iPhone in Canada This Summer? Maybe.

by Eric March on March 8, 2008 at 3:59 pm

Rumours, speculation, and “official” announcements about the iPhone in Canada have been rampant as early as last April — before the iPhone was launched. Unfortunately, it just never happened. The primary point of contention responsible for the iPhone’s failure to turn up north of the Canadian side of the 42nd parallel, as I understand it anyway, has had to do with Rogers’ data plans. Since Rogers (and Rogers-owned Fido) are the only GSM networks in Canada, it has been up to Ted Rogers his own self to bring the coveted device into the fold, and Ted is not a generous man when it comes to his customers. One need only take a look at the data plan structure on the Rogers network to understand what it is us Canucks have to deal with — and those rates are for on-device browsing, not tethering, and only on devices locked to the Rogers network. Don’t even ask about roaming data rates. You really don’t want to know. Adding insult to injurious pricing structures is the fact that Rogers recently rolled out 3G data access via HSPA. With their absurd data pricing, this was like dangling a steak in front of a starving man who’s chained to a wall just out of reach and would have to sever a limb to get to it.This may be on the brink of changing however. Several things are rumored or predicted to be coming together that may make for a much more likely iPhone launch in Canada this summer.

New Data Rate Plans
HowardForums member O_ssie, who has made given accurate information about changes in Rogers plans before, is now reporting that March 18th will mark a change in Rogers’ data pricing stricture:

Effective March 18th 2008 (Preliminary updates:
————————-
Unlim WAP = $7
Unlim Vision WAP = $7 - 3 yr term with DECF (Data Early Cancellation Fee)

Non-Rogers & WM Data & Tethering - 3 yr term with DECF
$15 - 20MB ~ Tier 1
$30 - 20MB to 60MB ~ Tier 2
$50 - 60MB to 500MB ~ Tier 3
$65 - 500MB to 1GB ~ Tier 4
$75 - 1GB to 2GB ~ Tier 5
$85 - 2GB to 3GB ~ Tier 6
$100 - 3GB to 5GB ~ Tier 7
$0.03 per additional MB
*Note: Everyone starts off at the $15 plan and based on usage, you move up the tiers

ALL OLD PLANS GRANDFATHERED - ALL PLANS WILL NOT CONFLICT WITH $20 COMM PACK

While this still isn’t quite the flat data rate plan that Apple demands of carriers who will be carrying the iPhone, it is still a step towards far more reasonable data rates if it proves to be true, which will make 3G access much more attractive.

Rogers Wants the iPhone
Make no mistake: Rogers wants the iPhone. They already have an idea of how popular it will be; it is said that there are already tens of thousands of unlocked iPhones circulating in Canada using Rogers SIMs, which would rank the iPhone one of the most popular devices using the Rogers network. If true, then Rogers knows that the demand is out there, and it is significant. How much more popular would it become were it available legitimately through Rogers? I would say that it would rival the Motorola Razr revolution that hit several years back; it may not be nearly as slim and compact, but its feature set, slick interface, and forthcoming flood of applications through the SDK would make it far more capable and attractive than the Razr ever was.

The only stumbling block is that Ted Rogers is a hard-head. He wants everything his way, and he wants control over everything. Sound familiar? It should, because that also describes Steve Jobs. The difference though is that Steve wants to give the consumer the power to use their devices in ways that empower them, while Ted wants to give the consumer whatever he decides they should have, and he wants to do it his way. Apple has so far demanded that all carriers that will be offering the iPhone offer a flat-rate data plan to use with it. Rogers has no such beast and has been avoiding the creation of such a beast for the singular reason that he’s already making craploads of money from his existing plans despite massive consumer complaints of unfair pricing strategies. Fortunately, Rogers has been under increasing pressure from Bell and Telus to be more competitive by offering highly competitive packages of their own.

With competition amping up and demand for the iPhone increasing daily, not to mention the looming release of a 3G iPhone, ol’ Teddy boy is going to have to take a flat-rate data plan into some serious consideration, and he’s going to have to do it soon. He isn’t making any money on the iPhones that are already in use here (beyond the normal carrier fees), and the more people that use them here unlocked, the more Ted loses out. It seems pretty logical then that there is a better chance than not that we will be seeing the iPhone finally make its official debut on Canadian soil. I wouldn’t count on it being before the 3G iPhone release though, but I would say that it’s something we can most likely start looking forward to.

(Sources: iPhone in Canada, Wireless North)

Posted in Rumors, iPhone Canada