Cuba is dropped from Rogers' Roam Like Home program [Update: Fido, too]

As of July 12th, 2016, Rogers customers wanting to use Roam Like Home on their Cuban vacations will be out of luck.

The carrier sent out a text message today to its customers advising that the country would be dropped from the roaming program due to the Cuban operator’s network no longer being able to support Roam Like Home traffic. From July 12th onward, standard pay-per-use roaming rates will apply – $2.50 per minute for calls, $0.75 for texts and $1.50 per MB of data used.

Rogers assures customers in the text that Cuba is the only country affected by this change.

Roam Like Home is a travel feature that allows Rogers customers to use their wireless plan in select international countries for $10 per day up, paying for 10 days per month after which the service is free. The option is also open for U.S. travelers at the rate of $5 per day.

MobileSyrup has reached out to the telecom for more information on the reasoning behind the change, as well as how it might affect users currently in Cuba who plan to stay there past the July 12th cut-off date.

Update: Rogers has responded with the following comment: “The Cuban operator’s wireless infrastructure is not as developed as our Canadian networks and isn’t able to support the significant traffic generated by our customers using Roam Like Home. We’re reaching out to customers to let them know about the change, including customers who are traveling in Cuba. Current Roam Like Home rates will apply until July 12th. After that, customers can still roam in Cuba and pay per use rates will apply.”

Update – July 12: Roaming in Cuba is no longer available and this also includes sub-brand Fido.