Rogers Wireless lands exclusive iPhone deal in Canada

[AppleInsider]

Rogers Wireless has sealed a deal with Apple Inc. to become the exclusive carrier for iPhone in Canada, according to a customer advisory notice sent to subscribers this week.

The largest Canadian wireless communications provider told its customers that availability and pricing were still being sorted out, but added that it would be the only wireless carrier to offer the Apple handset in Canada.

"Other Canadian wireless carriers will not launch the iPhone," the carrier wrote.

Rogers in the email communication said it is actively working with Apple to launch the iPhone in Canada "as soon as possible." The carrier also revealed that Apple is planning to introduce the iPhone in Europe during the fourth quarter of 2007 and in Asia during 2008.

In an interview with the Globe and Mail earlier this month, Rogers chief operating officer Nadir Mohamed implied that his firm would make a good fit for the Apple phone, as its the only Canadian provider offering GSM service.

"I’m not saying whether we have agreements or anything [with Apple], but given the iPhone was launched on GSM, we’re in good position to reinforce that we’re the first and have the best-feature devices," he said at the time.

Rogers Wireless, previously known as Rogers AT&T Wireless, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rogers Communications with 6.2 million subscribers and 5,000 employees.

In addition to acting as the the largest Canadian BlackBerry service provider, the carrier also claims to be the only Canadian wireless provider to offer a complete, independent coast-to-coast network spanning all Canadian regions excluding the Territories.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[meelash]

. - ) * !

[ecking]

Can't say I'm surprised by this.
But like I said in a another thread I heard you have to purchase a data plan with iphone I really don't wan this. These are incredibly expensive and EDIT: bad in canada, I just want the plan I have now but my phone to be an iphone, if I want to use wifi I'll use where ever it's free, like my house or school or somewhere else.

If I'm forking over 499-599usd on a phone I should be able to use it with any damn plan I want.

That's the best way to get the most iphone users aways, they essentially kill off their phone buying base if the phone cost over half a grand and the monthly cost is like 200bucks.

If that's what happens I'll just get a widescreen ipod and a nice ericsson.

Self edit: Sorry didn't mean to offend anyone, I'm honetly the most tolerant and accepting person out there, we use it like that in canada all the time (which is also the most tolerant and accepting country for that lol) and I wasn't thinking, I should have used a better word to describe myself. Sorry once again.

[Pascal007]

Originally Posted by ecking

These are incredibly expensive and Edit: bad in canada

BAD ?

Edit - A mod was here.

Thank you for editing the previously offensive post that got me reacting in the first place.

[katastroff]

YAY!!!!

800 loonies for an iPhone and 120 a month for the damn data plan.

Rogers doesn't believe in deals.

guess I'll duct-tape my T720 to my wife's mini....

[websnap]

Yeah, saw this coming.

There is a rumor going 'round that Cingular in the States are going to offer the first 18 months of a 3 year plan at no cost on an iPhone because Apple won't let them subsidies the phone's cost with a plan. I hope that happens here too, that will at least take some of the sting out of the purchase.

[Hujib]

[lenlaiel]

The only way I am going to switch to rogers is if the deal is the same as cingular. for me. The data plans for telus are also awful, way to expensive. The Canadaian mobile market needs a lot more competiton.

[Robin Hood]

Apple needs to add 3.5G, or at the very least 3G, in Europe if they wish to sell it (since the article mentions they plan to launch it in Europe in the 4th quarter).

[Maciver]

I just switched from rogers. I should have known that they were going to get the iPhone, afterall, they did get the iTunes phone. I guess I'll have to switch back. Besides, Telus ? good. And I agree, the need to do the Cingular 1.5 years free deal or do something!

[astrosmash]

The wireless data plans in Canada are obnoxiously expensive and are priced only for corporate executives. They could give the iPhone away for free and most people still couldn't afford it to use it. Unfortunately I think the iPhone is a lost cause in Canada.

