Quebecor’s Freedom Mobile has launched a new campaign on Thursday, with the lengthy hashtag #EndOverpricedRoamingFeesNow, to challenge ‘Big 3’ incumbents, Rogers, Telus and Bell, on their costly roaming charges.
The campaign encourages Canadians to sign a Change.org petition and demand fairer pricing from our dominant telecoms.
The move comes after the CRTC requested these companies to address complaints about high roaming fees. Despite the pressure, Rogers, Telus and Bell defended their daily roaming rates, which can cost Canadians as much as $16 per day while traveling, saying their pricing is competitive.
“When travelling, Canadians shouldn’t have to choose between staying connected or breaking the bank,” said Jean B. Péladeau, Senior Vice-President Marketing at Freedom Mobile, in a statement to iPhone in Canada. “We believe wireless should be affordable, reliable, and worry-free for all Canadians, even when travelling.”
Freedom pointed out that, for a family of four, roaming fees for a week-long trip can add up to over $400 on top of their usual monthly plans.
“We demand an end to these unfair and inflexible roaming fees, and we call on the incumbent carriers to take it upon themselves to implement fair and affordable roaming options for their customers. Once and for all,” reads the petition. As of writing, it has 87 signatures and rising.
The Change.org petition, part of the campaign, aims to show public opposition to these charges. Freedom Mobile plans to submit the collected signatures to “relevant authorities” to include in their analyses of wireless roaming.
All Freedom Mobile plans $35 and higher include Canada-US-Mexico roaming for talk, text and data, while others include international roaming. On Thursday morning, Telus-owned Public Mobile matched Freedom Mobile by offering similar Canada-US-Mexico roaming plans from $35.
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Really !? I'm sceptical about a family of four having a need to pay $400 in data roaming fees while traveling outside Canada. Previous experience suggests less than $100 is spent by purchasing a out-of-country data roaming package. Alternately, customers can purchase an ESIM roaming package for much less in most countries.
If Freedom is referring to Big 3 roaming fees, international is at least $15/16 per day depending on carrier.
Even at $15/day x 4 people, that’s $60. A one week vacation would be $420, so not far off?
The object of the game is to have people able to use their own Canadian phone numbers and data to roam cost effectively. Not have to use some other e-sim particularly when it is difficult to turn off your main line and use the other sim. Phone calls still come in and cause roaming charges.
Really !? I'm sceptical about a family of four having a need to pay $400 in data roaming fees while traveling outside Canada. Previous experience suggests less than $100 is spent by purchasing a out-of-country data roaming package. Alternately, customers can purchase an ESIM roaming package for much less in most countries.