I think this is great for Bell South to provide this service for those left with out homes, or places to call in that region of the country. I my home rates go up because of the less fortunate, then I will pay that a lot easier than most of those famtom rates the phone company adds to my bill.

Thank you NBC News for keeping the recovery process in fromt of the nation. There is still so much to do the help people in the Gulf Coast. Our church has sent 7 teams to the area over the past 3 months ( my wife left for Slidell this morning, I was in Metairie in October). The folks there are greatful for the help. Thanks to you and NBC Nightly for the coverage. God Bless.

Lucky them! I was in NO/Chalmette for five days and tho' I saw the Bell South phones (at least 6-8 on a board), I could never find one that worked - even those at the Parish offices!

I've been in the telecom industry for 18+ years. I've always said if I could move all my company's offices into Bell South territory, I'd do it in a heartbeat! They are one of the best LEC's (local exchange carrier) in the country.

Bell South is funny , overpriced, service is spotty, we need them but what we need is good Reliable service.

I think its wonderful that theres still people out there that will give to someone thats less fortunate, more people should do that.

Great example of One (1) company taking the lead to help others communicate in these disaster stricken areas of the south...and let's please not forget about the others in areas needing help with rebuilding too...in LA, AL and Florida also.

My blog links to the latest announcements not getting a lot of media attn - and with your help we now can!

The FREE wireless internet connection in New Orleans to help people - get connected and be able to start to make a living online - is the next wave of our economy - and you heard it here 1st...!

But - It truly needs to be made more of a priority NEWS Story - as this is the only way we have been able to support - my child and family members - in the midst of this up and down economy...and I am sharing this with others...

So please MSNBC share this with the country too.

My Best Always,
Stephen Rene
http://FathersWhoCare.blogspot.com

Way to go Bell South, that is how our country was founded, helping one another. I spent 4 weeks down there with the Oklahoma Army National guard restoring order and helping with the rescue effort. If we (The United States) all do something, New Orleans will recover and have hope.

BellSouth isn't that great. Cox Communications has had our cable and internet up for a couple weeks in New Orleans, but BellSouth has said phones will be another month. Thank goodness for Vonage.

For those of you complaining about Bell South's bad service, I'm sure that the people who are able to use the phones are not complaining. Sure, they might not be the best company out there, but at least they're doing something - that's more than the other companies can say. Apparently they work at least once in a while, which is better than nothing.

Thats right, Alison. The company is providing a free service for people to use. I'm glad Brad D. can sit and watch animal planet, but i'm sure the people of the gulf coast would prefer their houses back than the be able to watch beavis & butthead. That may be more important to him than letting the world know your ok and you need help.

The only thing Bell South had going for them was reliability. When I pick up my phone in Atlanta it works probably 99.9999% of the time.

But now I use Bell South as a backup. I'm down to one line from 5 lines. I now use VoIP over Comcast. Comcast can not hold a candle to Bell South as far as reliability is concerned. They may be up 99% of the time but that's not close to Bell South's 99.9999% of the time. Comcast dropped their connection 3 or 4 times just today. What happens if someone has a heart attack during those times? Comcast simply must improve.

On the other hand Bell South lied about DSL availability. For years I waited. For years they implied it was just around the corner. After they finally provided the service I didn't need that slow speed. Folks can't effectively do VoIP over DSL.

So, I use Comcast. My VoIP connection is great. I have zero long-distance changes. I paid for one year of service with SunRocket. But next year it looks like Skype will be the cheapest and best solution. I have no idea how Bell South will remain in business once Comcast improves reliability. Of course - that might not happen.