[MikeGlenn]

I'm sorry but the title is a bit sensationalist. Rogers has yet to "land" anything, they're just the most likely since they're the only GSM carrier in Canada. We only know that at some point they MAY carry the iPhone. If, when and how much are up to Apple to decide.

[ajmas]

There are only two GSM 'brands' in Canada: Rogers and Fido, but they are both owned by the company known as Rogers. The question I have is when they say Rogers has an exclusive contract, are they talking about the brand or the company?

EDIT: Turns out there is also a company known as 'Ice Wireless', but they are too small to matter.

[ouragan]

Originally Posted by astrosmash

The wireless data plans in Canada are obnoxiously expensive and are priced only for corporate executives. They could give the iPhone away for free and most people still couldn't afford it to use it. Unfortunately I think the iPhone is a lost cause in Canada.

My 3 brothers and 2 sisters in law are all with Rogers Wireless because they offer (or used to offer ?) the best deal in Canada, including free phone talk after 7 PM or 8 PM and all day on weekends.

Rogers is the biggest cable TV company in Canada. The only question I have is if the newcomer in Wireless and Cable phone, Videotron, has better deals in the Province of Quebec when you combine offers with them, e.g. Cable TV + Cable internet + Cable phone + Wireless phone.

Videotron is pretty much limited to the territory of the Province of Quebec. Besides Bell Canada which spans over the Provinces of Ontario and Quebec, Videotron is Rogers' biggest competitor.

The exclusive deal with a single Wireless phone provider will last only as long as Apple cannot meet demand for its shiny new wireless phones. But given that competitors are busy improving their own offering, Apple will meet consumer demand within a year, if not sooner.

[machei]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

In an interview with the Globe and Mail earlier this month, Rogers chief operating officer Nadir Mohamed implied that his firm would make a good fit for the Apple phone, as its the only Canadian provider offering GSM service.

Kinda makes it easy to be the "exclusive carrier" then doesn't it?

This is anything but a surprize. As it happens, I'm already with Rogers for the crackberry... transitioning would be easy on the off chance I'll get an iPhone. Mah.

[katastroff]

Videotron's service is piggybacking on Rogers. they don't have any wireless infrastucture. It's just a way to get more subscribers onto their cable business. Right now Videotron is one of the only divisions of Quebecor that _makes_ money.

[Stormchild]

Rogers is not the only GSM carrier in Canada. Fido (now owned by Rogers as well, but previously indepedent) also uses GSM.

[auxio]

Yeah, Rogers and Fido are the same now, so it doesn't really matter. Fido always had the best phones IMO (still happily using the Ericsson Z600 I bought a few years back), so I'd imagine that trend will continue even though they were bought out by Rogers.

Glad I didn't get caught up in the Crackberry hype and will soon be going straight to the iPhone. I was holding out for true convergence (phone, contact manager, wireless syncing, decent MP3 player, decent camera, decent email client which uses IMAP) and the iPhone looks to be it. The only other thing I could possibly want are video games as good as the PSP, but you can't have it all.

Sorry Research In Motion, if you would have moved faster on convergence rather than riding out one innovation, I would have happily supported a Canadian company.

[ajmas]

While the phone does not have full 3G support, it doesn't really matter since it will first be released to N. America, where there are no 3G networks. This is why Wi-Fi access is so handy. By the time the phone hits Europe you may find an updated feature set.

If the cellular companies are smart they will start branching out to support public Wi-Fi hot spots, which would be 'free' to the subscribers of that cell phone company. After all there is more bandwidth with Wi-Fi.

[Tulkas]

Rogers has always been more expensive than other carriers in Canada. Fido had far better prices that Rogers and when Rogers bought them, they jacked up the prices for Fido customers (to pay for the purchase on their customers backs). Fido used to have $.10/min lond distance and $.10/min local over your plan. For $25 CDN, I used to get 200 daytime and unlimited evening/weekend minutes. As I said, any minutes above were only $.10. Within two months of the Rogers purchase of Fido, long distance went to $.25/min and over plan minutes are $.20. My weekend and evening minutes are now limited to 1000. I detest Rogers.

