eSIM Smarts

You and your phone can both go on vacation…and sidestep the dreaded phone provider roaming charges…

By Doug Wallace

We’ve all been there, turning on the roaming fees in a different country and paying the $15 a day – either by being lazy or indulgent or, in some cases, desperate for the phone to work. Happily, those days seem to be over, now that embedded subscriber identity modules are a thing of the present. 

If you feel naked wandering around a foreign city without the guidance of your smartphone, an eSIM is for you. Gone are the days of the physical SIM card that you had to find at a convenience store or in the airport. With an eSIM, your phone is ready to work the minute you land – voilà! 

An eSIM is a digital SIM card already embedded in your phone, a chip built into the hardware that connects you to a network at your destination. Phones newer than 2018 are compatible with eSIMs, if they are not locked to a particular carrier.

We all know how much the 2SLGBTQI+ community likes to travel, so this is a win all around. All you need to do is buy a plan. But here’s the kicker – you will pay about $6 or $7 for one gigabyte of data, which – if you use Wi-Fi when possible – should last you about a week of fun in the sun or the ski slopes. You don’t really want to use it up video streaming or gaming, or you will run out of data. Plans are available by country from a few different suppliers, good for a simple weekend away or up to a whole year. 

Airalo is one of the most widely known eSIM providers, offering plans in more than 190 countries. Holafly also has unlimited data plans in multiple countries. With Keepgo, their plans have no expiration, so you can keep using the data for a longer period of time, albeit sparingly. Nomad and FlexiRoam also make the list for convenient, flexible data plans.

The eSIM plans are data-only, so you have to use internet-based programs like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger, which work like a charm. 

When I was in Europe recently, I connected with a plan from GigSky, which offers service in almost 200 countries. “The difference between GigSky and most other providers is that GigSky is a Heavy MVNO – a mobile virtual network operator,” says Sam King, chief revenue officer with GigSky. “Other companies are primarily resellers of someone else’s eSIM.”

With GigSky, only one eSIM is ever needed, while other providers require you to download a new eSIM each time you want to visit a different country. “And as a network operator, we are also able to have our app act as a captive portal,” King says. “This means that our app is accessible at all times, even if you run out of data. That offers a lot of peace of mind for people when they are away.”

As well, GigSky is currently the only company that offers single land-and-cruise eSIM data plans, for port-to-port service for cruisers. Rather than having to get an eSIM for each country or Caribbean island you sail to, you only need one. This costs about $45 for the one gigabyte of data for a week of port-hopping. You merely use the ship’s Wi-Fi while onboard, and the GigSky data will click in when you step on shore.

Speaking of which, you need to buy your eSIM plan at home using a secure and stable internet connection before you travel. The provider just emails you a QR code. You open the email on your laptop, scan the code with your phone and follow the steps to install and activate the eSIM. You can’t actually use it until you are physically at the travel destination. So on travel day before push-back, I turn off my Telus plan and turn on the eSIM plan, which I see in the Cellular settings. 

In addition to no big roaming charges, eSIMs are also more secure than SIM cards, because there is no way to remove them. And similar to credit cards, eSIMs use advanced encryption techniques to protect user data and prevent unauthorized access. 

King advises keeping an eye out for iSIMs – integrated subscriber identity modules – which will soon pave the way for smaller device connectivity. “iSIMs will lead to the creation of entirely new categories of connected mobile devices and drive the next wave of connected wearables in the consumer market,” he says.

In the future, frequent travellers using multiple devices – smart watches, smart luggage or other gadgets – may only need one global plan, staying connected like never before.

DOUG WALLACE is an international travel and lifestyle writer, photographer and custom-content authority, principal of Wallace Media and editor-publisher of TravelRight.Today. He can be found beside buffet tables, on massage tables and table-hopping around the world.