Apple will introduce the iPhone in Canada later this year, working with Rogers Telecom to bring the device to the country.
This news has been confirmed this morning in a short statement from the Canadian network operator. Ted Rogers, company President and CEO issued a statement to the following effect: “We’re thrilled to announce that we have a deal with Apple to bring the iPhone to Canada later this year. We can’t tell you any more about it now, but stay tuned.”
Rogers Telecom has been in the frame for an iPhone launch for some time, with industry observers noting the network to be the only one with the GSM/EDGE infrastructure required to support the device in that country. As 9to5 Mac noted in March, “if you have a hacked iPhone they are your only choice.” Unless Apple plans to liberate the Canadian launch from being available exclusively through Rogers (and there’s nothing in today’s company statement that certainly implies an exclusive deal) the news means competing Canadian telco’s have lucked-out, despite the Canadian government currently auctioning off more mobile spectrum.
With this morning’s news speculating a wider distribution in Latin America, our recent disclosure of Apple’s plans for introducing the iPhone into Mexico and continued - and intensive chatter emanating from within carriers worldwide, Apple seems set to make an aggressive move to widen its distribution, perhaps as soon as June, making the device available through multiple carriers in those countries where such a move most makes sense.
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Comments
well it's about bloody time.
well it's about bloody time.
rogers doesnt have 3g
rogers doesnt have 3g
Rogers (and Fido) have had 3G since October 2007
Check it out
http://www.rogers.com/web/content/wireless-fun/vision?content10=vision
http://fido3gexperience.ca/
And to think I was just on
And to think I was just on the verge of ditching Rogers.
Ah, who am I kidding, I'll ditch 'em anyway, I'm okay with only being half-cool with my "No, it's not an iphone" iPod touch and a boring flip phone.
Besides, I live practically next door to the RIM campus, Blackberry central (I could take out the central Blackberry servers with a well aimed rock) so strutting around with an iPhone might not do much for my popularity around here. Be like driving a Honda around Detroit in the 1980s.
Honestly, at the core of it all, they took so long to bring the dang thing here that I've had plenty of time to talk myself out of it.
Arm and a leg
It's coming to ROGERS! That Sucks! Its gonna cost me 5 bucks every time I check my email. Wireless email and internet plans are not so great with rogers. Hopefully apple has convinced Rogers to lower to prices for a plan with the iphone.
Effin' Rogers
In True Rogers fashion, they announce that the iPhone will finally be making its much-overdue appearance in Canadian stores. Whoop-de-shit. I'd be excited if it weren't for the feact that it's being carried on Rogers' inferior network and supported by Rogers' FAR inferior infrastructure. Rogers has THE highest rates in Canada, THE worst customer service, um, anywhere, and THE WORST network infrastructure. Couple with the fact that they are easily hands-down the most expensive carrier in the country, and you're still stuck with a device that only the way-upper-middle class can afford while the rest of us go into hock over it. And of course, in true Apple fashion, the device will still cost 15% more than it does in the states, regardless of the dollar value.
But hey, the iPhone's coming!! Everyone do a little dance!!! We're lemmings!! We're Sheeple and we'll dance to anything!!
If, by some strange and highly unlikely twist of common sense, the iPhone comes to FIDO, or Rogers unveils a Fido-Like plan (in which one can get a $25 basic phone plan and $10/month UNLIMITED INTERNET), then this will become exciting news. As it stands, it is woefully obvious that Rogers couldn't give less of a shit about its customers, while Fido is constantly reworking its plans to offer lower costs and higher connectivity. The irony here is that both providers are owned by Rogers. I get that different brands offer different things to different people. I don't get why Rogers feels the need to stick it up its customer base's collective ass when it comes to cost vs. service.
What I'll likely do is stay with Rogers until the iPhone is released, pay the balance of my contract, and take my iPhone on over to Fido.
you should get two empty tin
you should get two empty tin cans and some string there buddy...
Fido
Fido is owned by rogers.
Rogers does have 3G
Rogers does definitely have 3G. I just stopped over at Tornoto airport and had 3G coverage with my european 3G phone.
So they seem to be ready! ;)
Rogers wants to make you their bitche$
They have maybe 20 spots little across the country with coverage. For example here in Alberta they have Edmonton, Calgary, and Ft.Mac. And the wild thing? Their official map coverage doesn't even extend across the whole city!
Not that you would want to use it unless they plan to drop their data rates by about a factor of 100. :(
Rogers is 3G ready
Rogers have now 3G Coverage in entire Toronto, All GTA and all other big cities in Ontario.
Rogers wants to make you their bitche$
They have maybe 20 spots little across the country with coverage. For example here in Alberta they have Edmonton, Calgary, and Ft.Mac. And the wild thing? Their official map coverage doesn't even extend across the whole city!
Not that you would want to use it unless they plan to drop their data rates by about a factor of 100. :(
One Thousand a month!
i hope apple let rogers price the iphone plan at 1k a month
just to show the world how fckd up things are here. The government is a joke.
My Views
Someone above mentioned that Fido has unlimited internet access for $10 extra per month.... I believe that's actually only WAP pages... So only sucky stupid pages you don't even want to visit anyways. And if that is what it is, Rogers has pretty much the same deal.
As for Rogers selling their phones at a higher price than they do in the US... Well... Even if they are more expensive, I don't think this will be the case for the iPhone. The iPhone will be sold online at Apple's online store as well. And I can't see them selling the phone at whatever price ROGERS tells them to...
Now, on top of all this, Rogers not really saying too much right now to me implies that they are waiting for Apple to make the 3G announcement. And so at that 3G announcement, they will tell us the Canadian phone price, as well as the Canadian plan price.
I also can't really see Apple letting Rogers charge insane amounts for internet. Apple wants its iPhone and Safari browser to be used. They want Safari to gain market share. So I don't believe our Internet Data plans will be $1000/month... maybe just $100/month on top of what we normally pay. =P
Rogers is likely to cap the
Rogers is likely to cap the data traffic.
The most limited iPhone plan I can find is the Irish plan
which starts are 45 euros ($70 Cdn) for 175 anytime minutes, 100 text and 1GB of data transfer.
More expensive plans include minutes and texts but not more data.
http://www.o2online.ie/wps/wcm/connect/O2/Home/Shop/Phones/iPhone/Find+o...
I guess Canadians aren't going to be watching YouTube videos on their iPhones.
Guaranteed to be most expensive iPhone in the world
Canadian mobile and associated plan prices are absurd so I'm really looking forward to seeing the plan Rogers offers with the iPhone. I pray for Canadians the spectrum auction is good to them bringing new life in the form of competition to their duopoly of a cell phone market. Of course after a few months any new companies that do get a start from buying some of the available spectra will be bought our like mobile providers of the past (read MetroPCS).
Good luck Canada, unfortunately you need it :(