Rogers, Fido to hike roaming rates in August

Another week, another Rogers price increase! Building off of last week’s connection fee price hike, Rogers is now raising the cost of roaming for its customers and those on its flanker brand, Fido. It also launched new travel passes that offer a slightly better price for extended roaming trips.

Per a notice published on the Rogers and Fido websites, the Toronto-based national telecom revealed it would increase roaming rates on August 7, 2025. Rogers is increasing the U.S. daily roaming rate from $14 to $16, and the international daily rate from $16 to $18.

That increase makes Rogers the most expensive carrier for roaming, with Bell charging daily rates of $13 for the U.S. and $16 for international and Telus charging $14 for the U.S. and $16 for international. It remains to be seen if either carrier will match Rogers’ increase.

It’s only been a couple of months since Rogers last increased its roaming rates on March 3, 2025. Moreover, the price hike comes after a tumultuous week for the carrier, which saw it increase the connection fee to $80, raise plan prices by $5/mo, and cut off customers’ service ahead of its 3G shutdown. Rogers also started slapping some customers with a one-time $75 fee for using its 3G network on top of a separate $3/mo charge for using its 3G network.

Fido customers haven’t escaped either, with Fido also raising plan prices and, last month, increasing some customers’ bills by $5. That’s on top of Fido charging customers various 3G fees and increasing its connection fee, just like Rogers.

When asked for comment about the rate increase, Rogers spokesperson Zac Carreiro pointed to the new travel passes but did not acknowledge the price increase.

Rogers adds new travel passes for longer trips

Alongside the increased roaming rates, Rogers and Fido introduced new travel passes as an alternative roaming option. The travel passes have the following prices (note that most passes include a $10 discount available until September 30):

• U.S. 14 days – $50 (regular $60)
• U.S. 30 days – $60 (regular $70)
• International 14 days – $90 (regular $100)
• International 30 days – $100 (regular $110)
• Europe 14 days – $60 (regular $70)
• Europe 30 days – $70 (regular $80)
• Caribbean 14 days – $60 (regular $70)
• Caribbean 30 days – $70 (regular $80)

Rogers customers can purchase these travel passes up to 60 days before their trip, and can adjust the start date or cancel the pass if trip plans change.

Rogers isn’t the only Canadian provider to start offering travel passes. Telus-owned Koodo started offering travel passes in November 2024, while Bell launched its own passes last month. Koodo charges $55 for seven days in the U.S., or $60 for seven days in the Caribbean or Mexico. Travel passes for Europe include $50 for 14 days or $60 for 30.

Bell, on the other hand, charges $70 for seven days in the Caribbean or Mexico, or for 14 days in Europe.

Meanwhile, Freedom Mobile — which called out other Canadian providers for their high roaming rates — recently refreshed its Roam Beyond travel passes and launched new eSIM roaming plans. The Roam Beyond passes are for 30 days, with the first priced at $30 for 5GB and unlimited talk and text, while the second is $50 for 10GB and unlimited talk and text. As for Freedom’s eSIM roaming, which is available even to people on other providers, it costs $30 for 5GB or $10 for 1GB.

While Rogers certainly has a lot of roaming options, its prices fall somewhere in the middle of the pack. Freedom’s roaming passes are a little cheaper than Rogers, while Rogers’ options are a little better than those from Koodo and Bell. It’s also worth keeping in mind that most Canadian providers now offer plans with built-in U.S. and sometimes U.S./Mexico data roaming. Depending on how much and where you travel, a plan with built-in roaming like that might be a much better than paying high roaming rates.

CRTC wants reduced roaming rates

Notably, Rogers’ two most recent roaming price hikes came after the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) asked Canadian wireless providers to devise ways to make roaming more affordable. In October 2024, the commission asked wireless providers to share the steps they were taking to reduce roaming rates and threatened to launch a public proceeding if it found providers didn’t make “sufficient progress.”

However, the Big Three wireless providers, Rogers, Bell, and Telus, responded to the CRTC by claiming they had already reduced roaming rates, despite the cost of daily roaming rates increasing over the last several years. For example, Rogers charged a daily rate of $6 for U.S. and $10 for international in 2017.

Moreover, Rogers told the CRTC it would take “several actions” in 2025 to add “more flexible roaming options.” Since then, we’ve seen several providers launch roaming passes like the ones described above and other new roaming features and deals. However, both of Rogers’ roaming rate increases have come since the CRTC asked providers to find ways to lower roaming costs.