Canadians who travel south to the U.S. know they should turn the data service off on their iPhones or face a hefty cell bill when they return. Roaming fees in the U.S. are killer for Canucks, but Rogers is aiming to change that with a newly announced North American One Rate plan.
For an extra 10 dollars a month, Canadians will be able to use as much data as their plan allows without being charged hefty roaming fees.
“Traditional methods of avoiding overages while travelling in the U.S. – ranging from turning data service off entirely to skipping from one WiFi hotspot to another – have defeated the purpose of having a smartphone in the first place,” said Carmi Levy, Independent Technology Analyst. “Smartphone and mobile internet stick customers want predictability in their billing no matter what side of the border they’re on. They’ve made it clear that they’re not terribly fond of end-of-month surprises on their bill. North American One Rate plans take the worry out of using data while travelling. It’s encouraging to see a carrier like Rogers introduce offerings that focus on specific customer needs, and provide greater value that lets smartphone and mobile internet stick owners unlock the potential of their devices no matter where they are.”
Rogers will basically add the $10 a month fee to your existing plan. Once it’s added you’re locked in to paying that fee for the rest of your contract. You can’t take it off when you return home from your trip.
According to Statistics Canada, in October 2009 Canadians made 3.3 million trips to the United States, making it Canada’s most frequent destination for travel.