Corvus Consulting

In a recent story about the iPhone’s absence in Canada and the reasons behind it, the Globe and Mail ran a web poll (read ‘unscientific’) asking whether Rogers (the only compatible network owner) will need to drop data rates to make the coveted device viable here:

From the article, its comments and the obvious sentiments expressed in the poll, it’s clear that the only thing that doesn’t support the iPhone in Canada is Rogers’ broken business models. While there are lots of theories on why, my belief, informed by way of the insightful and NSFW Steve Gilmor is that the jump that AT&T made to allow WiFi to co-exist with an EDGE device is the one that Rogers will not make. Instead, Rogers bends over backwards to keep its customers from using WiFi at all, going so far as to have the capability programatically removed from the Blackberry Curve. RIM, not one to rock the boat, hasn’t the clout, wits or cajones to push back, and obligingly assists Rogers in maintaining data rates 3x that of the US market. How Canadian.

I’m currently a Rogers customer, though not willingly; they bought Fido a couple years ago and since then not much has changed. Actually, the only innovation was that the ‘Rogers’ network shows up instead of ‘Fido’ now. That hasn’t been a bad change, with a big improvement in network coverage and signal quality. Strangely enough, an iPhone in my hands with a plan comparable to AT&Ts unlimited data plan (not the cheapest shown in the Globe article, I should add) would lead me to spend nearly TWICE the amount on subscription fees that I do now. For some reason, Rogers sees more potential in flogging ‘fave-5’ plans through commercials featuring chirpy college students obsessing about who is on each other’s 5-list. Has the future ever looked so brilliant?

In the past couple weeks I’ve started to carry my consolation non-phone, the iPod Touch. It’s a solid device that needs some bug fixes and feature tweaks, but overall the killer app is Safari and WiFi. Even without the ubiquitous EDGE network, I find the device totally useful and it’s a joy to have with me. In a real world that is built on give and take, Rogers has decided, as far as the public can scrutinize, that it prefers to only take, keeping revenues lower on high-margin data access. Until they realize they will get more by giving a bit, I’ll remain an unhappy customer.

Rogers needs to hear from you, if you’re like me and would like an iPhone available without going through unlocking wars, with Wifi and with unlimited data. Their contact form is always open. Be clear, polite, and show that you’re behind Rogers coming into the 21st century.