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Rogers and Fido launch “International Wi-Fi Calling” add-on

By on August 25, 2011 at 10:22am in Mobile News, Rogers Wireless News


Rogers recently released new roaming packages but today, along with Fido, have launched an “International Wi-Fi Calling” add-on. There are two price points, $25 and $40, both good for 30 days and gives Wi-Fi calling capable phones (UMA) the ability to make calls over a Wi-Fi connection while traveling.

This could save you a bit more money, the $25 plan gives you International roaming rates and Unlimited Wi-Fi calling back to Canada. Meanwhile the $40 plan includes Unlimited local Canadian calling and long distance, plus Unlimited Wi-Fi calling. The fine print states that “Calls made back to Canada over Wi-Fi will not be charged against shared roaming plan minutes.”

The Wi-Fi capable devices are the following: HTC EVO 3D, BlackBerry 8120, 8220, 8320, 8820, 8520, 9100, 9300, 9700, 9800 and soon to include the 9900, 9810, 9860.

(Thanks tipster!)

Related posts:

  1. Fido rolls out “Circle Calling”… offers free Unlimited local calls to 4 people
  2. Virgin increasing Long Distance, Local Calling, Web Browsing & International Texting prices April 15th
  3. Rogers rolling out new $30 Incoming Calling Plan March 21st
  4. Virgin intros $35/month City Unlimited Calling plan, removes Zones

Discussion

29 comments for “Rogers and Fido launch “International Wi-Fi Calling” add-on”

  1. Fail. Way too expensive, and only work on select blackberries.
    Better to use your favorite VoIP provider and your favorite SIP client.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 60 Thumb down 3

    Posted by bob | August 25, 2011, 10:23 am
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  2. Have to agree with Bob.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 19 Thumb down 0

    Posted by Thurnis | August 25, 2011, 10:28 am
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  3. Plus airports where they charge one for WiFi is kind of pointless, and places with weak WiFi connections too.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 15 Thumb down 0

    Posted by EmperumanV | August 25, 2011, 10:29 am
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  4. Here is a better idea:

    1) download Talkatone on iPhone or Groove IP on Android
    2) make phone calls with Google voice (free to North America, and 2 cents/min to most other destinations)
    3) ???????
    4) profit!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 32 Thumb down 0

    Posted by Kenypowa | August 25, 2011, 10:30 am
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  5. where can you access the wifi?

    Cant you simply call using wifi for free in first place… ?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 11 Thumb down 0

    Posted by replytothisnews | August 25, 2011, 10:35 am
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  6. Why do carriers charge for wi-fi calling?

    we are not using their network but rather our own or a network that someone has provided us.

    It makes no sense to me!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 25 Thumb down 0

    Posted by Rio | August 25, 2011, 10:36 am
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    • Yep that is what i was thinking too. If I’m home using my wifi and skype or another program why should I pay for wifi.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 0

      Posted by jacques | August 25, 2011, 10:39 am

    • I think the idea is that we’re paying for the last mile: at some point the call has to be directed over a land line or broadcast from a cell tower. That being said, from Rogers’ perspective it shouldn’t matter where I’m connecting to wi-fi, only where my call is going. And I’m not sure how the prices make any sense except from a “because we can” perspective.

      Like or Dislike: Thumb up 4 Thumb down 2

      Posted by Jon | August 25, 2011, 10:45 am

  7. RIP OFFF!!!!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 14 Thumb down 0

    Posted by TCI_AZZYANN | August 25, 2011, 10:59 am
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  8. No thanks.
    I can do Wi-Fi calling (over 3G and Wi-Fi) on my Rogers device since years for free using my own SIP line.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 11 Thumb down 0

    Posted by Mathieu | August 25, 2011, 11:09 am
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  9. I’m assuming Rogers is hoping for i****s to fall for this who are scared of those massive charged people get when going International.

    …Pathetic Rogers. Something users can do for free you try to charge them 25/month for it.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 1

    Posted by Terry | August 25, 2011, 11:13 am
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  10. This is a pretty good joke by Robbers. You can get exactly the same functionality for a fraction of the cost. If you travel often, sign up for Skype’s unlimited north america for around $2.99 a month and load the app on your phone. Since they mentioned Blackberries, you can unlock it permanently, and almost always getting a prepad SIM card locally for local calls is dirt cheap compared to roaming rates.

