Never experience mobile outages again with new tech from Waterloo, Ont. startup

A Waterloo startup has come up with a solution to keep people connected online when networks go down. CTV’s Spencer Turcotte explains.

The Bell Canada outage on Wednesday was a reminder that the country’s telecom infrastructure is vulnerable, and that’s where a Waterloo, Ont. tech company comes in.

Chanakya Ramdev, the founder of Sweat Free Telecom, has built a backup in the form of an eSIM card, which kicks in when your main network goes down, preventing users from being completely disconnected.

“We all went through the ‘Great Rogers Outage’ of 2022,” he said, citing it as the inspiration behind the tech. “My phone was completely useless. I couldn’t do anything. It was literally like holding a brick.”

The eSIM card is a “no service” solution because the software lives in your phone until you need it.

“What that SIM was able to do is help you connect to almost any major telecom network anywhere in the world,” Ramdev explained. “We have a couple of plans. One is our North American plan that helps you connect to Bell, Rogers and Telus in Canada.”

That means the eSIM not only connects to major Canadian networks, but also more than 200 other networks across roughly 100 countries.

While the technology is designed to choose the best available signal, Ramdev said users also have the option of manually selecting a different network to access if they prefer. That also helps people avoid roaming fees when travelling overseas.

In terms of cost, there are different tiered plans.

“You don’t have any monthly or annual fees to pay to us. We get billed by data consumed,” said Ramdev. “Our lowest plan is around $15 for one gigabyte that you can use across Canada, U.S. and Mexico. We also have a plan around $16 which is U.S., Canada, plus 100 countries for one gigabyte.”

But when it comes to outages, Sweat Free Telecom only provides a safety net.

“One thing I want to emphasize is we are not allowed to offer a phone number. We cannot offer talk or text. All we are allowed to offer is data, as well as 911 calls,” Ramdev said.

Data access allows the user to communicate through apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.

That is something that has not been possible in previous outages, leaving people vulnerable.

“We are not trying to be your car. We just want to be the spare tire in your car. So, if you ever have a flat tire, then you have some kind of backup in your phone,” said Ramdev.

Bell is the parent company of CTV News.