Coming home from a long motorcycle trip reminded me how much easier travel connectivity has become. No need to buy a travel SIM on arrival, just download and install an eSIM while you’re still at home and be ready to connect right when you arrive.
Don’t get me wrong: I still prefer to mostly disconnect when I’m travelling. But having the ability to look up maps on your phone while exploring new territory is just too convenient, so even I need travel data now. On my motorcycle trip, having navigation was a nice bonus. Following the Pacific Coast Highway all the way south sounds easy, until you’re in the middle of it. Or want to take a detour for lunch.
My travel eSIM worked great and was much cheaper than the daily roaming charge Rogers would’ve charged me for their “Roam like home”.1 On the way back home, I pulled over shortly after crossing the border back into Canada to switch back to my home eSIM. I unlocked my iPhone and discovered it had already made the switch for me. Thanks, Siri.
Travel eSIMS are almost too convenient
The automatic switch back made me realize smart phones have made travelling and staying connected almost too convenient. I’ve used Airalo and other travel eSIMs for several trips now, and the process is straightforward.
You can read my detailed post with step by step instructions on using travel eSIMS here.
While travelling, the travel eSIM provides the data through one of the many global partner networks. My regular number remains my number. That last part didn’t used to be so straightforward, as I wanted iMessage to continue working with my Canadian phone number while I travelled. Historically, that meant keeping my Rogers eSIM switched on, which then introduced the possibility of roaming charges.
So I went through the exercise of getting Rogers to block roaming, to prevent accidental charges. That was about as much fun as contacting a large Canadian telecom company usually is, but eventually I got it done.
Keeping iMessage and FaceTime active
In practice, a recent iOS update makes my iPhone handle this much better. iMessage can now keep my regular number active while my travel eSIM handles the cellular data, even when the home eSIM is turned off. With the eSIM completely off, I know for sure I can’t get billed for “Roam like home”, plus I found my travel eSIM actually worked better without a competing second eSIM with blocked roaming. So on my recent trip, I stayed reachable through my usual number on iMessage and FaceTime without needing Rogers roaming.
Then, when I crossed back into Canada, my phone figured out that the Canadian eSIM should take over again. All ny worrying, fiddling with settings, and wasting time on the phone with Rogers was mostly unnecessary.
The home SIM became the bigger problem
Ironically, my travel connectivity was easier (and cheaper!) than my Canadian connectivity. I had been paying $39 per month for a Rogers plan which included 60GB of data, of which I generally use around half. For Canada, that price is actually pretty decent - most people pay (much) more.
Then, without much notice (who reads the small fine print on the bill?) Rogers added another $5 line item to my bill: “Wireless Plan Rate Adjustment.” The $5 isn’t a big deal, but the principle is.
Canadian telecom companies spend enormous amounts of energy (and money) advertising discounts for new customers. Once you sign up for a plan, the rates keep going up, usually a few dollars each time. Sure, everything gets more expensive. But what happened to loyalty and taking care of your customers?
Whatever happened to loyalty?
Loyalty between customers and big companies has always been somewhat fictional. You used to get grandfathered in to the gym rate you signed up for. Not anymore: Equinox has bumped my rate every year after they wish me a happy anniversary. A get a modest spa discount and another guest pass (or two) in exchange. Rogers gets me nothing.
The Canadian wireless market seems to work in reverse, with the best offers going to the person threatening to leave.2 Paying my bill every month simply means I’m available for “adjustment”.
Moreover, you can’t get a hold of anyone to discuss your frustration. Getting past “Anna”, the automated chatbot, to reach an actual person isn’t easy.
So I didn’t threaten to leave, I just left
Given how cheap and reliable my connection was on my trip, I started looking for alternatives after I came home. I eventually landed on Fizz. Unlike some of the other cheaper providers, they have their own network in Canadian cities.3
Even the signup process immediately felt different: they asked me if I wanted a voicemail. I don’t need it anymore (details here). Disabling carrier voicemail with Rogers turned out to be another mission impossible.4
After some experimentation with a temporary number, I found the network behaved well. They also offered some flexibility around building the plan itself, so I can include the data and other options I need, while leaving out what I don’t. No need to have 150GB worth of data if I only use 30.
$5 was never the point
My new plan is only $29 a month, so I’m saving $15 compared to the bumped up Rogers rate. But the story isn’t about the money. Rogers didn’t suddenly become terrible because of a $5 increase. It’s about the strangely liberating feeling of getting away from a company where you can’t get a hold of anyone.
Canada needs more competition like that. I like not automatically handing another monthly payment to one of the Big Three. If you want maximum network performance everywhere and don’t care much about the price or the corporate experience, Fizz may not be for you. But if you like to have a little adventure, and try something new, maybe it’s worth a shot.
So far, my experience has been great. I’ll certainly let you know if that changes.
Living by Experience readers get $25 off their new Fizz plan. If you’re curious to try a Canadian provider outside the big three, give this a try. Details at https://fizz.ca
Use the code below on checkout to get $25 off: MQE8F
Further reading
Rogers would have charged me $15 per day of international travel. On my 3 week trip that would have been $315+. I paid a one-time $32 instead for a 10GB USA eSIM from Airalo, which (with some tweaked settings on my phone to limit data use), was more than enough for the entire trip.
Last year, I’ve experienced the same with my internet provider. After increasing my rate for years, Telus offered me to pay less than half when I switched to smaller, local provider. While there were a few initial hiccups with the install, I haven’t looked back. My cost is lower, speeds higher, and when something does go wrong I can simply send an email to a real person, 24/7/365.
Fizz is part of Quebecor and uses the Freedom/Videotron network infrastructure along with partner coverage outside major cities. Other discount providers like Koodo and Fido rely on the big 3 networks for their coverage, and my preference was to break up with them permanently.