3G iPhone in Canada next month with reasonable data costs?
Only last month Rogers finally officially confirmed that the iPhone was Canada bound. Now electronista is reporting that sources inside the company are saying that the 3G iPhone will debut next month (presumably about the same time as the US launch) and will qualify for Rogers new reasonably priced $7 unlimited data plan. Rogers has long been notorious for high data costs, making the new plan particularly welcome for the data hungry iPhone.Needless to say this is good news for our friends up north, and yet more fuel on the 3G iPhone fire (as if it needed any).
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
vortex said 2:20PM on 5-18-2008
2 days old news, nice...
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Twitch said 2:36PM on 5-18-2008
Rogers $7 so-called Unlimited plan only supports data from their specific supported applications. So it is pretty much useless for something like the iPhone where you want access to, you know, the whole REAL internet. It is also currently only for non-PDA phones. Hopefully Apple makes Rogers offer a real unlimted data plan, or else the iPhone will be basically useless.
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Andrew said 2:39PM on 5-18-2008
HIGHLY doubt that Rogers will offer a $7 unlimited plan even if it is with the iPhone. Having an unlimited plan cheaper than what is offered in the States? I don't think so. If Rogers does come out with unlimited plan, look for it to be at least $30 or more given the data plans we have here in Canada.
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xtremesniper said 2:43PM on 5-18-2008
Yeah, this isn't looking very likely. The $7 plan is for specific websites only, and for specific Rogers apps only. And as mentioned by someone else, the plan is currently only for non-PDA/Blackberry devices, so unless Apple really has pushing power I'm going to go ahead and not get my hopes up.
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Bender Bending Rodriguez said 2:45PM on 5-18-2008
So we are to believe that one of the most notoriously high priced carriers will have an unlimited/unlimited data plan when AT&T currently charges $20 for the iPhone, $35 for other all other phones after a recent price drop?
How could this possibly smell right to anyone.
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Bender Bending Rodriguez said 2:45PM on 5-18-2008
So we are to believe that one of the most notoriously high priced carriers will have an unlimited/unlimited data plan when AT&T currently charges $20 for the iPhone, $35 for other all other phones after a recent price drop?
How could this possibly smell right to anyone.
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Todd Sieling said 3:44PM on 5-18-2008
Well, I clicked and read the article, which was I guess the point, but please don't tease us Canucks any more than you need to. It would be beyond awesome if Rogers were going from among the most expensive to among the cheapest data rates around, but it's very doubtful.
This feels like it was just an overly credulous link copy-paste post, without any kind of reflection or questioning. We're giving you our attention and the revenue that generates through advertising, maybe we can get a bit more diligence in return?
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Zeromaru said 4:43PM on 5-18-2008
I was actually quite excited about iPhone finally being in Canada until I read about Rogers' charges. I currently pay $55/month at Telus with my HTC Touch to get 250 minutes/200 SMS/unlimited email/IM/web (the entire web), but Rogers' base plan at 200/100/25 MB (respectively) for $97 was a major turnoff. But Rogers won't be able to keep these prices to remain competitive for long, especially after they introduce the iPhone.
Also note that I still planned on getting an iPhone despite Rogers' anal raping of Newfoundland (which only recently expanded beyond St. John's, but the phone will still be useless whenever I go home to visit my parents in Corner Brook).
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AC said 5:27PM on 5-18-2008
I currently have unlimited data plan through Fido, a Roger's brand, for 7 bucks a month. It's part of a package that cost's me 20 bucks a month in total. And I'm using an iPhone (unlocked) on the plan. So far, after three months on the plan, I've no additional data charges. So this won't surprise me too much.
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Zeromaru said 11:13PM on 5-19-2008
That actually sounds pretty sweet... how did you go about setting up such a phone/plan?
AC said 6:05AM on 5-21-2008
@Zeromaru
1. I bought a Fido SIM card that I had activated to use with the iPhone I had (jailbroken, unlocked running 1.1.3).
2. Fido has a $20 value pack that includes email, browsing, etc. I've used it for over three months now, and haven't paid for a byte of data beyond the $20 cost of the value pack.
My total phone bill is about 50 bucks with 200 anytime mins and unlimited data--which is great for Canada.
el tea said 4:24PM on 7-10-2008
The Fido "Unlimited" browsing has gone, it is now "unlimited" WAP browsing on the Fido website using the Fido browser and using a Fido phone. I still cannot figure how that could be 'unlimited' in anyones mind. They must have VERY Limited ideas!!
