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As a Canadian, I’ve been wishing for the chance to buy an iPhone north of the border for a while now. We all knew that the iPhone would be a Rogers exclusive here, because Rogers is the only carrier with a GSM network in Canada. Experience with Rogers has taught me to temper enthusiasm with disdain for Rogers’ frequent tramplings of consumers rights and expectations. So, it was no big surprise to anyone when Rogers announced their iPhone service plans, the cheapest one costing $60 (plus a system access fee) and giving only 150 minutes and 400 megs of wireless data. Even the most expensive plan at $115 only gave 2GB of data, unlike the unlimited data given by AT&T in the states. Useless features like call display had to be bought as part of a $15 bundle.
The outcry online and in print media was stupendous, and rumours maintained that Apple had cut shipments to Rogers to a fraction of what they were supposed to be. Finally, Rogers seems to have caved in and now has a limited-time offer in place. Purchase an iPhone before Aug 31 and get a 6GB plan added on to any existing voice plan for $30.
With the first set of iPhone plans announced, I had absolutely no intention of getting the phone. This new data plan is pretty tempting, though. I’m currently a Bell customer with a corporate plan. The monthly bill on my decidedly not-smart phone is about $25, with taxes and the system access fee rolled in. If I switch to Rogers, I can get similar voice features plus the 6GB of data (which might as well be unlimited, really) for $65. It’s not a crazy rip-off, but also isn’t very cheap, especially when you consider that Rogers requires a 3 year contract. For a total of $2340 over three years plus $200 for the initial cost, I can carry an iPhone in my pocket.
What to do, what to do?
There are a few questions that aren’t answered by Rogers’ press release for the new data plan. Is visual voicemail included? I can live without it, but it’s part of the full iPhone experience, and I would have imagined that Apple wouldn’t let their phone be sold without it.
Also, is the $30 price good for the life of the contract, or is it just a promotional price that will rise after one year?
Finally, without a crystal ball it’s impossible to know if this limited-time data plan offer will in fact become a permanent offer. It seems pretty silly to provide a deal like this for such a short time and then not replace it with anything meaningful. I’d hate to rush into buying an iPhone for this data plan and then see that some new “limited-time” offer supersedes it and gives a better value.
I think the best course of action is to wait and see.
