Want a Canadian iPhone? Get a Second Mortgage

by: Mathew Ingram posted on: June 29, 2008 | about stocks: AAPL    
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Whoever leaked the supposed memo with Rogers’ pricing for the Canadian iPhone played a cruel joke on their fellow Canucks: instead of the much-hoped-for $30 unlimited data plan — like AT&T (T) users in the U.S. have — we get a series of plans that start at twice that amount, and the cheapest plan comes with a pathetic 400 megabytes of data and a paltry 75 text messages. If you want 200 text messages (which many U.S. plans come with) and a gigabyte of data per month, you have to spend a whopping $100 — oh yeah, and that’s without the ridiculous “system access fee” that gets tacked on, and call display is extra too.

The most common response to the plans so far, at least to judge by a Twitter search and a blog search, is virtually unprintable — but you can get a pretty good idea by the domain name of this website, which is collecting names on a petition to send to the Competition Bureau (in half an hour, the number of names climbed by more than 300). There are some detailed responses here, and also here, and serial tech entrepreneur Albert Lai has a response to the plans here. Former Tory candidate Stephen Taylor calls it “a rip-off.”

As my friend Mark Evans notes on his blog, Rogers is clearly going for the cash grab here. I wish I could say that I was surprised, but this is pretty much what I was expecting. I think Rogers knows that Apple (AAPL) devotion and early-adopter syndrome will drive plenty of people to buy an iPhone regardless of the plans, and they will make boatloads of money on them, and everyone else can get stuffed. It’s a shame that Canada’s cellphone market is such fertile ground for plundering.

This article has 6 comments! Add yours below...

Mathew Ingram

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This article has 6 comments:

  •  
    sgmsg
    Jun 29 12:29 PM
    Telecommunication is privilege not a right in Canada. It's time for CRTC or Federal gouvernement to limit the profit of the carrier like Rogers to make communication accesible, affordable and democratic, Specially with the cost of hydrocarbure.

    Next elections, this gonna drive my vote.
  •  
    GJG
    Jun 29 01:44 PM
    Quit whining. Have you bothered to check what the prices are elsewhere besides the US?? Obviously not.

    Yes Rogers is greedy (and has terrible service in my experience), but there's nothing that Apple can realistically do about it if Canadian customers want the iPhone. Certainly Telus or Bell would be no better.

    With a low population density, the fixed infrastructure costs are going to always make cellular costs higher in Canada.
  •  
    User 219397
    Jun 29 05:47 PM
    Caller ID is not included??? Is that standard in Canada? Remind me to never move here!

    In the UK, the iPhone is free on a £45 ($90) contract, this includes unlimited 3G data, unlimited use of wifi hotspots (by 2 separate providers) as well as 1200 minutes and 500 texts.

    Alternatively if you don't use all that you can choose a lower tariff starting at £30 ($60).

    Based on these numbers Canada must surely be the most expensive country in the world to own a mobile phone.
  •  
    User 100295
    Jun 29 07:34 PM
    If you can't afford the Iphone. Please get another Fido or Koodo phone OR work a few extra hours to earn the product you want.

    I wish a BMW was cheaper...also wish I had a nice watch....guess what....if someone cant afford it, get a Hyundai or a $10 airport watch. There are a number of phone alternatives at the budget rate for those who can't afford it.
  •  
    dpoc86
    Jun 29 10:29 PM
    Historically, Canadians have always been ripped off when it comes to services regulated by the Federal Government How else do they pay for their 'universal health care'? The ruling class is extremely paternalistic. It's a hold over from the country's colonial past, where the queen of England is still the head of state
  •  
    wallawallabi
    ngbang
    Jun 30 06:17 AM
    You're just a tad bit insufferable with the whining. Does nothing go right for you?

    Rogers can charge what it likes and, hey, so what, you don't get unlimited data. Oh well. That's life. Don't buy the plan.

    By the way, that looks like a beer burn to me. Are you sure you're healthy? How's Jobs doing?
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