Rogers

Updated Again! iPhone in Canada: Rogers Hoses Hosers on Data Hose, eh?

By Rene Ritchie, Friday, Jun 27, 2008 a 9:56 am

I hate to say I told you so. I hate to have told you so. But mostly I just hate Rogers' breathing guts for telling us all so: No unlimited data for Canadian iPhone users and -- wait for it -- no reasonable data rates beneath the meager caps either! (But then, maybe I just hate myself for ever daring to hope the GSM monopoly would ever move off the worst data rates in the data world!). Not even the 5/6GB options available to BlackBerry and WinMob/Palm users?!

Thanks to Cherryhead25 for the tip!

UPDATE: Via Engadget's comments, here's the direct link for the Canadian Competition Bureau, where complaints can be registered:

http://www.competitionbureau.gc.ca/epic/site/cb-bc.nsf/en/01260e.html

UPDATE 2: Via HoFo, here's the link to Rep. David McGuinty's petition for House Bill C-555 to promote transparency and fairness in Canadian telcos: http://www.davidmcguinty.com/english/Take_Action/Petition_The_House/Petition_C_555_Frais_d_acces.html

Plans, similar for both Rogers and their Fido sub-brand, after the break!

Updated: iPhone 3G in Canada Redux: Are These the (Much More Expensive) Real iPhone Data Rates?

By Rene Ritchie, Thursday, Jun 19, 2008 a 4:28 pm

This morning I mentioned the so-called "leaked" Rogers memo, which outlined almost find-and-replace identical data plans to those AT&T is offering for the iPhone was too good to be true, and now Kevin from our sister-site Crackberry.com brings us a Rogers presentation which puts another nail in the "we hope for fair data rates" coffin:

Non-flex plan: $15 for 2MB (hitting the YouTube button once?), $25 for 4MB, $30 for 300MB, $60 for 1GB, $80 for 3GB, and $100 for 6GB?!

Flex plan: $50 for 500MB, $65 for 1GB, $85 for 3GB, and $100 for 5GB?!

(Remembering the US in $30 for UNLIMITED!)

A 5GB cap, similar to caps some European countries have put in place for the iPhone 2G is annoying enough, but charging 3.33x more money along with the cap? Outrageous.

Kevin points out that Rogers currently charges $60 for 25MB, and this is better. But being slightly less @#$%-up is not really better. Sadly, unlike Vader or the Hulk, my hatred renders me no more powerful.

I hope these aren't the iPhone rates. I hope we get something better. But this stinks to high heaven of Rogers historical behavior, and there's no better indicator of future behavior than that.

UPDATE:

Engadget Mobile is saying there will be exclusive plans for the iPhone on Rogers.

X1Zero over on the iPhone in Canada forum has posted the following under "tasty" news, based on what he claims is new Rogers training material:

Here were the prices listed for [iPhone] plans [including voice and data]: "$60, $65, $70, $75, $80, $85". What I gather from this is as long as you have at least a $30 voiceplan, you then pick your poison of either $30 or $45 iphone data, and youre golden.

Gander at the original Rogers slide in question (after the break)...

iPhone 3G in Canada: Rogers Says Data Rates Might Be Slightly Less Ridiculous?!

By Rene Ritchie, Wednesday, Jun 18, 2008 a 1:55 pm

Sure, those on the twisty-turny AT&T train have looked on at free iPhones in the UK and €1 iPhones in Germany with some lust in their wallets. We get that. But those of us in Canada gaze longingly at all of your clear plans and reasonable data rates with something akin to battered-consumer syndrome.

iPhone 3G in Canada: It's What They Don't Say That Might Kill It

By Rene Ritchie, Friday, Jun 13, 2008 a 12:55 am

We mentioned yesterday that the Canadian Government was poised to bring down the DMCA hammer on us humble citizens, handing the reins of power more overtly than ever to Big Media and Big Telco.

Not so, says the Government, listing off ways in which their new bill is mildly less offensive than it's American progenitor, but I'm struck by what they don't mention. Will cell phone unlocking, including iPhone 3G unlocking, be made illegal? And what about DVD ripping? Can I not take a movie I pay money for and put it into iTunes so I can watch it on my new iPhone 3G? And why, to balance the rights you're stripping from Canadians, have you not long ago introduced a bill to prevent GSM monopolies in the telco industry from charging Canadians among the highest prices in the world for data?

How about that?

(Read on for the full text of the Canadian Government's preemptive email blast)

iPhone 3G in Canada: $199 + 3 Year Contract + Illegal to Unlock?!

By Rene Ritchie, Thursday, Jun 12, 2008 a 12:55 am

Although Rogers Wireless, the GSM monopoly and hence both de facto and exclusive iPhone 3G carrier in Canada has yet to announce rate plans for Apple's second generation data monster, they have let slip the following in their PR:

Starting July 11, iPhone 3G will sell for $199 for the 8Gb model and $299 for the 16Gb model, on a three-year plan.

That's right, 3 (three!) big years for the contract as opposed to 2 years in the US, or 18 months and even Pay-as-You-Go in Europe. Who said we were the new world?

3G Rumors: iPhone in Canada Next Month With... Reasonable Rates?!

By Rene Ritchie, Monday, May 19, 2008 a 8:55 am

I'm not going to get off on another Rogers rant here. Suffice it to say, when it comes to Canadian telcos, I'm the rat who, having learned helplessness, now lies face down on the hot plate.

However, not content to let me lie there and wither in peace, now comes this report, determined to kick poor downed me with some hope:

Rogers Announces iPhone in Canada!

By Rene Ritchie, Tuesday, Apr 29, 2008 a 9:56 am

We're number 7! We're number 7! (OMG 7!!11)

During their Q1 Press Conference Call this week, Rogers Mobile announced that they had finally (finally!) finalized a deal to bring the iPhone to Canada:

"We're thrilled to announce that we have a deal with Apple to bring the iPhone to Canada later this year. We can't tell you any more about it right now, but stay tuned."

This would make Canada the 7th country to officially announce an iPhone deal, after the US, UK, Germany, France, Ireland, and Austria. (Whether they launch 7th will be another matter...)

Now, I can't say Phone Different bringing attention to this matter just last week played any role in the big announcement (El Jobso, are you reading us right now?), but it is quite a coincidence, n'est ce pas? ;)

In any event, if this pans out, I'll be ecstatic. Heck, I might even sing! (mercifully after the break...)