The iPhone comes to Canada, with complaints

Canada, home to more than 100,000 subscribers to ConsumerReports.org, will be getting the iPhone for the first time when Apple launches the iPhone 3G later this week.

But any jubilation among Mac fans north of the border is being dampened by anger at Rogers Wireless, the 3G's exclusive Canadian carrier. A post yesterday to an impressive protest site, iphoneincanada.ca, "Where Canadian iPhone Users Unite!," summarizes the mood:

iPhone 3G is coming on Friday! It's kind of bittersweet isn't it? Fantastic phone but disappointing data plans! Anyone going to boycott?

Fury is focused on the cost of Rogers' iPhone plans compared with those of AT&T, the exclusive U.S. carrier. For example, the $60 (Canadian) Rogers plan offers 150 minutes of talk time and 400 MB of data, compared with the 450 minutes of talk time and unlimited data access offered by AT&T for $70 (U.S.).

In addition to inspiring at least one online petition of complaint, protest T-shirts (see above), an editorial cartoon by Canada's pre-eminent cartoonist and a video featuring a puppet chastising Rogers' chairman Ted Rogers, the plans have also raised the profile of a bill in Canada's federal parliament, protesting what Liberal Member of Parliament David McGuinty says are inordinately higher cellphone costs in Canada compared with the U.S.

Fellow Canadians (I'm from Ottawa): Let us know your iMood as the debut of the iPhone in Canada approaches.

—Paul Reynolds

Comments

[Iain Gunn]

Full open competition in North America is the only way to solve our dismal cell phone ripoff in Canada.

[Michael Lavia]

This is true for all cellphone plans in Canada. The US Carriers can offer such good deals on plans because their subscriber base is much larger. AT&T has over 60 million subscribers (more than the entire population of Canada). Rogers, on the other hand, has roughly 1 million subscribers. There is no way they can compete with AT&T plans since AT&T can disperse the cost of voice and data over 60 million people.

In all fairness, 150 talk time minutes is ridiculous, especially for anyone in the market for a PDA phone.

[Stephen Yanover]

I was going to pay the ECF to leave Telus and buy an iPhone. Not now, these plans are a joke. I'll wait for some real competition in Canada to bring down cell phone prices.

[Michael]

Ironically, Apple has joined the boycott: they're refusing to sell their own phone in Apple Stores because of the high price of the accompanying contract.