Italy, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in Europe, is now restricting travel across the entire country, a move by the government as it furiously tries to stop the spread of the coronavirus(COVID-19).
And since millions will stay home they will need to work and entartain themselves at home. An initiative to reduce the social and economic impact is started by Italian Minister for Technological Innovation and Digitization. Some of the biggest companies are offering free solutions for both work and pleasure. We are listing companies and services they offer. More companies are expected to join soon.
ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT – Amazon Web Service (AWS) offers a credit package to provide public administrations, non-governmental and non-profit organizations, startups and businesses with access to a support plan and assistance channel for emergency-related projects. Membership requests can be sent by email to awsforitaly@amazon.com. Amazon puts at the disposal of residents of the red zone until 31 March 2020, also streaming platform Prime Video . Activation is automatic, by accessing Prime Video online or by downloading the Prime Video app on tablets, smart TVs, Ios or Android phones.
ELECTRONIC CONNECTION AND MAIL – Eolo offers a month of free internet connectivity to customers residing in the red areas. Activation is automatic. Furthermore, for all those residing in the municipalities of the red zone, Italia Online makes the 1 giga Libero Mail Pec available for one year free of charge. The service can be activated from 9 to 30 March 2020 by visiting the web address mailpec.libero.it.
TELEPHONE COMPANIES – Unlimited GBs and unlimited voice traffic to fixed and mobile numbers – up to March 27, 2020 – is available for all Tim prepaid mobile users, based on their active profile. Users interested in the initiative will be informed directly by Tim with an sms. For the Public Administration and for business users, the company makes available, regardless of the geographical area, 100 Giga free for 30 days to all business mobile lines with active data bundle. Interested users will be informed by text message, replying to which they can activate the service. Vodafone eliminates the limits of minutes, sms and GB. Furthermore, to facilitate smart working procedures, the elimination of data traffic limits on sim voices is provided for users working in Italian companies. This initiative is active for a month. The activation of the service is automatic. Fastweb, on the other hand, offers for free in the red areas the increase up to 50GB of the data package of all the rechargeable sims. The service does not expire and will remain included in the offer of users forever. Activation is automatic .
PUBLISHING – Free subscriptions to Mondadori Group magazines have also been made available to citizens of Italy. The service allows the reading of magazines in digital format. Available titles are CasaFacile, Chi, Donna Moderna, Focus, Focus Junior, Focus Storia, GialloZafferano, Grazia, Icon, Icon Design and Tv Sorrisi e Canzoni . The service can be used through Spid. The same method also provides free access to the reading of an e-book of your choice for the user (including non-fiction, fiction, miscellaneous and children’s books) from the Mondadori catalog. The chosen book can be viewed with the Kobo Books app, available for free for smartphones, tablets and PCs. La Stama, La Republica and il Matino are offering the subscription free for three months.
TRAINING – Amazon also offers free training webinars, lasting one hour and a half, on STEM subjects and is intended for teachers of primary and secondary schools of the red zones. The courses will cover the opportunities of Creative Learning and Coding applied to teaching. During the activity, free tools will be presented to create an innovative ‘kit’ for classroom projects. To participate, you can send an email to itfctourleaders@amazon.com with the subject ‘Webinar STEM’, indicating your personal details and the institution to which you belong. The teacher will receive an email with instructions and access credentials. WeSchool (powered by TIM) is the digital classroom platform that allows teachers, using smartphones, tablets or computers, to bring their class online, share materials, create discussions, discuss content, manage group work, checks and tests.There is a virtual classroom for remote video streaming . To use the platform for free, you can consult the guide at the link on the site https://www.weschool.com/primi-passi-weschool/.
SMART WORKING – Connexia provides the use of the Webex smart working platform for two weeks, free of charge, to all entities that request it. At the end of the period there will be no obligation or cost to the user. To activate the service, send a request to the email cloud@connexia.com indicating the name of the company and the names, surnames and email addresses of the people who will schedule the sessions. For businesses and professionals, access to Cisco Webex Meetings is available for free. The platform allows remote work, allows you to plan and participate in meetings, collaborate and share documents and data .
Microsoft technology and IT experts are also available free of charge to allow the adoption of smart working solutions, also on the move, for SMEs, private and public companies, institutions and schools, both already customers and not. To join, consult the website. Even Joinconference provides its audio and videoconferencing services for smart working free of charge to businesses and professionals residing in the red zone. You can request the service by writing an email to emergenza.covid@joinconferencing.com or on the dedicated web site .
