“Last week’s announcement that the Apple iPhone will make its long-awaited Canadian debut later this year generated considerable excitement. While analysts focused on the bottom line impact for Rogers Wireless, it may be that the most important effects have already been felt in Canada, since more than any industry statistics or speeches, the iPhone’s slow entry into Canada has crystallized the view that the Canadian wireless market is hopelessly behind the rest of the world with limited competition, higher prices, and less choice,” Michael Geist writes for Canada.com.
“The year-long delay of the iPhone — Apple first launched the device last June in the United States followed by France, Britain, Germany, Ireland and Austria — provided tangible evidence that the Canadian market desperately needs an injection of competition (as the sole GSM provider, Rogers was the only carrier capable of supporting the iPhone) and more competitive pricing (Canadian data prices are far above the U.S. offer of unlimited data for $20 per month),” Geist writes.
“In many ways, the iPhone saga merely confirmed what many Canadian consumers and businesses have known for some time. Mobile data pricing in Canada is among the highest in the world, creating a significant barrier to the introduction of new mobile services and causing many consumers to carefully ration their mobile use for fear of being hit with a hefty bill at the end of the month,” Geist writes.
“Canadian iPhone fans may finally get their coveted device, but it is going to take more than a great phone to fix what ails the Canadian mobile marketplace,” Geist writes.
Full article here.
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “MacVicta” for the heads up.]
Exactly.
Rogers to offer Apple iPhone exclusively in Canada – January 25, 2007
Report: Rogers Communications to offer Apple iPhone in Canada – January 11, 2007
Its all aboot the iPhone, for sure…
Oh, Canada.
Thank goodness for Canada. Otherwise we gringos would have the worst mobile phone system in the world.
This is sad, very very sad.
Every Canadian with a cell phone will tell you that the service in Canada sucks and that Roger’s price gouges everything. The Canadian cell phone system is so outdated, backward and just overpriced that it’s not worth having a cell phone unless you absolutely need one.
Those high phone taxes have to pay for the “Free” health care.
Canada – Upper US.
@ron “Those high phone taxes have to pay for the “Free” health care.”
you sir are clueless….
Anyone reading here who has a iPhone with at&t;? I’m just wondering how much it costs per month to receive email and check the internet, and oh, make a few calls with an iPhone. I’ve got 4 phones with unlimited text messages (two teenagers) with t-mobile for about $130. a month.
@ron:
More than clueless, plain stupid comment.
The problem with Canada is that the land is huge and we’re only 30M people to support it. No company is in an urge to enter our market and front millions of dollars just to develop a network that will take decades to pay off…
If we were 10 times the population (as in the US), then I’m sure we’d have a healthier competition .
@Bill in Providence:
Now, that’s funny! And oh so true
As far as I know, Canadians still pay long-distance charges in addition to their minutes if they make, well, a long-distance call (just like on a landline). This has always been the case, and it really influenced how I thought about mobile connectedness when I had a Cdn cell phone. So imagine my shock when I first moved here two years ago; I could hardly believe that I could call Seattle from Florida for the same rate as calling across the street. And people complain here about oppressive U.S. service providers! Not me : ) I will absolutely never turn my back on Apple, if for nothing more than showing me what technological progress in the 21st century should look like.
Mike R.,
Via MDN: AT&T;and Apple announce service plans for iPhone starting at $59.99 per month
Ron, it is not hight phone taxes that kill us it is the Ted Rogers needs a new mansion Tax that kills us. I have Rogers Cable, Internet, and basic Cell service and my bill is over $200 a month, and there is still nothing to watch on TV.
Can any one tell me why G4 Tech TV is not in High Def on Rogers? If you look at the audience we are the most likley to have High Def TVs.
MikeR:
What Jennifer said. Or you can go here too:
http://www.apple.com/iphone/easysetup/rateplans.html
“and my bill is over $200 a month”
Holy crap.
@hilken that statement is so irrelevant for the Cell Phone industry, it is not like Cell Phones in Canada cover the entire country, they cherry pick the most populated sections and only provide spotty service in those areas.
@Jeff, “and there is still nothing to watch on TV.”
What about Trailer Park Boys?
“If we were 10 times the population (as in the US), then I’m sure we’d have a healthier competition.”
Then you’d better get busy.
Oops, I should’ve added a line break before the last line in my earlier post…would’ve made the thought a little less mixed up. : /
In any case, I hope that competition enters the Great White North. Data users aren’t all on Blackberries, after all.
I have an iPhone on AT&T;, and my bill is $66 and change every month.
@Jeff
But still, our population is still small compared to the US, or even France.
@Jennifer
Thank you!
@Wish I Was Here
Thank you. Users usually more realistic than the website.
And once again ron displays his characteristic lack of understanding of how things work based on several years of believing Rush Limbaugh to be a genuine political commentator.
What Canada is experiencing is a GSM monopoly based on the following…
• it is a large, sparsely populated country with a topgraphy that is probably relatively unsympathetic to cellular mobile
• because of it’s historic ties to the US phone system and that market’s protectionist attitude to technologies not invented in the USA, nearly all of Canada’s mobile carriers are attached to CDMA as opposed to GSM.
• a recent report suggested that the costs being presented to Telus’ board to migrate to GSM were around $500 million, which is about $26 for every Canadian mobile user and around $95 for every one of their current customers.
Maybe ron can come up with an unassailable business case, given that he’s such a genius: maybe Telus would benefit from such a move, but – on the other hand – what if one of the other operators also went GSM and now you’ve invested $500 m and simply created a commercial environment with more opportunities for customer churn.
Over to you, ron.