3G iPhone in Canada next month with reasonable data costs?

Nah, it's only $7 for the data plan, plus a $50 "data system access fee", plus you have to bend over and let Ted Rogers give it to you in the rear for 3 years. :rolleyes:

Re: Apple compared to Rogers Communication size...

Rogers is a $24B company, Apple over $150B. Apple has over $19B of cash on hand. That's almost enough cash to buy Rogers outright.

Yes, Rogers is Canada-Big. But they're not particularly World-Big. Being a large fish in a small pond is what most Canadian companies are all about and they love it. Many of them went out of business loving it. Many more will fall off the map as the years pass.

Australia is getting the iPhone and they have a smaller population than Canada. It's all about market share. Rogers has their head so far up their arses they don't see something incredible right in front of them. Plus, Canada is the home of the Blackberry. RIM is shitting their pants because of the iPhone, and I'm sure they've said to Rogers and Bell (the two big carries who sell the BB) that they'd pull out and start their own wireless service if they supported the iPhone.

I'm not sure how much relationship there really is between this and the fact that Rogers will start limiting the monthly internet usage of their cable internet customers in June [around the same time the iPhone is rumored to launch in Canada]. On the plan I'm on right now, starting June I will only be allowed to transfer (send and/or receive) up to 60GB per month.

I wonder if they're doing this to make sure they will have enough data bandwith for their new iPhone customers.

But when will it go CDMA?

regardless of whatever plan is decided for iPhone, how about the glaring fact that THERE IS NO ADVERTISING FOR THE iPhone ANYWHERE. Not even the Apple Stores.
I live in downtown Toronto, where advertising here rivals internet pop up adds. I would think that if the highly anticipated iPhone is a month or less away the TTC, billboards, tv ads, & Rogers mailers would be every place human eyes are capable of seeing things.

I anticipate we'll see something from Rogers very similar to what is happening in Ireland. Just a guess, but there will likely be a base amount of data (e.g. 1 GB) and I expect that it will cost around $30. Data over 1 GB will get charged out at something like $0.03/MB. I don't see Rogers going the unlimited route, and if they do it will be pricey.

Expect a long contract and the handset to be more expensive than it is south of the border.

May I be the one to say that ANY 3G phone offered by rogers is a joke! Has anyone looked at their high speed coverage? It's too bad that there is still not a CDMA iPhone cuz Verizon, Telus and Bell (last two in canada) would show and do show how 3G is done right. I live in alberta and if you want HSDPA coverage you have to live in one of two places, Edmonton or Calgary and even then it's very much limited to mostly downtown core.

On the flip-side, Bell and Telus have spend millions on infrastructure to insure their clients pretty much get full EVDO Rev A coverage anywhere they go (even rural). Telus has led the pack with almost 85% coverage of the canadian population and bell is not too far behind. What about rogers you ask? This figure is around about 30% and that's being generous.

Long story short, a Rogers iPhone is a overpriced waste of an excellent phone. Of course if you love EDGE coverage then you should be fine.

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.

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...)