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article imageRogers Announces iPhone Data Plans in Canada

Posted Jun 27, 2008 by  Sarawanan Ravindran in Technology | 8 comments | 2340 views
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Today Rogers Wireless announced the pricing and details of their data plans for the iPhone 3G which will be hitting Canada on July 11, 2008.
The long-anticipated announcement regarding data plan rates for the iPhone in Canada where unveiled by Rogers today, as the company made public their "flexible" price packages.

The announcement came with four different price points: $60, $75, $100 and $115. However, none of these plans include unlimited data. The cheapest offering comes with 400MB of data usage and the highest-priced plan runs at $115.

Rogers has always priced their data plan services well above those in other countries (as do most other Canadian wireless companies). In the U.S. for example, AT&T will be providing 3G data services for only $30 which includes unlimited data.

Rogers has been heavily criticized for the pricing, even compared to plans the company has offered in the past.

The new data plan pricing is better than the norm, especially considering the plans include voice. However, the data cap at 2GB may hurt those who are heavy mobile Internet users. In the event you go above the cap on your plan, Rogers will likely charge for each additional MB, as they have done with other data plans.

Rogers has also indicated a 3-year contract will be required in order to purchase the iPhone 3G at the $199 maximum price that Apple CEO Steve Jobs promised last month at the WWDC '08.

Overall, this means Canadians will not be getting the affordable pricing they were hoping for, and they are getting a much worse deal compared to plans U.S. iPhone customers enjoy.

Below are the specifics on the iPhone 3G plans that Rogers will be providing:

iPhone 3G Price Plans at Rogers Wireless
______________________________________________
Sent Incoming
Text Text Visual
Price Voice Data Messages Messages Voicemail
______________________________________________
$60 / 150 minutes + unlimited 400 MB 75 Unlimited Unlimited
month Evening and Weekend
______________________________________________
$75 / 300 minutes + unlimited 750 MB 100 Unlimited Unlimited
month Evening and Weekend
______________________________________________
$100 / 600 minutes + unlimited 1 GB 200 Unlimited Unlimited
month Evening and Weekend
______________________________________________
$115 / 800 minutes + unlimited 2 GB 300 Unlimited Unlimited
month Evening and Weekend
______________________________________________


Data Usage - What You Get

Monthly
Data Usage Online Applications
______________________________________________
400 MB up to 200,000 text emails or 3,100 web pages or 1,360 photo
attachments
______________________________________________
750 MB up to 380,000 text emails or 5,900 web pages or 2,560 photo
attachments
______________________________________________
1 GB up to 524,000 text emails or 8,000 web pages or 3,500 photo
attachments
______________________________________________
2 GB up to 1,048,000 text emails or 16,000 web pages or 7,000
photo attachments
______________________________________________

Update by Chris Hogg, DigitalJournal.com Editor: Liz Hamilton, Communications Director for Rogers Wireless, has responded to questions from us about why pricing is so high and there are no unlimited data plans. Ms. Hamilton writes:

"With respect to our iPhone 3G pricing, we believe that the customer that wants this device wants to fully appreciate all that iPhone 3G has to offer so there's a wide selection of high value price packages to meet the needs of Canadians.

"Every carrier will undoubtedly have a different approach and we can only speak to ours, however I should note the majority of carriers offering iPhone worldwide did not have unlimited iPhone plans. Some of them (Orange France is one example) implemented a 'soft cap' making the plan not truly unlimited (theirs is 500MB - if you compare that to ours we have a plan that offers 4x that usage included in your package).

"We believe that unlimited plans could end up costing customers more for what they don't use. Rogers' iPhone 3G plans will more than accommodate the vast majority of customers.

"Something else to note: if you look at previous media reports, the average usage for iPhone was less than 100MB per month, so Rogers has quadrupled the data bucket for the entry level plan at $60 for 400 MB and is offering our customers 20 times the data on our most comprehensive plan."
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  • avatar Posted Jun 27, 2008 by  Chris Hogg
    		#1
    I can't believe how expensive this is compared to plans in the U.S. -- you can get voice for $39 and unlimited data for $30 in the U.S. (Source: PDF).

    I've sent an email off to Rogers to find out why it's priced so highly and why there is no unlimited data package.

    To be honest with you, this is a real disappointment.
    quote
  • avatar Posted Jun 27, 2008 by  Chris Hogg
    		#2
    Rogers has responded to my questions about why the pricing is so high and why there is no unlimited plan. Here is their explanation (I've updated the story too).

