Currently I am sitting on a train that is going 100 mph between London, United Kingdom and Glasgow, Scotland. I am typing this on my laptop that is tethered to my cell phone. That cell phone is connected to Vodafone UK and Rogers roaming at the same time. This seamless connection happened with no extra steps by me. This dear folks in the beautiful magic of Rogers Roam Like Home.
The Game Of Sim Cards
I travel a ton. A lot. I am lucky to be self employed and I am able to work anywhere there is Internet. That internet is therefore very important in keeping my businesses going. Traveling around means I am constantly looking for ways to get and stay connected. I have countless sim cards for various countries because as most people know, Canadian Roaming USE to cost way way too much. Getting connected in various countries, even the USA, usually requires purchasing a NEW sim card, because the old sim card expires. Then you need to purchase a local phone plan in the location you are visiting. Although this sounds like a nice and simple idea, it really is not. Sometimes I am lucky and they have them at the airport. I can purchase an overpriced airport sim card and then with usually a lot of effort, create a new account at that local cell phone company using spotty airport wifi. Then, cross fingers, hopefully – Get online for my trip. Usually, this is not the case and I am required to travel out of the airport without a connected cell phone. This means no Google maps or sometimes internet to magically connect with the person who might be picking me up or whatever other way I happen to be getting to my hotel. Sometimes I have to go on a hunt in the new city to find a place that is selling sim cards that will work with my phone. This can take awhile. You better also hope it is not a holiday or the weekend, or this process is made even harder.
Enter Rogers Roam Like Home. For simply 5$ a day in the USA or $10 a day in over 100 other international destinations, you are able to roam, just like you are at home with no additional charges! I get off the plane and boom. Service. I can immediately catch up on emails and text messages… and send a quick note off to whomever is picking me up. I feel just like a local as my phone too springs into life on place landing.
I have used this service in several countries now, including the USA, UK, Ireland and Scotland. When I landed in Ireland there was a brief issue with my sim card syncing up to the network. I did a quick google online and found that sometimes you need to change the settings (network operators under settings on android specifically) to register directly on the network, not automatically. When I did that, I connected no problem.
Where Can I Roam Like Home?
Over 100 destinations can do this – Check them All Out…
Included Destinations:
Europe:
Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azores, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canary Islands, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guernsey, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Jersey, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madeira, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, Northern Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Scotland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, Vatican City, Wales
Excludes: Andorra, Belarus, Bosnia, Cyprus, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Kosovo, Latvia, Macedonia, Moldova, Serbia, St. Pierre and Miquelon
Caribbean & Mexico:
Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Bonaire, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Mexico, Montserrat, Saba, St. Barts, St. Eustatius, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Maarten, St. Martin, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos
South America:
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Galapagos Islands, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela
Excludes:
Falkland Islands
Central America:
Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama
Excludes:
Belize
Africa:
South Africa
Asia:
Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Pakistan, Russia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan
The Middle East:
Israel
Oceania:
Australia, New Zealand
As you can see it is available in over 100 countries… which is pretty much anywhere you want to go. So where DO you want to go? If you could travel to a location and keep working like you were at your desk via online, which country would you pick?
Rogers Roam Like Home – Even In Remote Locations
I was very impressed that even on my island tour of Scotland and the isle of Skye that I was still connected to cell service even in some pretty remote locations. There were a few moments of no service but even up on this crazy mountain I climbed I was able to update my Foursquare and tell my friends back home that I just climbed a mountain. All on the Rogers Roam Like Home Plan. As long as the local partner has service, you will be connected.
What are Canadians doing during March Break?
Here are some interesting stats about how Canadian’s spend their March breaks.
- 68% of Canadian travellers go to the US
- 11% of Canadian travellers heading to Mexico
- 12% of Canadian travellers go to the Caribbean
- A lucky 2% are going to Australia/New Zealand.
Canadians also worry about roaming and the charges that go with it. If you ever got stuck with one of those crazy phone bills you know why! Roaming can add up quickly, even for just a few text messages. Worry no more. The MAXIMUM you will be charged is $100/month for International Zone and $50/month for US. If you are travelling in both the US and the International Zone for 10 days or more in both zones, you would have a maximum charge of $150. That is for complete full coverage just like you have back home. Same phone number. Same connectivity.
Rogers Roam like home is life changing when it comes to me navigating online and around. The convenience of it just working immediately without having to hassle around with the sim cards and accounts and such… It’s indispensable. Try it on your next trip. You wont regret it.