SIM Cards, or Subscriber Identification Modules, are the small smart cards that sit inside our iPhones and give us our connection to the cellular network. SIM Cards also come free with a phone/device purchase.

Normally SIM cards have a long life, usually in excess of five years, but sometimes they “burn out” or are defective. When the SIM card does not work, this usually requires a trip to the carrier store to buy a new one.

In the last few years, SIM cards have slowly been rising in price, starting at around $25 a couple of years ago and maxing out at around $40 recently. Some people have even reported paying as high as $45 or $50 for a single SIM card!

While Rogers/Fido have been charging about $40 or higher for standalone SIM Cards, the price of SIM Cards has begun to drop recently with TELUS SIM Cards costing $10 and Bell SIM Cards costing $5.00.

Well Fido has now made their SIM cards $10 (their cost is $2!) when purchased standalone and free when a phone/device is activated on a 2/3 year term (which is rather standard across carriers). This is good news for Fido customers who may have to replace a SIM Card, since paying $10 is much better than paying $40!

On the Rogers end of business, while they have not announced $10 SIM Cards yet, the company has released a $30 SIM Card Starter Kit that includes one SIM Card, a $20 airtime voucher, and a tourist guide for Vancouver. This is essentially an Olympic promotion. The point to note is $30 for the package less $20 airtime is $10 for the SIM Card. So let’s hope that after the Vancouver 2010 Olympics, the $10 Rogers SIM card stays true.