Many Canadians Will Be Charged More To Use Their Phone Abroad - But There's A Workaround

Bad news, travellers! Two of Canada's biggest telecom providers are raising their international roaming fees, which means Canadians will have to start paying more to use their phones abroad.

Starting next week, both Telus and Bell will bump up the fees they charge Canadians for international roaming, including in the U.S.

As of March 8, Telus customers will fork out $14 per day when using the internet on their phone in the United States, and $16 per day for the same privilege anywhere else in the world.

This is up from the previous daily charge of $12 for U.S. roaming and $15 for roaming elsewhere.

CBC News reports that customers using the Telus-owned discount brand Koodo will also experience similar fee increases.

What's more, Bell is also hiking its overseas charges as of a day later — March 9.

Customers of the Canadian telecom giant can expect to pay $13 for U.S. roaming (up from $12) and $16 for international roaming elsewhere (up from $15).

Those increases will impact customers using Bell-owned subsidiaries too, including Virgin Mobile.

Rogers, another of Canada's telecom giants, declined to tell CBC whether it planned to increase its rates, but confirmed they are currently $12 per day for U.S. roaming and $15 internationally — including for its brands Chatr and Fido.

It's more bad news for Canadian customers, who are apparently paying among the highest telecom bills in the world.

While the feds have committed to tackling Canada's hefty wireless prices, Canadians have been coming up with workarounds of their own.

Over on Reddit, in response to the news of international roaming charges increasing, affected customers have been sharing the ways they save money when using their phones abroad.

Among the most popular solutions are eSIMs, new sim cards bought directly from the country you're visiting, or simply leaving your phone at home (or in your hotel).

"Lol don’t pay for this garbage. I used an eSIM last time I was in Europe and have never looked back. It was about 12 bucks for an entire two week trip," one Canadian said.

An eSIM, Apple explains, is "an industry-standard digital SIM that allows you to activate a cellular plan from your carrier without having to use a physical SIM."

It's possible to install multiple eSIMs on a singular smartphone, and you can even use separate phone numbers.

"You can also buy a sim at the location for mere dollars," suggested another Reddit user.

Several people agreed, noting that you can pick up a sim card in the country you're visiting and either pay a monthly fee if you're travelling for a longer period of time, or simply top it up as you go and pay for your usage.

According to Redditors, either way this will work out cheaper than paying a daily charge of $12 to $15.

"I ordered one on Amazon last time we went to Florida. 40 bucks for 10 days text talk and 10gigs of Data. I see now that they are Unlimited data for around the same price," another advised.

"Last time I was in Europe, $14 got me a sim with 10gb for a month. Why on earth would I pay $14 a day, just to use my existing plan?" agreed another.

Of course, you can also try to stick to using Wi-Fi while you're abroad, which you will not be charged for regardless of your roaming plan.

These prices are confirmed at the time of publishing, but they can change at any time. Taxes and fees may not be included.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.