Rogers Wireless iPhone 3G Plans: What a Rip Off, Oh Canada!

Rogers Wireless released Friday its pricing structure for iPhone 3G data and voice plans. All plans require  a long three-year contract.  Considering that a sizable percentage of Rogers mobile contracts end up in collections, Canadian consumers should beware of signing such a long contract. It’s simply a rip off.

Canadians have long bemoaned high cost of wireless service compared to those in the United States, and many blame lack of competition in a relatively thinly populated country that stretches across six time zones.

Voice and data plans for Apple’s iPhone 3G will start at $60 per month when the smartphone hits Canadian stores on July 11, Rogers Wireless said Friday. For $60, consumers will get  only 150 minutes of voice calling, with unlimited evenings and weekends; only 400 megabytes of data; and only 75 sent text messages, with unlimited incoming text messages and visual voicemail messages. Rogers estimated that 400 MB was the equivalent of up to 200,000 text e-mails, 3,100 web pages or 1,360 photo attachments. There is also a system access fee of $6.95 a month.

A $75 package nets only 300 minutes of calls, only 750 MB data and only 100 sent text messages while a $100 plan will get you only 600 minutes of calls with only 1 GB of data and only 200 sent text messages. The most expensive plan, at $115, pays for only 800 minutes of phone calls, only 2 GB of data and only 300 sent text messages. All the plans include unlimited Wi-Fi access at all Rogers and Fido hotspots.

“We’ve designed a pricing structure that offers affordable, flexible voice and data packages so Canadians can truly unleash their iPhone 3G experience on Canada’s fastest wireless network,” Rogers Wireless chief marketing officer John Boynton said in a statement. Rogers’ Fido subsidiary offered the same plans.

The 8GB iPhone 3G has improved on the original iPhone by adding several new features, such as GPS tracking, and running on the faster third-generation, or 3G, cellphone networks. The new iPhone goes on sale in Canada on July 11 for $199 for an 8GB model and $299 for the 16-gigabyte model.