I stay only because with only three major carriers, there is no competition in the market here and I have had this phone number for too long to change it to save a few dollars with another carrier. I have not heard great things about Telus and Bell either.

[xolox]

In a few more months, apparently you will be able to move to another carrier and still keep your phone number. Maybe this will spark a bit more competition since the cell companies will need to offer better packages to keep their current customers.

I'm locked into a contract with Rogers until Aug 2008, and if something else comes up then, I will switch for sure. My price plan is a rip off with only 200 daytime minutes, but free on weeknights/weekends.

The data package probably the biggest rip off. If I add $10 more to the feature bundle, then I will get 2MB per month for email/web browsing. Once I go over, they charge by the KB. I will not sign into these services until Rogers improves on their internet/data plans with more reasonable fee structures. Maybe they will announce a deal to good to pass up on when the iPhone comes out. If they do that, they will have both my business and good word of advice to others.

[sunilraman]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

...Rogers... would make a good fit for the Apple phone, as its the only Canadian provider offering GSM service....

LOL ...and here I was thinking Canada was a tad more advanced than USA. Tsk tsk. North Americans.... GSM world standard Hello...???? muah ha hahah hh aha

But in Australia as well, wireless (mobile) DATA plans are hella expensive. Not worthwhile for the average consumer and it will be a challenge for the iPhone, though 3G in 2008 wireless (mobile) DATA will be cheaper.

Wireless (mobile) DATA 3G is affordable to average consumers here mostly through "packaged" data (eg. pre-rendered mobile news served from the service provider) rather than pure-random-Intenet-access data.

[sunilraman]

Originally Posted by auxio

Glad I didn't get caught up in the Crackberry hype and will soon be going straight to the iPhone. I was holding out for true convergence (phone, contact manager, wireless syncing, decent MP3 player, decent camera, decent email client which uses IMAP) and the iPhone looks to be it. The only other thing I could possibly want are video games as good as the PSP, but you can't have it all.

Sorry Research In Motion, if you would have moved faster on convergence rather than riding out one innovation, I would have happily supported a Canadian company.

I had an DellAxim for a very short while (hated it, eBayed it off within a few weeks) back in 2004 and past two years I've sort of had an eye out on O2/HP iPaq and what is happening with PDASmartphones, my cousin-in-law and my dad's friend has one....... They like it a lot for when they're on the go and they don't need to whip out a laptop.

I never got the CrackBerry thing. ...As in, what's the big deal with BlackBerry and "push" email. I mean, my usual work email, when I was working, was pretty damn intense for those several years. I'd be "pushed" to check my email like every few minutes...!!

I haven't really owned a PDA since the time of HandSpring.... Aw yeah.. Old skool. Maybe I will jump back on in 2008 with da iPhone... I wonder which carrier though in UK/ Australia/ Malaysia/ Singapore/ wherever the hell I happen to be....

[ecking]

Originally Posted by Pascal007

BAD ?

Edit - A mod was here.

Sorry didn't mean to offend, check my original post for the apology.

[auxio]

Originally Posted by sunilraman

I never got the CrackBerry thing. ...As in, what's the big deal with BlackBerry and "push" email. I mean, my usual work email, when I was working, was pretty damn intense for those several years. I'd be "pushed" to check my email like every few minutes...!!

Yeah, I could care less about push email. I just want a phone where I can type out an email without bashing my head against the wall. That's where the Crackberry is better than a regular phone.

I haven't really owned a PDA since the time of HandSpring.... Aw yeah.. Old skool. Maybe I will jump back on in 2008 with da iPhone...

Yeah, that's the same with me. My last "true" PDA was the Visor.

