out of the country.

“I am urging EU mobile operators to remove all charges on voice calls coming out of Ukraine and terminating into their networks. BICS will play its role by carrying this traffic at no cost.

“At the very least, European Mobile operators should bring their termination costs in line with MTR costs (mobile termination rates) for calls within the European Union, which will still allow Ukrainian operators to reduce the cost of these calls for their subscribers. Also in this case, BICS will play its role by carrying this traffic at no cost.

“Telecoms is critical infrastructure and being able to connect people with their loved ones has never been more important than it is now. I call for united action in this urgent time of need.”