06/30/2008, 9:00pm, EDT
Monday, June 30th
RuinediPhone petition against Rogers, alt data plans
In response to exorbitant pricing for the iPhone 3G data and voice plans suggested by Canadian wireless provider Rogers Communications, RuinediPhone.com (site down as of 9PM EST) has commenced operations with changing the telco's less-than-ethical pricing practices. Since launching at the end of last week, RuinediPhone.com has so far obtained just over 22,000 commented signatures asking Rogers to impose fair plans and pricing in line with what is seen with the US and other international countries.
The site contains information links to various Canadian government resources for users to browse regarding consumer rights, and information about bill C-551 regarding the regulation of wireless cell providers.
In related news, Rogers sent out a notice informing customers that they are not limited to the pre-constructed iPhone data packages, and that users can sign up for a separate smartphone data plan. Rogers reminds users of its range, offering 300MB for $30 CAD, to $100 CAD for 6GB of transfer, as well as the $50 CAD Flex Rate plan. The company also points out that users can also select a-la-carte from its feature sets, such as Caller ID ($7 CAD)
Filed under: iPhone
Other story tags: 3G, Rogers, Canada, petition, RuinediPhone
, 
, 8
, 
, 
, 
, 
, 
Top
subscribe to comments
for this article
Rogers
I've signed the petition but plan to have my voice heard most by NOT purchasing.
Instead you may find me with a picket sign outside a Rogers store.
Optional data plans
It looks like Rogers is still updating their website as the link for the Windows Mobile data plans now includes the wording "Available on Window Mobile Devices, Smartphones, and Laptop Access Cards" though after clicking on the link it states Windows Mobile Plans even though the iPhone is using OS X. Reference: http://your.rogers.com/Business/Wireless/Services/dataemailplans.asp Note: By choosing a separate voice and data plan add on a reminder that the customer choosing this option will not have free WIFI Hotspot access at Rogers/Fido Hotspots or the 10,000 sms option. There's also no word yet on their website as to how this will affect iPhone subsidized pricing for customers completing a hardware upgrade instead of a new activation.
Monopolistic Pricing
Wow, those Rogers plans are truly terrible.
Even after currency conversion to British pounds they still make my T-Mobile plan look like a steal. I recently added a data plan over here for my HTC Touch and got the phone for 15 quid (i.e. pounds) and another 5 got me 1GB of transfer per month.
I remember checking into pricing for Canadian phones (family lives in T.O.) and coming to the conclusion that it was probably cheaper to pay roaming charges than cough up what Rogers/Fido wants (arm leg organs).
wow!
An online petition! What a great idea! You know this will convince Rogers and Apple of the huge mistake they've been making.
And not knowing the canadian cell market, is the Rogers pricing for the iPhone different then their pricing for other smartphones (i.e are they screwing over the iphone customers only, or are they screwing everyone equally?)
One honkin big petition
The site went down yesterday at which time it was receiving 10 comments a minute. Doesn't seem like Rogers has a lot of friends.
Hey POM
Your country is much more densely populated compared to Canada. Your online conversion to quid mean absolutely nothing. If you get paid in pounds, then you buy stuff locally in pound and if I get paid in CAD, I by stuff locally in CAD. A lot of things are cheaper here (food, electronics) compared to the UK but the fact that that there are a lot less cell users here combined with a huge coverage area needed results in higher costs for the consumer. It's not like I can subscribe to a UK cell provider here.
Overall, brits are getting screwed on other things so I don't feel bad that you guys might get a break here and there.
can't
it's either overloaded or rogers has blocked my access to this site.
C-551?
I think you mean C-555, the Get Connected Fairly Act.
C-551 is the Prevention of Torture Act.
(although, C-551 might actually be more appropriate)