[Macworld]

Post your comments for Woe, Canada here

[bugjuice]

ha!
so you haven't seen the New Zealand plans then? Hope they provide vaseline with it..

[hamishl]

Tell me about it. And you have to pay more for the phone if you go with a cheaper plan! I was excited about the iPhone, but I'll probably just buy another Nokia now.

[web]

Hey Jim,
I hear ya. There's not a snowball's chance in hell I'm paying $120 a month to have a phone with limited data (not to mention the other limits in the plan). Given what people in other jurisdictions are paying, the rates are extortionist.
I'd like to have an iPhone, but it's just not worth it since I spend most of my days in easy reach of a computer anyway. I may just get the next gen iPod Touch and have the hand held computer without the phone (which I don't really care about anyway). I hope Rogers get the finger from Canadian consumers. They aren't getting my business. Not at those rates.
- web

[dbater]

I bought an iPhone 5 months ago and took out a Roger's Family plan that gives me two phone numbers, 600 minutes, free incoming calls, evenings and weekends, voice mail, call display, call forward (all the standard stuff) for $75. a month. I added the $25 data plan as well but with so many hot spots I am going to drop it. Unfortunately when the new phones arrive I will be unable to upgrade because I have an illegal phone... but this one works just fine and I can affort the $100 a month....

[albertw]

I'm NOT sympathetic to any crying over iPhone plans. I live in upstate NY and AT&T coverage is zero in my area. In fact AT&T's (and every other wireless carrier's) coverage outside of the major metropolitan areas and in very narrow corridors along major interstate roads is ranges from really horrible to absolutely none. So.. just b_er off.

[web]

It's not a question of whether or not I can afford the $100 per month. It's whether I think it's a value for money proposition. I don't.
Someone in the comment thread at the G&M article said that the caller ID feature was $15 per month for the mobile. That's insane. I pay $5 per month for that on a land line, and even that price is abusive.
Most people don't know how this stuff works. I've written dozens of programming manuals for the digital telephone switches these companies use, so here's a bit of information for the unwary. When you order a feature like caller ID, the service rep pulls up your customer record, changes one field in your record in the database (takes seconds) and then for this effort, they charge you $X per month for as long as you live. The computer that controls the CO switch doesn't work any harder for the fact that you have this feature, it just has a new instruction to send you the calling number data between the first and second ring on your phone, and if you have a terminal that has a display, you can see it. Similar abuse exists for unlisted numbers (simple change of a database field to "don't print").
This screwing of the customer is something they can do because most people don't understand what's happening and how they are paying a lot for trivial things.
The fee structure for telcos has changed radically over the last 30+ years, and there are many influences. It would take too much space to get into the way these fee structures have changed, but it's not a simple issue.
But that said, Rogers is still being abusive. Caller ID's actual worth is about $0.50 a month. Not a bit more.

[rfvoigt]

Rogers also has their Portable Internet that you pay $27.95 for 10Gb of data a month. This uses the same infrastructure as the data plan for the iPhone which inexplicably costs a lot more for 400 Mb of data a month. It is important that Canadians not get an iPhone until Rogers gets real. Perhaps the Bell plan for the Instinct which is reportedly going to be a charge $10.00 a month for unlimited data will give them a wake-up call.

[Spidey27]

Rogers is definitely gouging - BUT don't forget that their coverage in Atlantic Canada is completely pathetic... only Halifax itself has reasonable reception

Rogers seems to completely ignore their customers' wants... brutal

[mcginniwa]

Hi,
Following up on bugjuice's comment...
I'm in NZ, too. I agree the prices for plans are outrageous. I urge everyone in NZ and other countries where the carriers are taking advantage to "vote with your dollars" by not buying an iPhone under their terms. You should also let your feelings be known far and wide on the web in blog posts, comments, and petitions.
The other national carrier in NZ, Telecom, has hinted that they may offer the iPhone at some point. I hope they do and that they capitalize on Vodafone NZ's screw up in marketing, clearly greed inspired, and offer reasonable rates. I would switch from Vodafone NZ prepay to a Telecom plan in an instant if they do.
I've sent messages to both Apple and Vodafone NZ to express my frustration. I've signed the petitions at http://www.PetitionO...c/petition.html and http://www.ipetition...petition/iphoneripoffNewZealand/?e as well as commenting in http://www.geekzone.co.nz/iphone/5335 and then registering my feelings in the poll at http://www.polldaddy.com/p/763628/.
If you are frustrated with these prices, please let the companies involved know online and by word of mouth. You might also let Telecom know that there is real opportunity available to them, too.

[bugjuice]

telecon are just as big a thieves as VF is tho. They'll just put them up at the same price, and wait for people to cave. Telecon have been the biggest monopolisers I have ever ever seen (not a typo). If anything, VF were the saviours. The only hope is TelstraClear pull their fingers out, and another carrier is supposedly rumoured to start soon. But proof in the pudding. Until then, it's sticky date pudding for the rest of us. Still waiting to hear if the phones by themselves are locked.
It's just not worth buying one, only corps will. Plans might come down in 6 months when they realise they still have half their original stock still

[Mississauga]

"And we hope you understand why, up in Canada at least, our enthusiasm for the new iPhone has dimmed somewhat."
Our enthusiasm has dimmed somewhat? I'd say it's almost completely waned. I know of scores of potential buyers, none that will buy until "realistic" plans are made available.

[flowney]

Would buying an iPod touch and using VoIP solutions such as are found at touchmods.org a useful form of protest? Less pain, more gain?

[CanMac]

Well said Jim,

I certainly signed the petition expressing outrage at the piratical, money grubbing tactics of the Rogers company. However I intend to also let the Industry Minister (Jim Prentice from Calgary) know of my displeasure at Rogers tactics. As you are aware Industry Canada is conducting a spectrum auction currently with the stated aim of allowing new cellular companies to have access to frequencies to allow for more competition. Rogers behaviour is one last stab at being as uncompetitive as possible in order to wring the last few dollars out of as many people as possible and they deserve to have no further spectrum allocated to them at this time.

I would also like to express my concern to our friend Mr. Jobs being as how he won't sell nearly as many iPhones as was predicted in Canada due to the anti-social behaviour of his Rogers "partner".

You wouldn't have Stevie's private email in Cupertino handy now would you?