Less than a week after the start of the emergency, Entel reported that 98% of the network is operating normally. In addition to this progress, Entel will provide Internet and telephone service (home and mobile) at $0 cost for work, educational, health and information purposes for 90 days.

The Undersecretary of Telecommunications valued the initiative, as well as the 5,000 simcards delivered to the authorities, and informed that they will be distributed to different users in the affected communities.

As part of its Primera Respuesta Entel Program (in English “First Response Entel”) of support in emergency situations and in support of those affected by the fires in the Valparaíso Region, the technology and telecommunications company activated the Plan Solidario Entel de conectividad (in English “Entel Solidarity Connectivity Plan”), similar to the one it offered during the pandemic and the 2023 fires, which is already available at $0 cost for customers who have active lines and live in the affected areas.

Among the features, subscription customers who request the benefit will have free gigabytes, 300 minutes for calls and 50 SMS per month, while prepaid customers will also have free gigabytes and 300 SMS per month. Meanwhile, home internet service customers will have up to 2Mbps free of charge during the term of the Plan Solidario, and those with an agreement for fixed telephony services will have 300 minutes per month to cell phones and landlines.

Both the mobile and home versions will be valid for 90 days. This benefit may be requested until March 31, 2024.

To make it effective, the customer must enter his request in entel.cl, fill out the form and attach a copy of both sides of his identity card and the government’s FIBE card, a requirement that will be optional and not mandatory during this first week since the process has just begun.

Entel’s Sustainability and Communications Manager, Francisca Florenzano, explained that: “this is an integral response to the needs we identified in our analysis of the role that the company must play after the lessons learned and experiences of events such as the fires last summer, prioritizing the replacement of antennas and critical infrastructure, but without neglecting the integral commitment to ensure communication when it is most needed”.

Regarding this, the Undersecretary of Telecommunications, Claudio Araya, highlighted: “We value every measure that helps the victims of this catastrophe, so that they can maintain their connectivity while they rebuild their lives and that being connected does not imply an additional concern, but on the contrary, it is a help. We are also grateful for the simcards delivered, which will be distributed to different users in the affected communities”.

“Primera Respuesta Entel”

Less than a week after the incident, 98% of Entel’s network is operating normally in the Valparaíso Region, and with this, the “Primera Respuesta Entel” program is added, which brings together various measures to support people affected by this type of emergency. It was designed taking as a reference the best practices of telecommunications companies to support the needs of people in highly complex situations.

In the case of what happened in the Valparaíso region, the reinstatement of the service of 1,200 accounts that were in debt stands out, as well as the delivery of bags of minutes and more gigabytes of navigation to another 121 thousand prepaid customers.

“In addition to the Plan Solidario, as the Undersecretary pointed out, we have made 5,000 simcards available to the authorities so that they can support the victims, we have deployed four additional mobile cars to reinforce connectivity in the affected area, 600 new cellular phones for those who need them most and we will keep National Emergency Roaming active for the next 15 days”, explained Florenzano