AfterDawn: News

Apple Canada punishing Rogers over iPhone 3G?

According to investigations by AppleInsider, Apple Canada may begin punishing Rogers for its decision to sell overpriced iPhone 3G data plans.

As a way to punish Rogers, Apple will not sell the iPhone at its own retail stores and will instead show them off only as demo units. By doing so, customers will have no choice but to visit a Rogers store to buy the mobile phone. Many would-be customers have already said they will not be buying from Rogers.



Apple only has a small Canadian retail presence but a ban would certainly hurt supply in Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, and Vancouver where stores are popular.

The carrier has been drawing criticism from the press and from would-be customers, all of which cite the huge discrepancy in prices compared to iPhone 3G data plans in the UK and the US.

For $75 CAD, Rogers' users get a third fewer minutes per month, only 750MB of data, and only 75 outbound messages compared to AT&T's 200 and unlimited data. Both plans are priced about the same.

A virtual petition continues to gain momentum, now with over 43,000 signatures, with users that refuse to purchase an iPhone from Rogers.

Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 8 Jul 2008 18:56

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• 10 comments

• blueroad

  and so it continues..i honestly dont think this ban would really help ease the pricing by rogers..

  8.7.2008 21:39 #1

• susieqbbb

  Let them go ahead and price it that high people will just import the phone hack the phone and tell your plan to go to $%##

  9.7.2008 00:08 #2

• dude845

  Well, today I was reading in the newspaper some canadian cell companies want to make you pay for receiving text messages.. Yah Canada has the best cell pricing and plans. Why not just by a blackberry or another smartphone. aha. Apple bandwagon is so gay =p.

  9.7.2008 00:32 #3

• ltd_1980

  Maybe it's time to replace the CRTC with something that will defend the consumer's interest instead of investors' profit. For years now canadian consumers have been paying similar prices for inferior products not only for cell phones but also on internet access, tv, landlines (basically everything regulated by the CRTC). In Canada we are taxed far more than in the US both on income and sales tax and we are still asked to pay more for everything. Telecom rates are just ridiculous. As bad as Rogers is, other canadian telecom companies are just as bad. Bell and telus are hoping that because Rogers is in the spotlight right now they'll be able to add fees for incoming text messages and fly under the radar. It still doesn't make sense to me that I have to pay "access fees" on top of my monthly "internet access" bill. So yeah, I think it's time to let the CRTC die and find another way to regulate telecoms in Canada.

  9.7.2008 09:00 #4

• lynchGOP

  How the HELL does this:
  
  "As a way to punish Rogers, Apple will not sell the iPhone at its own retail stores and will instead show them off only as demo units. By doing so, customers will have no choice but to visit a Rogers store to buy the mobile phone."
  
  
  .................punish Rogers???? Maybe I'm retarded (probably) but this appears to force peeps to go to Rogers and nearly obligate them to buy from them.

  9.7.2008 12:04 #5

• beanos66

  Originally posted by lynchGOP: How the HELL does this:
  
  "As a way to punish Rogers, Apple will not sell the iPhone at its own retail stores and will instead show them off only as demo units. By doing so, customers will have no choice but to visit a Rogers store to buy the mobile phone."
  
  
  .................punish Rogers???? Maybe I'm retarded (probably) but this appears to force peeps to go to Rogers and nearly obligate them to buy from them.people are buying the phone from the apple store without knowing the priceplan for calls and data, if they go to rogers to buy the phone then the priceplan is available for people to see. Then the sensible canadians will say "F... that ey"

  9.7.2008 12:36 #6

• lxfactor

  Quote:Originally posted by lynchGOP: How the HELL does this:
  
  "As a way to punish Rogers, Apple will not sell the iPhone at its own retail stores and will instead show them off only as demo units. By doing so, customers will have no choice but to visit a Rogers store to buy the mobile phone."
  
  
  .................punish Rogers???? Maybe I'm retarded (probably) but this appears to force peeps to go to Rogers and nearly obligate them to buy from them.people are buying the phone from the apple store without knowing the priceplan for calls and data, if they go to rogers to buy the phone then the priceplan is available for people to see. Then the sensible canadians will say "F... that ey"ah haha.. that was funny. and true.. i didnt understand it either.. but i stayed quiet.. until i read these 2 comments. punish them so they hear the complaints..

  9.7.2008 12:52 #7

• lynchGOP

  Quote:Originally posted by lynchGOP: How the HELL does this:
  
  "As a way to punish Rogers, Apple will not sell the iPhone at its own retail stores and will instead show them off only as demo units. By doing so, customers will have no choice but to visit a Rogers store to buy the mobile phone."
  
  
  .................punish Rogers???? Maybe I'm retarded (probably) but this appears to force peeps to go to Rogers and nearly obligate them to buy from them.people are buying the phone from the apple store without knowing the priceplan for calls and data, if they go to rogers to buy the phone then the priceplan is available for people to see. Then the sensible canadians will say "F... that ey"
  Kinda like a reverse-psychology approach. Thanks for the clarification. Too funny by the way ................"eh"

  9.7.2008 14:18 #8

• nbdyfndme

  Every time I see people complaining about these plans it makes me laugh and I wonder if I'm missing something (which is not that unlikely). I have a windows phone from Bell and they charge $40/month for 8mb's of data, $60 for 30mb's and $100 for 1gb.
  
  Looking at that the 750mb's for the iPhone seems kind of cheap.

  9.7.2008 17:00 #9

• southrb

  Another example of "Uncle Ted's Greed" I have dealt with his company before and will never do so again. If I can't get it elsewhere I simply do without. He doesn't seem to grasp the concept that he needs me more than I need him

  12.7.2008 21:20 #10