Rogers Unveils iPhone Pricing
With the iPhone finally making its official appearance in Canada in two weeks, Rogers has unveiled its underwhelming pricing packages - see the chart below.
While Rogers proclaims its iPhone voice/data packages start at a reasonably-sounding $60, its entry-level plan makes no sense given you only get 150 voice minutes/month during the day.
This means you have to step up for a $75, $100 or $115/month plan to make sure you have enough voice and data minutes to avoid hefty overage charges. You also have to sign up for a three-year plan AND you have to pay an additional $15 if you want caller-ID.
When you add in network fees, 911, taxes, etc., you’re probably looking at at least $100/month to use an iPhone, and close to $150 if you get the biggest package.
Of course, the lack of pricing sizzle is not surprising given Rogers’ adoration of ARPU and its drive to get more high-margin data revenue.
And frankly speaking, Rogers’ iPhone plans aren’t a surprise because Canada’s wireless market has never been about bang-for-the-buck packages. It may - and I stress “may” - change when new competitors emerge on the scene in the wake of the ongoing spectrum auction (which, by the way, has turned into a financial bonanza for the Canadian government.)
The early feedback from the wireless-only people in our office and the comments flowing in is that the Rogers plans are terrible, and the lack of an unlimited, all-you-can-eat data plan a la AT&T in the U.S. is a “joke”. As well, 80% of people who toll a poll (see below) wouldn’t buy an iPhone.
If this reaction is typical then it’s entirely possible the iPhone could initially be a dud in Canada until pricing becomes more attractive. It could also mean the 100,000 “grey market” iPhone users in Canada could continue to expand.
If you look at the chart below, Rogers lays out the different data scenarios in terms of how many e-mail messages you can receive, for example, with each package. One thing glaringly missing is how many online videos you could watch for each data plan. What Rogers doesn’t want to admit is you could easily burn through 2GB of data (Rogers’ biggest plan) if you watched a modest number YouTube videos a month.
One other thought: why would Rogers not offer an unlimited data plan if one of the major selling points of the new iPhone is it works on a 3G network, which is fast enough to make using the wireless Web easier and more attractive? It could be Rogers is jammed because it would have to offer unlimited plans to all of its Blackberry users.
For more coverage, check out Engadget and Crave.
So, let’s do an iPhone poll.
June 27th, 2008 at 10:40 am
The iPhone will be the first cell phone I ever own so forgive my ignorance in my questioning below…
This chart is highly confusing to me - formatting is horrible). I understand that I’ll get 300 minutes for $75 a month but that’s about it. The rest of the details are confusing. For example, is the data plan unlimited but capped at 750MB? In my dictionary unlimited means unlimited. Does unlimited refer to connectivity at FIDO hotspots only and is otherwise capped at 750MB if browsing over the phone? I can blow through that it 10 minutes sampling videos on YouTube. WTF?
Or, finally, does the 750MB limit refer to the voice message storage (which makes more sense).
June 27th, 2008 at 10:46 am
I think the unlimited refers to voice mail and messages if I’m deciphering the chart correctly.
As for data, it is interesting that Rogers didn’t provide any details on how much video you could watch with each plan.
Mark
June 27th, 2008 at 10:56 am
Unless I’m grossly any video #s would be estimates based on data use. I don’t see any way they could give a reliable estimate for it given the wide variety of codecs and delivery vehicles, etc.
The data transfer volumes are, frankly, murderously low; the call minutes are ludicrously high. I simply don’t understand how they came up with these numbers. What they really needed was to handle this as a two-part package: pick your minutes, pick your data.
June 27th, 2008 at 11:01 am
Engadget has a better formatted table
http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/27/rogers-announces-iphone-3g-plans-unlimited-data-isnt-one-of-th
but yeah, it’s okay priced, better than expected but worse than the ideal
June 27th, 2008 at 11:02 am
The trick is to make sure you have WiFi access at home and at your place of work, if an office, etc. At these locations you have unlimited data access that is not included in the Rogers’ “count”.
(And, of course, Rogers would be happy to sell you some time on the Canadian HotSpot network if you frequent Starbuck, Second Cup, etc.)
June 27th, 2008 at 11:20 am
Either they didn’t have a handle on how users were going to use the phones and messed up the structure or they knew exactly how people would use the phone and decided to pilage the users. Either way, shame on Rogers.
June 27th, 2008 at 11:38 am
Why isn’t Rogers adjusting the data plans for Blackberry to at least match these new plans? If these charts are correct, the $75 plan from Rogers will give an iphone 750MB compared to 7MB for a Blackberry. I’ve been a Rogers Blackberry customer for years and I’ve been hearing that the data pricing was going to get better. When? There are a lot of us Blackberry customers in Canada and our billings over the years are what paid for Rogers’ network, so we better get the best available pricing!
June 27th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
Well, now that clarity has set in and we’re talking about it at work we all agree the Rogers plans (all of them) are ridicules. If Rogers thinks I’m going to shell out $300+ a month for cell phone plans for my wife and I they are way the fuck out in left field. My co-workers are equally shocked. We were all hoping Rogers would offer a similar plan as in Japan where it’s a flat $99 a month fee and everything is unlimited. Leave it to Rogers to charge $115 and where you’ll still break the bandwidth cap (I can break 2G a week easily in my work).
