This executive summary lays out highlights from the report Considering the Creation of a North American Roaming-Free Zone听written by Max Bell School Master of Public Policy students Alexandra Cooper, Suhanya Joseph de Saram, Toni Steele, and Adrienne Vaupshas as part of the 2025 Policy Lab.
Access the summary and presentation below, and read their full report here.
Canadians have long faced high international mobile roaming charges. Roaming 鈥� when your mobile phone connects to a foreign network outside of your provider鈥檚 coverage area 鈥� allows Canadians to stay connected to their wireless services while travelling. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)鈥檚 introduction of the Wireless Code in 2017 helped reduce the 鈥渂ill shock鈥� that Canadians previously faced due to high and unpredictable international roaming rates.[1] This was also mitigated in part by Canadian telecommunications companies (鈥渢elcos鈥�) moving from a pay-per-use model to daily flat fees for roaming, with North American plans also becoming available. Despite this, Canadians still face some of the most expensive international roaming costs in the G7 and Australia, and they continue to rise.[2] This specifically includes roaming to the U.S. 鈥� Canadians鈥� top travel destination.
As the telecommunications regulator in Canada, the CRTC has called on Canadian telcos to reduce international roaming rates, provide more flexible roaming options, and transparently market those offerings. However, these calls have been insufficient in reducing roaming costs for Canadians. This led the CRTC to ask us the following question to explore one way these high fees could be mitigated: Should Canada work with its partners across North America to explore the creation of a North America roaming-free zone to reduce roaming charges for Canadians? This report considers that proposal and finds that, unlike in the European Union (EU), where a roaming-free zone was successfully implemented, such an initiative would be overly complex and ultimately unsuitable in the North American context.
This report presents the findings of our research and proposes alternative policy options to lower roaming costs for Canadians travelling within North America. It focuses on travel to the U.S. due to data challenges and its status as Canadians鈥� most frequented travel destination. Our recommendations aim to provide a proportionate and efficient response to the persistent issue of high international roaming rates. They do this by increasing transparency around roaming costs, reforming the default roaming option, and raising awareness of alternative roaming choices, allowing travellers to make informed decisions and select their best-suited option. These measures will also stimulate greater competition in the market, helping to drive down costs over the long term. The team therefore presents the following recommendations:
Summary of Recommendations
1. Targeted Regulatory Package
- Launch a CRTC proceeding on international roaming rates: Initiate a formal public proceeding to investigate the rising cost of international roaming services and confirm whether current mark-ups on roaming prices to the U.S. are exorbitant. The outcome of the proceeding would inform subsequent regulatory actions.
- Make international roaming rate mark-ups more transparent: Require providers to publicly disclose detailed information regarding international roaming revenues.
- Review and reform the existing default roaming option: Examine whether enrolling consumers in default roaming plans like 鈥淩oam Like Home鈥� contributes to higher costs and limits consumer choice. Reforms could include requiring consumers to actively opt into a roaming plan, mandating disclosure of all available options, and promoting low-cost pay-per-use models for a traveller鈥檚 first 24 hours abroad to give greater flexibility and control.
- Amend the Wireless Code to improve consumer awareness at the point of activation: Introduce amendments to the Wireless Code to require roaming activation messages to include clear, concise information about all available roaming options 鈥� including travel passes, pay-per-use rates, and eSIMs 鈥� to help consumers make informed, cost-effective choices the moment they begin to roam. This would include mandating telco providers to include a link to the resource hub (additional information below) in the default roaming activation message.
2. Capitalize on Emerging Technology: eSIMs
- Create a centralized digital resource hub on roaming alternatives and eSIMs: Develop a bilingual, user-friendly web page with guides, videos and cost comparison tools to help consumers understand and access alternative roaming options, like eSIMs. To maximize reach, the hub would be promoted through partnerships with high-traffic government websites, search engine optimization (SEO), and the new activation message referenced above.
- Encourage Canadian telcos to expand their eSIM services to capture the growing international market and stimulate domestic competition in roaming: Encourage Canadian telcos to expand their eSIM roaming services for Canadians roaming abroad. This would bolster domestic competition on roaming and thereby provide more affordable, flexible, options to Canadian travellers. This will also allow Canadian telcos to capitalize on the growing international eSIM market.
- Launch a targeted eSIMs awareness campaign for U.S. travellers: Launch a digital and out-of-home eSIMs awareness campaign targeting Canadian travellers to the U.S.
[1] The Wireless Code at Appendix 1 of the Telecom Regulatory Policy CRTC 2013-271.
[2] Tanveer Ahmed and Francois Picard, Comparative Analysis of International Mobile Wireless Roaming Rates of Canadian Wireless Services Providers and International Counterparts (Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, 2024).
