November 29, 2007
Rumor: iPhone Coming to Canada Jan/Feb 2008
The other day I ran into an old friend who activates cellphones as part of their job. As the conversation went on, I expressed my plans to import an iPhone if it did not see daylight in Canada. However, they informed me that they received notice that the iPhone could be coming to Canada as soon as January of next year. This was exciting news, but we’ve seen rumors circulate about this before. Regardless, I’m going to put some faith in this source of mine because it’s starting to sound like the possibility of the iPhone being available for use in Canada isn’t so farfetched.
Just yesterday, the Canadian government released details that it wants more competition in the wireless provider sector. What this equates to would be lower rates, and that would be a really good thing.
I’ve heard theories on why the iPhone never made it to Canada soon after it was released in the US, and it’s likely because of the lack of competition that Apple has held off in releasing it here. Apple partnering up with Rogers (who is the only current provider who can support the iPhone) in its current state, with expensive data rates and all, would really ruin the experience to the customer, and that is probably not what Apple wants.
Having the privilege of already playing with the iPhone, I have to agree with everybody else in that this phone needs a good data plan along with it in order for it to work well. Sure you can try using it with Wi-Fi points which is what most Canadians have done with their unlocked iPhone. But if you’re stranded in the city with no access to a free Wi-Fi signal, you can’t access Google Maps. Another example where Wi-Fi just might not do is when constantly checking your email on the go is an integral part of your job.
If this rumor is true and cheaper data plans come out of more wireless providers entering the Canadian market, I can’t wait.
Rogers has already bought the rights to the phone and has thousands of them siting in vancouver in a wearhouse ready to be released. They planned to release them before X-mas but gt heldup with other things. Now the release date is expected to be late January to early Febuary 208, like you said. But Apple better tell us soon because that date is coming up pretty soon.
Now, I haven’t gotten any official word from ANY representative. The iPhone is a touchy subject for the manufacturer (Apple), Distributor (Apple Can.) and service provider alike (Rogers). Whenever I talk to someone they’re quick to pass the buck and blame the other organization for the lack of iPhone in Canada. The word I got from Apple Public relations is that rogers is currently working on new data plans that will accommodate the information hungry iPhone and has not yet completed this pricing structure for the approval of Apple. This could be very true, I know that a Blackberry is not all that dependent on data streams, in fact you could have a pearl up and running with just typical cell phone usage if you really wanted to. Surfing becomes a chore on palms with pretty much all of the mobile browsers to date, but safari is where the iPhone shines, with mobile safari, the ad spots tell you the truth when they tell you that it offers the “real” internet, not a water downed version of it. When I contacted Rogers they gave me a cockimiemied story about Apple unable to take strides in adapting the iPhone technology to Canadian standards. wait… what? Let’s see. GSM locking mechanism and coding technology, check. Cellular radio receiver/transmitter, check. Wifi capable cities, check. EDGE networking systems throughout major cellular cities, check. Okay, what technologies does it have to adapt? Well, that baffled me for a while, until I got the third piece of the puzzle. Apple Canada was able to fill me in on a few things with a few simple words. Licensing conflicts. No exact words were said to explain the issue, but as a rep from Apple’s Canadian distributor told me, the current contract with Canada’s only GSM provider is simply tentative. Which means that there are certain stipulations that need to be met by both parties for before availability becomes even remotely possible. Since nobody is truly privy to these stipulations and agreements, one can only speculate. But taking a cue from AT&T’s stellar launch of over 19 percent of the marketshare in just a 90 days, it’s pretty easy to see what those stipulations may be. Apple must first provide exclusive rights to the technology, any made by Apple for the iPhone will be exclusively available through the service provider. Atleast for the five years of the contract. The technology MUST be compatible with all of AT&T’s networks and cannot deviate from from their network capabilities. Hence the reason why the iPhone is only available in EDGE not the cheaper faster and more reliable G3. These stipulations were easily met by Apple, AT&T, however had to take a big blow. They had to provide a reasonable data stream service to customers that “enhanced” the iPhone experience. With their value priced unlimited service for Blackberry, this was easily met. the other, and this was a HUGE blow, Apple had all rights to the iPhone as a proprietary technology, so no silly add-ons by AT&T, no exclusive music and ringtone store as they had in the past, in fact, micro purchases on the AT&T network are almost non-existent. This is where Rogers fails. Rogers is not likely to give up their micro purchasing rights easily. Charging over a dollar for songs, and about the same for their silly ringtones, it’s a matter of letting iPhone users have free roam of the iTunes music store, putting their credit card debits into 99 cent songs and ringtones. There is hope, Rogers has recently upgraded to G3 networks, so has their US counterpart AT&T. This means the possibility of cheaper data stream network plans. As Randall Stephenson mentioned in October, AT&T has been working closely with Apple to produce a G3 phone and have done so. This phone will be released in 1st-2nd quarter of 2008. rogers has also been working on new pricing plans for 2008. This will include a “high volume” G3 netwrok plan for as little as $90/mnth. It may not be unlimited, but even if high volume means about 120MB, it’s well worth it here in Canada. The only thing that has anybody worried is the licensing agreements. rogers is currently working feverently on a compromise with Apple since their announcement that the iPhone has sold over 4 million units since its release. Since a full licensing compromise would seem unlikely, considering that Apple estimates that the iPhones sales will most likely only reach the unit count in the state of California in Canada as a whole, it is most likely we will see a price hike in the hardware. So, as Apple sells their iPhone through AT&T at 500 (having the provider take a small chunk of profit per unit) we will probably see the iPhone available for closer to 700 here. Because of the current lag of release here, we will probably see both the EDGE and G3 models of the iPhone in Canada by 2nd quarter 2008. Speculations still exist that we might even see it as late as Christmas 2008. Others speculate that Rogers has fast tracked their negotiations with Apple to sell the few EDGE phones they already have here. Only time will tell, but in my humble opinion, I’d rather have big companies like RIM, and Palm hold out on Rogers to force better pricing for consumers.
@wifi seeker – that was quite a mouthful! That’s a lot of inside information you mentioned though and I’m glad to hear that there’s stuff happening behind the scenes to work out a proper data plan (that is, if your information is indeed correct)
Never said it was correct, after all, it’s all speculation based on information I was given. Let’s not forget the legal issues behind using he name “iPhone in the first place” with Comcast’s home phone sevice.
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