    I’d imagine this is a cash grab mostly to cater to big corporations and/or government institutions.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 10 Thumb down 1

    Posted by Bobs your uncle | August 25, 2011, 11:18 am
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  11. I used to use Fido’s UMA service with my Moto Z6W. It was pretty terrible to be honest. The sound quality was always inconsistent even after getting their recommended WiFi Router and letting them set it up. I thought I’d be able to use it at work too, but despite having a great connection there Fido would always force it to use GSM instead of UMA.

    Even within Rogers and Fido there are much better alternatives to UMA through their voice plans. Internationally just do yourself a favour and get a local pre-paid SIM and enjoy much much better service.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0

    Posted by Bret | August 25, 2011, 11:29 am
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  12. Give your head a shake Rogers. Charging people $25 to make calls using their own wifi? I’d rather use Google Voice.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 8 Thumb down 0

    Posted by maattp | August 25, 2011, 12:29 pm
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  13. This isnt free? Huh?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 1 Thumb down 0

    Posted by wifinut | August 25, 2011, 5:40 pm
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  14. yep another rip off fee by yet again rogers. lol lmao lol. wifi is a free feature. because the person who is providing the wifi is already paying for the internet connection. rogers is very good at always finding ways to rip customers off lol. their trying to double tap the costs. wifi is free to use dumb rogers.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0

    Posted by rogers what a rip off | August 25, 2011, 5:45 pm
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  15. This could be why Skype doesn’t work on a 9800 with Rogers, they want to try and bleed you of every penny. As mentioned, Wi-fi calls do not use their networks so they should not charge for it or have anything to do with it for that matter.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 0

    Posted by Dwight | August 25, 2011, 6:41 pm
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  16. Rogers should be using this feature as a competitive advantage that Bell / Telus / wind / Mobi don’t offer.

    “going to the USA or Europe, hop on wifi and make calls as if you were at home, no charge!”

    that’s how you start differentiating services vs your competitor.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 1

    Posted by Treatz | August 25, 2011, 11:21 pm
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  17. THUMBS DOWM FOR ROGERS

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0

    Posted by AULAKH | August 26, 2011, 1:22 am
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  18. DOWN

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0

    Posted by AULAKH | August 26, 2011, 1:23 am
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  19. why do u charge something that is suppose to be/ always will be free?

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0

    Posted by Flann | August 26, 2011, 3:19 am
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  20. Enabling UMA has a cost, but these fees are too expensive.

    One more thing to add to the list of feature that Rogers promotes, when there are cheaper (usually free) alternatives

    E.g. share a data plan for $10 *per device* vs. $0 hotspot feature

    -gmd

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0

    Posted by Martin | August 26, 2011, 8:56 am
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  21. Not sure what i****s out there would pay $25 for something that is actually free.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0

    Posted by Ann Monis | August 26, 2011, 10:28 am
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  22. What a truly retarded company. I bought a data chip… Stuck it in my iPhone when I travelled, and used the data on that to make calls over 3G network with my Skype app. I paid Skype 26 dollars for unlimited minutes for a whole YEAR.

    I didn’t need to desperately search for a stupid wifi connection. F… Rogers

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0

    Posted by Cyrus | August 26, 2011, 2:28 pm
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  23. Hell for that price, I’ll just keep using Skype…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0

    Posted by OMG Ponies! | August 26, 2011, 6:57 pm
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  24. Yeah what Cyrus said!

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0

    Posted by OMG Ponies! | August 26, 2011, 6:58 pm
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  25. Another great Rogers scam.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0

    Posted by A. Carmine | August 28, 2011, 11:57 am
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  26. Hi guys

    I just wanted to add some clarifications about why we’re bringing this service.

    We want to bring a seamless experience to our customers and allow you to make calls from your existing phone number when you enter a Wi-Fi zone. All Wi-Fi calls are handled and securely routed by Rogers as all Wi-Fi calls must connect to the Rogers Network first, before switching over to the Wi-Fi connection.

    The advantage of WiFi calling over Skype or other VOIP services is that there is no differentiation in pricing or separate identity required. There is no third-party software or logins required.

    Elise

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 2

    Posted by RogersElise | September 7, 2011, 4:49 pm
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  27. RogersElise,

    What’s the charge for receiving an incoming call over UMA with this feature? That part has been left out for some reason…

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0

    Posted by Gundagordy | October 9, 2011, 1:50 pm
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