Though my Ericsson Z600 keeps all my contact info and syncs via Bluetooth with my Mac. So it's a pretty decent PDA in that respect. Though I still usually end up writing information down on a piece of paper when I'm out due to the typing frustration noted above. That's where the iPhone should help out.

[JupiterOne]

Does this automatically mean that Rogers will provide the same visual voice mail service?

[katastroff]

According to a short blurb in the Gazette this morning, a spokesperson for Rogers denied any deal was done. Also, no email was sent to clients announcing such a deal.

PS: yes, they mentionned appleinsider.com

:-)

[rain]

Rogers is probably only the second complete disaster of a cell company in Canada behind Telus.
When Rogers carries the new iPone... it will do the following:
Not play music
Not play video
Not have bluetooth
Not run os X
Not have web browsing capabilites
Not connect to any computer in any way possible
Not display any graphical user interface

Will be an impressive inert piece of technology that holds down paper, and looks cool.
Will have custom Rogers 3bit graphic logo that appears when it turns on... and if you pay an extra $300/month on your bill... will make phone calls.

Rogers is one of those companies that disables ALL features on its phones.
I have the Motorolla Razor... and all I can do is talk. If I take a photo.... all i can do is send it wireless for $5 to another phone.... no way to put it on your computer.

They disabled the bluetooth, calls are always droped after 3 minutes, they always screw up the billing... forcing you to spend 5 hours on hold over a matter of days to not resolve the issue.

It's the most pathetic excuse for a company that i've ever seen... except for Telus.

So Yay.... when the iPhone comes out... I'll go look at it... then go home and watch the keynote... and dream of what could have been....

[Zandros]

Whoa. Your data plans are expensive. Over here, 3 offers a 3.6 Mbit (HSDPA) unlimited data plan for about 80 USD/month. Even that is too much by half, IMO.

[Hujib]

I Hate Rogers

[Tofino]

Originally Posted by MikeGlenn

I'm sorry but the title is a bit sensationalist. Rogers has yet to "land" anything, they're just the most likely since they're the only GSM carrier in Canada. We only know that at some point they MAY carry the iPhone. If, when and how much are up to Apple to decide.

I totally agree. I have always had the suspicion that Steve hates Canada. It took YEARS to get a Canadian iTunes store and only recently did we get at least a subset of refurbished/discounted deals at the Apple online store. I think we still don't have an Apple retail store (correct me if i'm wrong) and the fact that there was no announcement for Canadian availability for the iPhone does not bode well. I certainly wouldn't hold my breath...

Steve! Did we offend you? What happened? I remember when even NeXT had an office in Vancouver. Where you mistreated? Where we too polite for you? Talk to us!

[Hujib]

There are 2 Apple Retail stores in Toronto.

[dona83]

As a Rogers customer for over five years, and a Telus customer for 8 months during that span, I gotta say I can't see myself with any other carrier. Their customer service is second to none, the service in general is awesome, no complaints here.

Disabling phone features? I have a Treo 650 and none of the features are disabled, I don't even have a data plan I just paid the price where I didn't need a data plan. I will probably get the cheapest plan though to take advantage of the weather and Google maps thing. I agree the data plan is expensive and I've been holding out on it. It's pretty sad when it's cheaper to do data roaming (1 cent/kb in the US) than to surf in your own area (5 cent/kb if you're not on a data plan). Even the $25/3MB data plan costs 2 cent/kb to surf over and above the 3MB...

[djbradley]

Originally Posted by Tofino

I have always had the suspicion that Steve hates Canada. It took YEARS to get a Canadian iTunes store and only recently did we get at least a subset of refurbished/discounted deals at the Apple online store. I think we still don't have an Apple retail store (correct me if i'm wrong) and the fact that there was no announcement for Canadian availability for the iPhone does not bode well.

