Vancouver eSIM
In Vancouver you connect to Rogers or Bell, whichever is performing better where you are standing. The typical speed across the country is 58 Mbps. Your data starts working the moment you land, before you reach the immigration hall.
- Networks
- Rogers and Bell
- Typical speed in Canada
- 58 Mbps typical, 13 Mbps at busy times
- 5G
- yes, non standalone
- Throttle
- None on metered plans
- Tethering
- Allowed on every plan
Plans that cover Vancouver
| Data | Validity | Price per GB | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | Never expires | $8.89 | $8.89 | |
| 3 GB | Never expires | $4.96 | $14.89 | |
| 5 GBMost travellers | Never expires | $3.98 | $19.89 | |
| 10 GB | Never expires | $2.99 | $29.89 | |
| 20 GB | Never expires | $2.29 | $45.89 | |
| 50 GB | Never expires | $1.58 | $78.89 |
How Canada compares across North America
- Regional typical speed
- 33 Mbps
- Upstream networks
- 2, Rogers, Bell
- 5G
- Yes, non standalone
- Next fastest nearby
- United States, 64 Mbps
- Next slowest nearby
- Mexico, 44 Mbps
- Cities with their own page
- 4: Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Banff
Landing at Vancouver International Airport (YVR)
- Airport
- YVR / CYVR
- Distance
- 12 km from the centre of Vancouver
Getting into Vancouver
- Canada Line (SkyTrain), YVR Airport station (YVR), about 26 minutes. Runs through tunnels, where a signal drops
- TransLink SeaBus, Waterfront Station to North Vancouver across Burrard Inlet, about 12 minutes
Underground and on the metro
SkyTrain runs 3 lines. It opened in 1985. The operator does not publish whether the tunnels carry a mobile signal, so we do not claim either way.
Worth knowing about Vancouver
- A YVR AddFare of $6.50 (as of 1 July 2026) is added to eastbound Canada Line trips that start at YVR Airport, Sea Island Centre or Templeton and end at Bridgeport or beyond. It applies to stored value, single-use tickets, DayPasses and contactless payment.
- The AddFare is avoidable: monthly pass holders, U-Pass BC and BC Bus Pass holders, travel between the three Sea Island stations, and DayPasses or single-use tickets not bought at a Sea Island station are all exempt.
- YVR Airport station to Waterfront in downtown Vancouver takes about 26 minutes on the Canada Line, which reaches the airport by a 4 km spur off Bridgeport station.
- The airport ride is part elevated and part underground: the Sea Island branch crosses the Middle Arm Bridge and runs elevated or at grade, then the line drops into twin bored tunnels beneath Granville Street in the downtown core.
- SkyTrain is fully automated and driverless across all three lines (Expo, Millennium, Canada), and YVR itself is not in the City of Vancouver but on Sea Island in Richmond, about 12 km from downtown.
- Phones keep signal in every SkyTrain tunnel. Rogers closed the last gap in December 2017 by wiring the 2.5 km Burquitlam tunnel, and Telus added the 1.4 km Dunsmuir tunnel downtown in 2020, including the Granville and Burrard platforms.
- From YVR-Airport station, Canada Line trains run every 6 minutes at peak, every 8 minutes midday and every 12 to 15 minutes late in the evening. The first train to Waterfront leaves at 5:09 a.m. and the last at 12:54 a.m.
- Flying out early? The last Waterfront to YVR-Airport train leaves at 1:08 a.m. Canada Line trains split between the airport and Richmond-Brighouse, so if you are on a Richmond train, change at Bridgeport.
- Fare gates accept a tap of a contactless Visa, Mastercard or American Express card, or Apple, Google or Samsung Pay, at the adult cash fare. A Compass Card needs a $6 refundable deposit and is sold at SkyTrain stations, YVR and the Tsawwassen and Horseshoe Bay ferry terminals.
- SkyTrain fares depend on zones crossed, but after 6:30 p.m. on weekdays and all day at weekends and on holidays every trip is a 1-Zone fare. Buses are always 1-Zone, and one fare lasts 90 minutes across bus, SkyTrain and SeaBus.
- Tap out as well as in at SkyTrain fare gates and SeaBus terminals. On buses you only tap when you board.
- The SeaBus passenger ferry crosses Burrard Inlet from Waterfront Station to North Vancouver in 12 minutes, leaving every 15 minutes during the day, on the same fare as SkyTrain.
- Early risers heading to the airport should note that the Cordova Street entrance to Waterfront Station stays shut before 5:30 a.m. on weekdays, 6 a.m. on Saturdays and 7:30 a.m. on Sundays and holidays. Canada Line riders use the Granville at Hastings entrance instead.