Travel eSIM providers Holafly and Roamless launch new unlimited data plans

A couple of interesting developments have occurred this week after two global travel eSIM providers, Holafly and Roamless, both separately launched new 4G and 5G capable “unlimited data” mobile (mobile broadband) plans with some very different features and also caveats.

Firstly, Holafly. Regular readers will already know from our own summary of travel eSIMs that Holfafly has long offered the option of an unlimited plan for data across their various destinations. But the provider has now gone beyond this by launching their new ULTRA plan, which is said to offer an “all-in-one” eSIM service.

The new ULTRA plan is promoted as being designed to eliminate “bill shocks” by combining unlimited global mobile data with 24/7 health, medical and travel protection. But to get all that you’ll need to pay from £72.35 per month.

What the Holafly Ultra plan covers:

• Unlimited data across 160+ destinations, including a local phone number with guaranteed SMS reception
• Automated claims management for delayed flights, lost luggage, and damaged baggage, backed by 24/7 human customer support
• 24/7 access to remote medical consultations, as well as mental health, nutrition, and wellness care tailored to the user’s location
• Seven-days-a-week access to live virtual paediatric and an online vet

Metin Kastro, Chief Operating Officer at Holafly, said: “Being able to work from anywhere does not mean everyday worries disappear. Getting sick, feeling overwhelmed or dealing with a cancelled flight can be harder when you are far from familiar support. With Ultra, we are extending our promise of peace of mind, helping travellers stay online and giving them someone to turn to when they need support.”

However, it’s worth noting that Holafly does apply a Fair Usage Policy (FUP) to their unlimited data, which has in the past tended to impose speed restrictions after people use just a few GigaBytes of data (e.g. 3-5GB a day – may vary by location) – sometimes dropping speeds into sub 1Mbps territory. The operator makes it tricky to find how this may be handled under the new ULTRA plan as the product page only makes vague statements.

Finally, we come to Roamless, which has just launched a global eSIM plan that also offers unlimited data for the first time – available across all Roamless destinations, including the UK, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand. Prices start at $8.40 for 1 day of unlimited usage and then rise up through the tiers to a max of 90 days for $351.

Roamless are, however, much clearer about their FUP on these plans and they clearly promise to give you 3GB of data per day at full broadband speed, then limited to 1Mbps thereafter. This resets every 24 hours from your first data use. Not quite what we’d call a truly unlimited service as an aggressive speed cap could also be seen as a restriction on data usage, but Roamless are a USA-based operator and so outside of the UK’s advertising rules.