How Canadian mobile providers are stifling their own growth
I'm currently still in Torino, Italy, although I'm heading out to Milan, then Bologna tomorrow, and will be in Brussels by the end of the week in time for FOSDEM.
I'm writing a bit about mobile technologies here in Italy over on 2010.dailyvancouver.com (check the Tech Talk section). I've got a Vodaphone SIM for my Nokia 6630 with UMTS-based 3G service (around 350kbps) and the experience has been fantastic.
So, while we had our symposium, the relative maturity of the European vs. Canadian mobile technologies certainly did come up. One example I used was how there is a mobile data plan here that gives you 9GB of transfer for 40EU. On Fido, which is my provider back home, this would cost $270,000 based on the listed per MB charges of $30. Actually, I did the calculation in my head initially and everyone was shocked/amused by the figure of $27,000...and then we figured out we were still an order of magnitude off!
So I can sympathise with Alec Saunders' experience with the Rogers "unlimited" plan which is definitely not unlimited:
Rogers used to be an innovator in the Canadian market. This kind of behaviour smacks of clueless, and deliberately deceitful, lawyers and marketing people trying to pull a fast one on customers. Rogers needs to fix my bill, and then offer a proper unlimited data plan -- one that recognizes the reality of the advanced data devices they're pushing in the marketplace.
I am "lucky" to have a grandfathered unlimited data plan from Fido, which Roland was also lucky enough to get -- it's $50CDN per month, but it's also the only way to experiment with rich mobile services in Canada; anything else would bankrupt you within months. Hence, Canadian mobile providers are actually stifling their own growth.
I'm going to add my voice to Alec's: Rogers, use the Fido brand as the place to try out innovation. And yes, I'm happy to help :P
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Customers the problem ?
Things changed in the UK as customers wouldn't stand for poor service. Competition really helped this. i got a call from Fido the other day asking how I rate them 1-10, I said almost 3/10 which shocked them! Maybe as customers we need to be more vocal?
Stewart Marshall @ The MooseHat Blog
Fido + Hiptop
Does the Fido $20 unlimited data plan have a catch? (other then tying one to a particular piece of hardware)
Only works with Hiptop
You are right...the "catch" is that you are tied to the Hiptop, which is also locked down so you can't actually do anything interesting with it. For example, your contacts aren't synced online, which means you can't sync it with your computer.
With a truly unlimited $20/month data plan, we would have the potential for real mobile innovation in Canada.
No sync?
I totally agree with your post.
That said, about the hiptop... It has many flaws, but syncing contacts is something you can do rather easily. They get synced to the backend automatically, and more frequently than any other devices out there, and you can see the information by simply logging to fidohiptop.ca, or sync it with any Window PC if you get the software (which is not free, but still)
The biggest "catch" about the hiptop is that you can't use it as a modem for a laptop, but really, for 20$ its easy to understand, and that the device is locked down when it comes to customizations and downloads. This is what you should mention when comparing the hiptop.