This isn’t new and it’s fairly expensive compared to Google Fi or T-Mobile. Might be worth it for customers in some countries but US users have much better choices for roaming internationally.
Yeah that definitely kept me around for a few extra months. Even with the limit though, a total bill of $80 stung pretty bad when $40 unlimited options were available from other carriers that include international (north american) coverage.
I guess when I signed up for Fi I imagined myself travelling more outside of North America.
That sounds like a dream for me! As a Canadian who spends a
lot of time on the road it’s not uncommon to see $200-400 phone bills at the end of the month. Getting a local SIM isn’t really an option because having my normal phone number is important. If there was something like Fi I could have some consistency and a lot of savings!
Except that you need to compare against the Cricket $60 unlimited deal that offers tethering and throttles it at 6GB. Even then they aren't quite on par since you don't have the 10 free data sim cards, free international data, and ability to make and receive calls from any device that has hangouts installed.
Google Fi is also flexible in that you don't have to spend $80 a month if you are using less. When I don't have to do a bunch of tethering for work, I usually spend $30 - $40 a month total.
Thus Google Fi cheaper for a variety of use cases. Different plans/carriers are cheaper for different use cases. Just because a carrier other than Google Fi is cheaper for your use case doesn't make Google Fi outrageously expensive.