Steve's ok with Canucks (as far as I know). The iTunes store delay was due to 1) the labyrinthine nature of Canada's music copyright system (it's cobbled together from matchsticks and scotch tape); 2) digitally-induced fear on the part of CDN labels and artists ("uhhhh, we gonna get paid or what, eh?"). As for the online store, I place the blame on Apple Canada rather than S. Jobs. Apple Canada seems to have taken a cue from the music industry (the "matchsticks & tape" approach to organizational management). In my experience, they're more or less a bunch of seat warmers. Seems to me that Apple Oz is a fair bit more active & innovative (but they're somewhat inaccessible to we CDNs, what with being on the other side of the world and all).
Finally (and back on to the thread), the iPhone announcement (or lack thereof) is likely due to Roger's trying to do its best to make as much $ as possible off of it rather than foot-draggin' by Apple. Canada's telecom ecosystem is, from the p.o.v. of consumers, pretty darn lousy (as this thread demonstrates). Roger's knows the buzz around the iPhone and if they end up with both the iPhone and the Blackberry, well, they'll have a lock on the converge-o-device market. Good ol' CDN telecom monopoly thinking is, I'm sure, in full force at Roger's. Will things get better if BCE is bought out by non-CDNs? Don't bet on it. The reason why non-CDN companies want in to Canada is to have access to the way-stupid (for us) money-fountain (for them) that is the oligopolized CDN telecom system.

[John_Drake]

Rogers landing the deal is old news. If you emailed them directly as long as a month they would email you back telling you that they were gonna carry the device.

Hear me now: The key to the iPhone in Canada is Rogers offering an unlimited data plan!!!. If they don't do that, the iPhone will flop!

[Electric Monk]

Yeah Canadian data rates are freakin' insane and I would sincerely hope that Apple requires a flat rate data plan for a reasonable price to be bundled with the iPhone.

As for the other comments does anyone seriously think that Apple would let Rogers stuff their branding and crap experience all over it? If Rogers wants it they agree to most or all the terms AT&T agreed to. What Rogers is get is an exclusive on the iPhone, and their little logo saying it's the Rogers network in the top left of the screen. They also get one slick phone that will strengthen their brand, and with mobile number portability bring in Telus/Bell customers .

Now to wish that the theoretically economically conservative federal government would deregulate the telecom market and we could get some competition up here. To be sure the various US networks would probably only cover the hundred miles from the border folks (plus the other mid-to-large cities) but it would be enough for me and plenty others—as Fido showed before Rogers bought them.

[DaveGee]

Originally Posted by Electric Monk

Yeah Canadian data rates are freakin' insane

That's to be expected... Data moves slower in the colder climates therefore cell towers are outfitted with enormous blow dryers to re-warm the air and keep the data rolling and **somebody** has to pay for that...

D

[indiemike]

I was talking to a client of mine today who owns a business that deals in security technology for cellphones, he's kind of a big deal in the industry and he mentioned to me that Yes indeed Rogers Wireless will be carrying the iPhone in Canada, they already have them in their wearhouses and plan to begin offering it shortly after it is launched in the US so that they can ride the wae of buzz that will be generated by at&t.

He also had one on hand and it is incredible, such a beautiful little device that's so fun and easy to use. The visual voice mail didn't work yet but everything else was just fine. I was supprised at how easy typing on it is and how the response of the OS is damn near organic.

It's nothing official but it should put us Canadians who felt like we were being left in the dark here at ease.

[Eric1285]

Any idea on when exactly the iPhone will be launched in Canada?

[Electric Monk]

If Apple has enough iPhones I imagine as soon as possible, given that Canada has similar 3G UMTS coverage to the States (i.e. fairly little) and hence a 3G version isn't the priority it is in Europe or the requirement (ya know, to work at all) in Japan/South Korea.

Like the guy said above (regardless of whether he was telling the truth or not about playing with it :) it makes sense for Rogers to ride off the AT&T advertising dollars as Canada is basically part of the US television market.

I believe I heard August in a rumour, but that means very little. My prediction? Depends on how many iPhone Apple actually managed to manufacture and very little else.