Staying online outside the EU just got a bit more interesting for Italian travellers. CoopVoce, the MVNO tied to the Coop supermarket group, has quietly rolled out “CoopVoce International eSIM” – a digital travel SIM aimed at keeping you connected in 150 non-EU countries without the usual roaming horror stories.

CoopVoce in 2025: not just a supermarket MVNO anymore

CoopVoce isn’t a niche player anymore. It’s one of Italy’s larger MVNOs, with around 2.2 million customers as of mid-2024 and, from 2025, a full move onto Vodafone’s mobile network for national coverage and future 5G. That gives the new travel eSIM a more serious backbone than a random “no-name” brand you find via an Instagram ad.

At the same time, the Italian MVNO market is growing steadily – analysts expect it to reach nearly USD 2.9 billion by 2030 – so it’s no surprise that a supermarket-backed brand wants a piece of the travel eSIM pie rather than leaving it all to global apps like Airalo, Holafly or Nomad.

How CoopVoce’s International eSIM actually works

On CoopVoce’s new “eSIM Internazionali” page, the concept is simple: you buy a digital SIM online, receive a QR code by email, scan it and get a 30-day data package for the extra-EU country you’re visiting.

Key details at a glance

• Data-only packages: the international eSIM is designed for data; classic calls and SMS are not the focus.
• 150+ non-EU destinations: from the US and Switzerland to Asia, Africa and Latin America, with dedicated “country cards” and even “continent cards” that cover multiple countries in one go.
• 30 days validity: each package runs for a month; when it’s over or the data is used up, the extra-EU traffic stops rather than going into scary pay-per-MB territory.
• EU like home (on another SIM): CoopVoce keeps its “EU like at home” policy for national bundles in the EU and UK for the first 30 days of each trip – but that’s on your main CoopVoce SIM, not this new travel eSIM.
• Activation timing: CoopVoce itself advises you to activate the eSIM at least 24 hours before departure, because roaming enablement can take up to a day.

Once the package expires or you finish the data, you can deactivate that country card and activate another one via SMS or customer care. It’s very “telco-old-school”, but predictable.

How does CoopVoce stack up against global travel eSIM brands?

This is where it gets interesting for Alertify readers. CoopVoce is clearly targeting Italian-based travellers who are already familiar with the Coop ecosystem, not global nomads shopping in dollars. Meanwhile, international players have been iterating fast:

• Holafly, for instance, openly compares itself with traditional roaming and shows how US roaming with CoopVoce can easily exceed €100 per GB on standard pay-per-MB rates, while its own eSIMs offer unlimited data at a fixed price.
• Providers like Keepgo or Airalo sell multi-country eSIMs that cover 150+ countries with unified dashboards and long-validity or “no expiry” data options, aimed at frequent flyers rather than the occasional holidaymaker.

CoopVoce’s approach is more conservative. It doesn’t try to reinvent the travel eSIM; it simply wraps classic roaming packages into a digital SIM, keeps everything in euros, and leans on a local brand people already trust. That might feel less flexible than a global app, but for someone who shops at Coop every week, it’s psychologically easier than signing up to yet another foreign startup.

Where CoopVoce still feels a step behind

There are a few gaps you should be aware of:

• The experience is still very “telco desk”: SMS commands to switch packages, manual activation windows and no slick, app-first roaming dashboard.
• The offer is strongly country-by-country. That’s fine for a single-destination trip, but less convenient than a pan-regional pass if you’re doing, say, a multi-stop US–Mexico–Caribbean route.
• Pricing, while better than out-of-bundle roaming, will have to compete with aggressive promo campaigns from pure-play travel eSIM brands that are used to heavy discounting and flash sales.

On the positive side, CoopVoce benefits from Vodafone’s global roaming agreements and long experience as an MVNO, and it offers clear rules: when your bundle is over, traffic stops. After so many “bill shock” stories, that alone is a selling point.

Final take: a late but logical move

CoopVoce’s International eSIM won’t scare Airalo or Holafly overnight, but it’s a smart and almost inevitable step in a market where eSIM has become the default way to sell travel connectivity. The Italian MVNO space is growing, roaming is still a margin machine, and travellers are more aware than ever that they don’t have to accept €0.10 per MB or €0.25 per minute when there are clean, app-based alternatives.

For occasional travellers loyal to Coop, this offer removes friction: stay in your language, pay in euros, talk to a customer service you already know, and still get a digital-first experience instead of queuing for a plastic SIM when you land. Power users, digital nomads, and people hopping continents every month will still find more flexibility—and often better value—in global travel eSIM platforms that have been built from day one around multi-country, app-managed connectivity.

In other words: CoopVoce isn’t trying to beat the global players at their own game; it’s building a bridge between old-school MVNO roaming and the eSIM-everywhere future. For an Italian supermarket brand with 2+ million mobile customers, that’s not a revolution – but it is a clear signal that travel eSIM has officially gone mainstream.