    =====
    With respect to our iPhone 3G pricing, we believe that the customer that wants this device wants to fully appreciate all that iPhone 3G has to offer so there's a wide selection of high value price packages to meet the needs of Canadians. Every carrier will undoubtedly have a different approach and we can only speak to ours, however I should note the majority of carriers offering iPhone worldwide did not have unlimited iPhone plans. Some of them (Orange France is one example) implemented a 'soft cap' making the plan not truly unlimited (theirs is 500MB - if you compare that to ours we have a plan that offers 4x that usage included in your package). We believe that unlimited plans could end up costing customers more for what they don't use. Rogers' iPhone 3G plans will more than accommodate the vast majority of customers. Something else to note: if you look at previous media reports, the average usage for iPhone was less than 100MB per month, so Rogers has quadrupled the data bucket for the entry level plan at $60 for 400 MB and is offering our customers 20 times the data on our most comprehensive plan.

    Thanks, Liz Hamilton
    Communications Director
    Rogers Wireless
    quote
  • insecret Posted Jun 27, 2008 by  insecret
    		#3
    Okay, I've done a lot of research the past week to see if and what I'd want out of this thing.
    Data-wise, I'm happy with these plans. 400mb will be tons for most people (all the forums and articles I've read indicate the average iphone owner averages 100mb-300mb a month. If you want to live on YouTube though, you're screwed.)
    Unlimited wifi at their Hotspots is a bonus for guys like me, so that's thrilling.
    The downsides that I see on this are the voice packages you're forced to get with it. They won't let you simply add the data to an existing plan. This means I'll lose my unlimited incoming calling. With my new work schedule, that shouldn't matter, but still.....
    The other thing is the contract, as everyone says. There is little doubt that in the next 1.5 years the price will drop. I also find it hard to believe they won't change things to allow iphone to be added to any voice plan.
    So, in the end I'm happy with the data and the price and think most people will be as well once they realize what they'll be using. My distaste is that early adopters, those of us who are going to make this worth Rogers' while, are going to get screwed a year after signing up.
    quote
  • avatar Posted Jun 27, 2008 by  Sykos Masters
    		#4
    @ Chris Hogg
    I can't believe how expensive this is compared to plans in the U.S. -- you can get voice for $39 and unlimited data for $30 in the U.S. (Source: PDF).

    I've sent an email off to Rogers to find out why it's priced so highly and why there is no unlimited data package.

    To be honest with you, this is a real disappointment.


    Agreed.

    @Sarawanan ... have you been able to find any info regarding other (smaller) carriers offering the iPhone or is this another one of those delightful limited exposure (read monopoly) contract deals?

    You couldn't get me to use Rogers for cell with a gun pointed at my head.
    quote
  • avatar Posted Jun 27, 2008 by  Chris Hogg
    		#5
    @ Sykos Masters
    ....have you been able to find any info regarding other (smaller) carriers offering the iPhone or is this another one of those delightful limited exposure (read monopoly) contract deals?

    You couldn't get me to use Rogers for cell with a gun pointed at my head.

    It's an exclusive deal Sykos. If you want an iPhone in Canada you have to go through Rogers or Fido which is owned by Rogers (here are there announcements: Rogers announcement and Fido Announcement).
    quote
  • avatar Posted Jun 27, 2008 by  Chris V. (cgull)
    		#6
    @ Chris Hogg
    I can't believe how expensive this is compared to plans in the U.S. -- you can get voice for $39 and unlimited data for $30 in the U.S. (Source: PDF).

    I've sent an email off to Rogers to find out why it's priced so highly and why there is no unlimited data package.

    To be honest with you, this is a real disappointment.
    This is ridiculous, I hope you guys protest enough. This is what happens when monopoly is there.
    quote
  • avatar Posted Jun 30, 2008 by  Chris Hogg
    		#7
    This coverage is all over the Web, so I'm guessing Rogers is trying to explain their plans. Today, I received a statement from Liz Hamilton, Communications Director for Rogers Wireless, who wanted to issue a "few worthwhile points" because "there's some confusion online:"

    Here is the statement:

    Phone 3G bundles released June 27 are not the ONLY price plans available to our customers, they are the high value plans that allow our customers to use this device to its fullest and offer considerable savings over separate voice and data plans that exist in market today. As always, our customers have many choices, they can use their existing voice and smartphone data plans if they wish, including for example, selecting from our new data pricing (ranging from $30 for 300MB to $100 for 6GB or $50 Flex Rate plan) and undoubtedly they would want to add a voice plan that suits their own needs, or they can choose a voice and data plan to best suit their individual needs. Customers do not need to take the value packs, and can order most other features a la carte, such as $7 for Caller ID.

    With respect to existing customers, all customers’ accounts are unique. If desired, customers can keep their existing voice service plan and pick a separate data plan (not in the iPhone 3G bundle) to meet their needs. They will need to check their upgrade eligibility but any customer with a monthly service fee that is over $30 for example, can upgrade to an iPhone 3G at $199 (for the 8GB model). Other pricing may be available depending on the customer’s individual information.
    quote
  • avatar Posted Jun 30, 2008 by  Chris V. (cgull)
    		#8
    Rogers can't give a simple answer and want to make it even more complicated. They don't get it. The RuinediPhone.com has signed more than 20,000 people so far.
    quote

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