On top of al this is their retarded $7 “access fee” which they don’t mention. Plus 411 and 911 and taxes.
So, I’m 40yrs old and never owned a cell phone and was prepared to pony up for 2 of them. But Rogers just killed that idea - there is no way in hell their plans are nothing but corporate greed. Hell, AT&T has a better data plan which I thought was impossible. I’m not even going to try out the $60 a month plan simply because of the insane 3yr signup.
These guys need to fucken evolve.
Here’s hoping Videotron gets their network up this year and offers some competition.
June 27th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
There is actually an unlimited data plan for blackberries that cost $20 and unlimited emails for $15 . However, you can’t use any third party software like google talk. So it is pretty much useless.
I think it is important to note that to all these packages you got to add system access fee, 911 services, and taxes.
Right now my blackberry plan is $55, but with $16 dollar value pack and all the fees it comes to a $100 per month. That means if I get and Iphone and choose $75 plan it will be actually $120 plan and this is without any calls to USA or overseas.
When I lived in the states my plan rarely went over $55. I don’t think they even have a “system access fee.”
June 27th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
I wonder if we’ll see the news consumer help shows covering Roger’s sky high Iphone bills. Parents will buy the Iphone for their kids and probably wont have a total understanding of how the Data works. A few good sessions on Youtube with the shiny new “TOY” and DATA usage cranks up along with the bill.
Should be interesting to say the least.
June 27th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
Roman - yes, the $15 email plan is good and that is what my wife uses, but it doesn’t cover browsing or other downloads. She was planning to switch to a bigger data plan that includes browsing once the prices came down, but it doesn’t look like they changed the Blackberry plans. Rogers is offering a 750MB browsing/data plan for the iphone whereas they are only offernig 7MB browsing/data for the same plan for us Blackberry customers. I know that my Blackberry is more efficient with handling data and doesn’t waste as much traffic compared to other mobile phones, but why shouldn’t I still get the same pricing? It’s like charging more per gallon of gas to hybrid cars and then subsidizing the SUVs on the road. Besides the fact that the pricing logic is flawed, my main point is that Rogers is taking us Blackberry customers for granted. We have been paying Rogers for years for Blackberry service and those profits paid for Rogers’ network, so we better get equal or preferred pricing. Why should we pay more per MB?
June 27th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
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June 27th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
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June 28th, 2008 at 7:17 am
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June 28th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
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June 30th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
All cellphone carriers are robbers and thieves. They need to be charged and thrown in prison for robbing people of their hard earned money. I for one will boycott the iPhone. Between the 3 major cellphone providers, non of them is better. I used to like Fido before Rogers swallowed them up. This is the way of monopoly in our country. I think the wireless regulating body in Canada gets kick backs from these companies. Think of it, we are like a communist socialist country where competition is limited to a few. This is not a free market economy country at all. The US is. I applaud those who bought their iPhones on eBay….way to go. I hope everyone does the same and cause Rogers to reconsider before they rip us off. Shame on these companies. I am so sick and tired of paying fees to these companies so that they can afford to buy their kids expensive toys. Wake up people, let us invest our money in our kids, not the fat bank accounts of these fat cats. I was ignorant before and signed a 3 year contract with one of them….no more of that nonsense. Now they are are calling me and trying to offer me peanuts to sign another contract….I just laugh at them. Wake up people, you are being robbed blind.
July 2nd, 2008 at 11:48 am
Rogers jumped the gun. Thinking they could clean up based on the market hype of iphone alone was a mistake. Cool handset but not worth the monthly charges. had you done your research you marketing boys at Rogers, you may have had a better launch. Too Bad, so sad . . . . .
July 5th, 2008 at 7:00 am
[...] Rogers Unveils iPhone Pricing…and there’s a lot of people unhappy about the absence of an unlimited data [...]
July 5th, 2008 at 6:27 pm
Jul 5, 2008 6:18pm ET
Trust the money sucking, no service, greedy corporate pr!cks at Rogers to jam the Canadian consumer once again. No Bundle package, exorbident pricing, and they wonder why most Canadians should tell them to pound their new shiny gadget. Canadians pay the highest cell phone rates in the World hands down…It’s time we told these guys enough is enough. Throw the doors wide open to all competitors and welcome companies like at&t or verizon or any others that may offer Canadians more choice when they choose a wireless provider. How bout NAFTA and why doesn’t it apply to the wireless world like it does to so many other products and services. C’mon people lets put and end to being gouged by these guys. My 02 cents for the day.
July 8th, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Wow, the price is a tad bit high. I will have to reconsider getting these for my kids.
July 9th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Boycott Rogers. There’s a facebook group. Link above, or search for “Boycott Rogers Wireless” on facebook.
July 26th, 2008 at 9:38 am
[...] means little without an unlimited data plan even being on Rogers menu. A good quote taken from Mark Evans post: The early feedback from the wireless-only people in our office and the comments flowing in is that [...]