As predicted, the Rogers iPhone packages are horrible compared to the AT&T ones, and downright shitty compared to Europe and the rest of the world. They still won’t do unlimited data, and their voice minutes don’t roll over (use 'em or lose 'em), and they are fricken expensive.
Then they want you to lock into a 3-year contract just to buy the phone.
I predict the grey market will continue to flourish in Canada just like it has for the last year.
I’m gonna get another iPhone for sure, but it will be on Speakout or some other pay-as-you go plan, not on Rogers.
Hopefully the upcoming spectrum auction will bring real competition to Rogers. What we need is European-style mobile freedom, not this constant lock-in and contracts to force customers to stay with you. Competitive companies don’t need to force their customers to stay.
So what’s the feeling now Rogers announces the shittiest possible iPhone plan on the planet?
$75 a month for 3 years and you get 2/3 the airtime, 1/2 the text of a US customer with a 2 year deal, and top it off with a 750 MEGABYTE cap on data.
And YOU don’t get any say in the boardroom.
Yes, Rogers is shitty, and I’ll never sign a contract with them.
If they didn’t come to Rupert, Citywest would never have had digital services. Ever. Period. Remember, the Citywest guy was clear that he didn’t think there was a need. We “had a say in the boardroom” and it didn’t get us anywhere until Rogers showed up.
That being said, saying that Rogers having shitty iPhone contracts somehow makes Citywest a good thing is very strawman-ish (or is it a false dichotomy?).
How much does the iPhone cost on Citywest? How does their iPhone contract compare?
My iPhone’s just fine on the Speakout service (and was just fine on Fido, and on AT&T), thanks. When I get the new one, it will also be on a pay-as-you go service.
Rogers just wants to squeeze the last bit of money out of suckers before real GSM competition takes away their monopoly.
Neither actually, the comment was not intended to be argument.
One is an either/or of many fallacy but only ONE Canadian outfit does iPhone.
The other is arguing something else entirely and implying it has something to do with the position you stand on.
I’m sure if a citizen group showed up at Citywest board and said we want 3G and iPhones and here’s $5 million to do it, results would be different. But you won’t get my $5 million… BAD business case.
Bell wouldn’t even be considering 3G if Rogers hadn’t made the move. We’re getting shafted by ALL the Cdn carriers right now.
Citywest bought a cable company with zero public input. They said over and over again that nobody in Rupert wanted mobile digital services. Once Rogers announced they were coming to town, they changed their tune. They signed up to become a Bell affiliate/subsidiary/whatever without any public input. They don’t have a good track record of listening to public input.
There’s never going to be a CDMA iPhone, and even Nokia has stopped CDMA phones. So even if Citywest/Bell wanted to do the iPhone, they couldn’t have it.
The spectrum auction will bring another carrier or two to Canada, and it will be GSM as well.
Meanwhile, avoid contracts, go with the guys who don’t need to force you into a contract to keep you as a customer.
Hi there, I’d like to buy this sweater. I really like the colour. Do you have it in Large?
Sure, we have it in large. It costs $30. But before you can buy it, you have to sign this contract agreeing to buy a sweater for us every month for 3 years (even if you don’t need or want a sweater).
damn…I was just looking at getting my first mobile phone, wasn’t even looking at the Iphone. Then I heard about it coming to Canada so it piqued my interest. I was excited about it, right after that I saw the pricing, and heard the problems with Rogers here locally. I even read online on how these companies screw us over day after day, and yet we still sign up and take it. Even now in all honesty I would still like an Iphone but these rates and the service provided sound just ridiculous…maybe I was right and should just continue to stay away from cell phones.
I know back in the UK they are going to be doing PAYG with the iPhone for a one off $600ish cost! Im back here in August, if anyone wants me to bring them one over, then its just a case of unlocking it (which Im sure will be just as easy with the 3G 2.0 firmware) and dropping in your own sim…
Mind you, I dunno if its gonna just be cheaper for you guys to get one from ebay or something!
I guess Im kinda lucky with the UK rates, $70 a month for 18 months, unlimited data, unlimited wifi hotspot access, 600 minutes, 500 txts…
Yeah, but that’s because you have competition, and not stuck with all this legacy stuff like in North America.
Let’s hope the spectrum auction brings a new GSM carrier to Canada.
You’ll also be able to buy an iPhone in Canada for $600 ($199 + $400 to get out of the contract!) or just buy one in the US and save a couple of hundred.
No need to unlock it to use it on the 7-11 or PetroCanada PAYG either, since they are still on the Rogers network, so their SIMs appear as Rogers SIMs.
Rogers was only able to come into town because of the fiber that was put in
to Terrace. From what I understand, Rogers tried to buy bandwidth from Telus but they have nothing to sell.
If Citywest did not put the fiber in, Rogers would probably still be trying to find
a way to provide service here.
Rogers buys bandwidth for their cell service from Citywest on their fiber link.
Fiber was put in all the way from PG to Alcan years ago. Telus didn’t even hook their CO’s into it until just before they became Telus. Tried to talk millions out of the NDP to ‘tap’ the towns into it first.
I take it Citywest strung the line back to Terrace? We thought of doing that here, but it was $750,000 just for new poles on top of 60kms of fiber. But the inquiries inspired them to do it themselves.
