SAN FRANCISCO—CTIA President and CEO Steve Largent during yesterday's keynote session at Wireless I.T. & Entertainment called on the wireless industry to help fund-raising efforts for those who are left without homes in Southern California.
Subscribers of participating wireless carriers can donate $5 to relief efforts by text messaging the keyword "GIVE" to "2HELP" (24357). The donations will appear on customers' monthly bills or be debited from prepaid account balances.
Two years ago, CTIA launched a similar campaign to help survivors of Hurricane Katrina. The association activated the process again this week in light of the wildfire tragedies in Southern California.
Wireless carriers participating in Text 2HELP include AT&T Mobility, Alltel, Boost Mobile, Sprint, T-Mobile USA, Verizon Wireless and SunCom. VeriSign is powering the intelligent messaging infrastructure to enable the short message service.