iPhone Rate Plans Revealed. What’s in Store for Canada?

Three days before the coveted iPhone hits the shelves of Apple Stores across America, Apple has revealed the plans available for its device to be used on the AT&T network.

iPhone Rate Plans as shown on Apple’s website

As many would agree, these rates are surprisingly reasonable. Actually, if I were living in America right now, I’d consider getting my hands on an iPhone the day it’s released. The ability to have internet and email access in your pocket has so many possibilities (looking up directions on Google Maps for one), and it’s really great that Apple and AT&T are able to provide all that access with an unlimited plan for a really reasonable price.

Can Canada see the same reasonable rates?

As I mentioned before, Canada has really atrocious data plans. Due to this, I’m kind of skeptical that rate plans for the iPhone in Canada can be as reasonable as what is offered stateside.

To put this in perspective, I thought I’d check out what AT&T normally offers with their data plans.

• 450 Minute voice plan (5000 nights & weekend mins): $39.99 USD/month*
• Data Connect (unlimited data plan): $79.99 USD/month*
• Rough Total (without taxes or extra monthly charges): $119.98 USD/month
• Compare this to a similar plan for the iPhone: $59.99 USD/month
  * Rates offered for the Chino Hills area

Obviously, there’s some subsidization or special exceptions with the rate plans for iPhone. It’s possible that Apple might have pulled some strings, but I’m thinking the plans for the iPhone are cheaper because it has wi-fi available as a substitute for internet access so it doesn’t have to bog down AT&Ts networks. Again, that is all speculation on my part.

Now what does Canada offer with similar terms? I did some investigating on the Rogers Wireless site as they are the candidate most likely to carry the iPhone if it does make it here.

• Mega Time (250 minutes, Unlimited Eve & Wknd): $35 CDN/month || $32.67¹ USD/month
• 200 MB Blackberry data plan ($5 per extra MB): $100 CDN/month || $93.34¹ USD/month
• Rough Total (without taxes or extra monthly charges): $126.01¹ USD/month
  ¹ Based on Canadian/US closing exchange rate @ 1.0706 of June 25 according to the Bank of Canada

Unfortunately, I was unable to find any plans that are really comparable to what AT&T offers, but they were as close as I could find.

Now you’re probably looking at the rough totals and saying, “They’re almost the same! What kind of argument do you have here?!”
Well, if you refer back to my previous post about Canada’s data plans as compared to the rest of the world, you know that if you were to use up 500MB of data in one month, Rogers would charge you something like $1600 for downloading that amount. Compare that to the $79.99 you’d only have to pay for reaching that amount on AT&T.

However, it’s quite possible that Rogers can offer what seems to be a “reasonable plan” after comparing the data at hand. Meaning that they might offer a $59.99/month plan as AT&T offers, but with only 200MB of data a month. Because really, the rough totals are almost similar with the exception of the data being allotted.

Who downloads over 200MB of data using their mobile phone?

Who would use over 200MB in one month on a mobile phone you say? Well, the iPhone is multimedia oriented, offers a full internet browsing experience, and allows you to watch YouTube videos on it. Considering that your average YouTube video is usually over 10MB, watching these can add up.

But can you really use that much of your data plan with the iPhone? If you chose to just use your wireless providers data networks for email and moderate web surfing, and left the YouTube video watching for when you’re on a wi-fi network, it’s plausible to not reach the 200MB cap. After all, there is wi-fi built into the device and there are quite a few places in Calgary that are outfitted with wi-fi. So if you have the ability to use it, and is also faster than an internet connection you could get on your wireless mobile network, I think that 200MB a month might just be enough — at least for me anyways.

Here’s to hoping that Apple pulls some strings with whoever provides wireless service for the iPhone up here.