I was paying $7 per month for unlimited until May of this year when they stung me with a huge bill. When I phones to query the bill I was told the plan had changed.
I would like to know if there is somewhere I can complain about this one-sided change to a "Contract"???
Mark said 5:31PM on 5-18-2008
When it comes to Rogers, I'll believe it only when I see it. They are the reason the official iPhone support in Canada is 1 year late - they don't want to charge fair amounts.
Heard other rumours as well - an "all you can eat" package, including LD (with limits), minutes package, and unlimited internet for $150 per month, plus a raft of service charges.
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SL said 6:31PM on 5-18-2008
Remember: Rogers needs Apple & the iPhone. Apple doesn't need Rogers. Canada isn't a huge market, and it's close enough to the US for one of two things to happen. Apple could either let the grey market supply Canada with iPhones, or just sell "unlocked" phones through Apple Stores.
Rogers, on the other hand, is facing a spectrum auction that is partly reserved for new entrants, and will, undoubtedly, see the birth of a new GSM carrier sometime in the near future. If, per chance, that new carrier were to introduce reasonable billing, decent service, and an iPhone plan, Rogers wouldn't go out of business, but they would see a noticeable amount of churn from both customers who want an iPhone, as well as customers who are just pissed with how much Rogers rips them off. A new wireless customer is one thing, but a wireless customer that you gain at the expense of one of your competitors is worth significantly more.
Rogers doesn't like churn, and Rogers wants the iPhone. Apple doesn't particularly "need" Canada to sell more iPhones, and when you're negotiating with Chinese carriers, Rogers seems like more than a bit of a waste of time. Add to that the fact that Ted Rogers is the kind of douchebag that's dumb enough to piss Steve Jobs off, and it's easy enough to think that Apple would have no problem walking away from Rogers. "Oh, you don't want to do unlimited data? Ok, we're gonna go hang out in China for a bit, sell a couple hundred million iPhones, call us when you're done being idiots. We'll let the grey market sell iPhones until a new carrier comes along. Namaste.".
Apple has all the bargaining power in the world. Rogers? Not so much in this case.
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ipodrulz said 7:02PM on 5-18-2008
That actually makes sense. Though I really hope Apple doesn't leave us Canadians in the dark. Before it was Rogers picking on us, now we have someone bigger on our side.
Connor Bevans said 7:06PM on 5-18-2008
As a customer of Rogers' "unlimited data plan", I know that it isn't really unlimited data. Basically, you use the specified and extremely shitty Rogers Browser for internet. I'd bet that Rogers gives a good plan for about 1.1/1.2 times the AT&T price.
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SL said 8:10PM on 5-18-2008
You're not getting it: Apple insists on unlimited browsing/data, except in Ireland, as a part of any iPhone/carrier roll out. The iPhone pretty much requires it in order for the "user experience" to not be absolutely terrible, and to keep monthly bills reasonable. Apple is a much bigger, more important company than Rogers, and they can be very, very nasty to deal with if they don't feel like they're getting their way. Yes, Rogers is known to be terrible, but in the case of Apple VS Rogers, Apple wins. Period. Apple has the iPhone, Rogers wants it, they can either do unlimited data for a reasonable price, or not get the iPhone. Canada isn't big enough for Apple to make concessions or waste their time with Rogers, negotiating a plan that they feel won't benefit the phone's "user experience". Why? because if the user's experience sucks, they won't sell as many phones, meaning they won't make as much money. Apple isn't stupid, nor are they fiscally irresponsible to their shareholders, they want to maximize profits, and if that means gouging carriers, I'm all for it.
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Mark said 12:28AM on 5-25-2008
Is Apple really a larger company than Rogers? Rogers is pretty big overall when you roll in everything Ted owns. I honestly don't know - just asking the question because it's not just Rogers cell phone service here, but the Rogers "empire".
Andrew said 8:39PM on 5-18-2008
Most of us don't doubt there will be an unlimited plan, there probably will but will be around 30 or somewhere near those of American carriers. We're just commenting on the ridiculous claim that there will be a plan for $7 (yeah ok...)
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oshawapilot said 8:53PM on 5-18-2008
Unlimited for $7 on Rogers is unfathomable. $30 perhaps, although even that would surprise me - I suspect for a moderate minute bucket and unlimited data the end price will be in the $100/Month range, with probably 50% of that constituting the data portion of the bill.
Rogers has used data as a price gouge for years, and without doubt the iPhone will help lower data costs, but it's certainly not going to end up being $7/Month, that's for sure.
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