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.
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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.
Technorati Tags: Apple, iPhone, Rogers