High wireless data rates are the main reason why Canadians don't yet have Apple Inc.' s much-desired iPhone, an industry expert says.
July 11, 2007 (Press Release) --
AT&T Inc., Apple's exclusive U.S. partner, sells service to customers for about US$59.99 ($63) a month that includes 5,450 voice minutes and unlimited data downloading.
A service here with fewer minutes and less data from Rogers Communications Inc., the only Canadian carrier that can offer the iPhone by virtue of the technology it runs on, would cost about $295 a month.
"The barrier to the iPhone in Canada is not Apple," Michael Geist, Canada research chair of Internet and e-commerce law at the University of Ottawa, wrote on his blog yesterday.
"Rather, it is the lack of wireless competition that ... leads to pricing that places Canadians at a significant disadvantage compared with other developed countries."
Neither Apple nor Rogers will comment on when or if the iPhone will hit Canada, but many industry observers expect the device to be made available in the last quarter of this year.
If Rogers does introduce the iPhone, it will have to make major changes to its data pricing, Mr. Geist said in an interview yesterday. The iPhone is a "game changer" because it stresses heavy data usage, such as mobile Web browsing and video streaming.
"I don't see how you can have an iPhone with the pricing structure that they're offering," he said.
Mr. Geist is part of a growing chorus of voices, including Research In Motion Ltd. and Google Inc., that have criticized Canadian wireless carriers for their high rates. An online petition has also started up, where nearly 900 signatories have asked Rogers to introduce competitive wireless data rates.
"We, the future users of the Apple iPhone, living in Canada, would like to see an unlimited data plan at a reasonable price, comparable to those seen in the United States," the petition says. "Increasing numbers of users have paid several hundred, and in some cases more than $1,000, during one month for data usage that would have not been charged extra on any other North American carrier on their best data plan."
Author: Peter Nowak
Source: http://www.canada.com/
A service here with fewer minutes and less data from Rogers Communications Inc., the only Canadian carrier that can offer the iPhone by virtue of the technology it runs on, would cost about $295 a month.
"The barrier to the iPhone in Canada is not Apple," Michael Geist, Canada research chair of Internet and e-commerce law at the University of Ottawa, wrote on his blog yesterday.
"Rather, it is the lack of wireless competition that ... leads to pricing that places Canadians at a significant disadvantage compared with other developed countries."
Neither Apple nor Rogers will comment on when or if the iPhone will hit Canada, but many industry observers expect the device to be made available in the last quarter of this year.
If Rogers does introduce the iPhone, it will have to make major changes to its data pricing, Mr. Geist said in an interview yesterday. The iPhone is a "game changer" because it stresses heavy data usage, such as mobile Web browsing and video streaming.
"I don't see how you can have an iPhone with the pricing structure that they're offering," he said.
Mr. Geist is part of a growing chorus of voices, including Research In Motion Ltd. and Google Inc., that have criticized Canadian wireless carriers for their high rates. An online petition has also started up, where nearly 900 signatories have asked Rogers to introduce competitive wireless data rates.
"We, the future users of the Apple iPhone, living in Canada, would like to see an unlimited data plan at a reasonable price, comparable to those seen in the United States," the petition says. "Increasing numbers of users have paid several hundred, and in some cases more than $1,000, during one month for data usage that would have not been charged extra on any other North American carrier on their best data plan."
Author: Peter Nowak
Source: http://www.canada.com/
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