06/18/2008, 8:45pm, EDT
Wednesday, June 18thiPhone Canada plans to match AT&T?
Rogers Wireless and its sub-brand Fido will nearly match AT&T's pricing when they begin selling the iPhone 3G next month, according to a leaked data sheet said to have been sent out to employees of the two carriers. The sheet points to a standard personal account requiring a $30 data plan like that of AT&T that would provide unlimited access to at least the web, normal e-mail, and Visual Voicemail when linked to a phone plan that includes voice messages. Corporate users would likewise pay $45 per month for similar offerings plus access to work e-mail.
Voice rates would be unchanged from the offerings at both Fido and Rogers, but the data rates have been created with Apple's phone in mind and will be attached to "qualified" calling plans, the document claims. It's unclear whether separate data rates would apply to YouTube or third-party apps.
Additionally, the official $199 (8GB) and $299 (16GB) prices will apply to users either signing up for a three year plan or customers already on two- or three-year plans that qualify for the upgrade, Rogers purportedly says. The company isn't yet believed to have picked a price for mid-contract users, but notes that the "grace period" for returns will unusually be extended for Fido owners and Apple stores from 15 days to 30 but will require that customers return the phone.
While yet to be verified and potentially subject to change, the data rates would represent a significant turnaround for Rogers, which typically insists on metered data for smartphones and often limits unlimited data access on regular phones to web browsing as well as the data needed for other paid Rogers services.
The claimed rates are also consistent with statements made by Rogers president Nadir Mohamed at a recent technology conference, when he said the provider's rates would change to reflect heavy data use and that the iPhone would increase the average overall monthly fees by nearly $30 per user to $90. The average roughly equates to a mid-level iPhone 3G plan with AT&T.
Filed under: iPhone, industry
Other story tags: AT&T, iPhone 3G, Rogers, Fido
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Fake
This was confirmed as being fake - it's exactly the same as the internal AT
'Forced' rates...?
...seem the crux of my issue with these guys - the cost of admission - do they really net more revenue by alienating many low use customers & forcing everyone to take data plans, or do they miss the mass revenue of those who might sign on & eventually adopt a data plan if it proves useful...?
I'd be happy to never surf the web from a cell phone myself, but would use the camera, address book & display screen for many other uses - it is after all supposed to be a convergence device...?
I'd pay $30
If it was $30 for unlimited, I would pay it. If not then I won't, simple as that.
This ain't fake
Wrong. It's exactly like the internal AT&T memo because Apple is sending the same stuff to all the carriers. Remember how all the iPhone 3G carrier announcements all said that the device is coming "later this year"? Same thing. Apple is getting everyone to conform.
Plus if you read a little closer you can tell this is more than a copy-and-paste job.
Typical Rogers Fido
1) those are the data rates now enforced by Rogers
anyway, but without visual voice-mail - no biggie.
Everyone I know has an iPhone here and they're data
rates are all $30 plus voice plan, the only thing is
that there is currently a cap of 1GB download.
2) "the "grace period" for returns will unusually be
extended for Fido owners and Apple stores from 15
days to 30, but require customers return the phone."
Well, first of all, Retail law in most of Canada as of last
June stipulates that a customer has 21 business days
to return / change their minds on consumer electronics.
So, there is NO unusually extended grace period -
it's the law. Second, of course you have to return the
actual product to exchange it or get a different one.
3) Who cares? It's all speculation till it arrives anyway.