Something funny from the Rogers wireless website
I was just checking out the Rogers wireless data plans. On the 10MB mobile internet plan they claim that 10MB should be plenty of data to surf your way through 2,500 web pages. That's an average of 4KB per page.
Where are they finding these 4KB pages? Even facebook's mobile site is 8KB. The Google logo is 12KB!!
Apparently, “Canadians pay lowest wireless prices in North America”
This might actually be funny if we wasn't so likely to succeed.
The Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association (i.e. Rogers, Telus, Bell and friends) has launched a lobby site for the 2008 wireless spectrum auction headlined "Real competition benefits all of us."
Their lead story is a July 2007 report from the OECD that says, "...mobile phone customers in Canada enjoy some of the most competitive wireless prices among the 30 countries that comprise the organization's membership."
I think I could find a few people willing to argue with that ;).
After all that has been written about the farcical wireless pricing in Canada, it's hard to believe the CWTA would come out with such a brazen communication plan. But they have. And I'm sure they don't see the funny side.
Particularly paranoid about wireless rates are all of us Canadians hoping to buy an iPhone before the end of the year. We're deathly scared it will be priced out of our hands by Rogers. More on that soon...
“Ted Rogers… Hello… Are you out there?”
The iPhone ads are annoying enough when I'm reading the New York Times (iPhone coming to Canada anytime soon Ted?) but this week it was even worse... T-Mobile had a full page promotion for their new HotSpot @ Home product.
Here's the gist: Buy a HotSpot phone ($49) and a wireless router and, while you're at home, T-Mobile will route all of your calls through the internet without you doing a thing. This means unlimited nationwide calling while you're at home (or any of the T-Mobile HotSpot locations) for only $10 per month. Now that sounds pretty darn good to me.
So Ted, when do you think we can expect to see this in Canada?... Ted?
T-Mobile announce Wi-Fi calling in Europe
This sounds like a very big idea to me... (from the New York Times)
If you’re willing to pay $10 a month on top of a regular T-Mobile voice plan, you get a special cellphone. When you’re out and about, it works like any other phone; calls eat up your monthly minutes as usual.
But when it’s in a Wi-Fi wireless Internet hot spot, this phone offers a huge bargain: all your calls are free. You use it and dial it the same as always — you still get call hold, caller ID, three-way calling and all the other features — but now your voice is carried by the Internet rather than the cellular airwaves.
This functionality has been possible for a while and I have a few friends who are doing it using a combination of Skype and home Wi-Fi. Of course they need to have an (expensive) Wi-Fi enabled cell phone and have the technical know-how to load the Skype mobile client. By offering this as a default feature T-Mobile make Wi-Fi calling child's play.
In Canada, where many of us pay the same company for our internet service and our cell phone bill, this would be extremely appealing. Sadly, I think it will be a number of years before this service graces our fair shores.
Pluses and minuses of living in Canada
Minus: Putting up with second rate mobile phone companies.
This week us Canadians are sitting here watching America go crazy for the iPhone (launching at 6pm this Friday). You'd think now would be the perfect time for Rogers to announce a release schedule for Canada. But no, silence. To rub salt in the wounds we all got a nice look at the AT&T/iPhone rate plans announced yesterday. They are about half the price of a regular Blackberry plan in this country and they include unlimited data transfer!!
Comparison...
AT&T iPhone plan: $59.99 (USD)
- 450 daytime minutes
- 5000 nights and weekends
- Unlimited mobile to mobile
- Unlimited data
- 200 text messages
Rogers Blackberry plan: $112.95 ($90 + $6.95 system access + $6 text plan)
- 350 daytime minutes
- Unlimited nights and weekends
- 25 MB data
- 125 text messages
Today's USD exchange rate: 0.94
Tom had a great post a couple of months ago detailing our fate as Canadian mobile data consumers. It's not pretty.
iPhone coming to Canada
Looks like Rogers will be bringing the iPhone to Canada. I'd love to know how soon and for how much?
About Pema Hegan
A Kiwi living in Canada.
I love music, obsess over architecture, ride my bike most days and miss the ocean.
I'm a partner and managing director at Rethink Toronto.
Before that I founded and then sold GigPark, a social web startup. And before that I was the founding editor-in-chief of the Canadian media company, Dose.
Find me here
pema.hegan (at) gmail (dot) com
- TV in Europe is so weird. http://twitpic.com/2m842q http://twitter.com/pema
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