Rogers gets sane(r) data plans
Since I've written about how expensive mobile data plans in Canada are, I should probably praise Rogers for finally getting some sane(r) pricing.
I saw via John Biehler that Engadget had posted rates from Rogers as low as $65 / month for 1GB (recall that in comparison the chart in the previous link which shows 1GB at $4000 / month). Well, as Engadget mentions in the title, my jaw did drop, but it quickly snapped shut again when I looked closer and saw that this applies to PC Cards only ... not to the GSM or 3G phones we've been toting around for years.
Per device pricing for data rates seems....well, it seems underhanded if not down right illegal. I wonder what the rules around pricing of telecommunications services have to say about this? Paging Michael Geist!
Still...this hints that Rogers *could* offer prices like this for, say, the iPhone?
Thanks to the TorCamp Swarm on Skype for discussion around this.
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BELL? They've had this, but unlimited...
Hi, I was actually really excited when I saw Bell offering the PC card plan, unlimited, for $50 a month. I see that the HTC Touch has a $7 data plan that is similar. Trying to find anyone knowledgeable about these plans though... almost impossible.
I, too, have been bitching fiercely about the rate plans in Canada (having had such an awesome plan way back in 2000/2001 in LA). Looking forward to getting out of the dark ages!
Oh, one more point. Looks like CRTC is opening up the wireless market to other providers in Q3 or so, this year. Now that, if nothing else, will hopefully breed some real competition. No more of this pseudo competitive crap. We all know there's price fixing going on.
$7 plan
Any $7 or $5 "unlimited" plan is absolutely for sure unlimited...except, you know, you can't put your own apps on the phone, you can't browse the open Internet, and you can't tether the devices and use them as a modem for your laptop.
So, by unlimited, they mean walled garden running WAP without anything interesting you can do (including, of course, not even as simple as something like uploading pictures to Flickr).
unlimited mobile hassle
So far I can't even get the $7 plan although my phone is capable.
http://scilib.typepad.com/techreviews/2008/02/rogers-cellphon.html
iPhone 1GB Plan
I have had the 1GB plan on my iPhone for a couple of months now. At first I was concerned with how much data I would indeed be using, but was suprised to find that things like iMap email, stocks, weather updates, and maps, dont actually use that many KBs. In month two I have not been afraid to acces any website out there, and because flash and video etc are not possible at this time, web surfing is even not very data intensive.
My usage is about 30MB to 50MB a month, much lower than my 1GB limit. I indeed look forward to lower threshholds and lower pricing options.
I do like however the fact that you arent severely penalized for going over your limits. Bumping you up to the next level is a great public relations move!
Not just PC Card
After I saw that post I called Rogers. They verified it techncially applies to PC cards only, but as has already been commented, there are ways to run a regular phone on these plans.
However, she also told me regular phone data plans are getting refreshed some time in early February, so I'm wondering what that will bring. In light of that, I thought this rumour was interesting:
http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/22/apple-store-down-pink-ipod-nano-and-c...
I'm not holding my breath, but February may be interesting.
Early February, eh?
I wonder if that means that they will have more consumer friendly data options...I'm not holding my breath either.
It probably just means their system will be updated to support two data related value pack options, unlike right now where I had to choose between 2500 SMS outgoing messages or 10mb of data...but I couldn't have both.
Actually, people have been
Actually, people have been using the PC Card plans on their iPhones for awhile now. Rogers doesn't seem to care what device you use it in as long as you pay for it.
Since it's a limited bandwidth service, tethering (to your laptop via a bluetooth/usb connected phone other than the iPhone) is probably encouraged so that you go over.
Using these plans on a normal phone
Since GSM uses swappable SIM cards, you should (in theory) be able to swap the SIM from a PC card into a phone, and enjoy the data rates from your phone. According to Rogers, if you don't have a calling plan on the account, it's $1/minute, so you'd have to be quite careful. Alternatively, you could convince them to add a calling plan to the PC card account somehow.
Using $65 plan on an iPhone
I just talked to Rogers, they said that you can't use this plan with a device that is a phone, for PC's only. For those of you using it with an iPhone, how did you get around it and configure it. Do you get 2 bills/month?