I wrote a
post for cellphones.ca on the data rates offered by the big three in Canada. Not only are the rates punitive, but the companies actively conspire to try to rip you off. Not one of them provides any means for you to meter your consumption. I've asked all three and they all refuse point-blank to my request to provide me with an email if my data plan limit is going to be exceeded. they say that's impossible. Funny, their billing departments are able to tell !
the situation is so bad that it's like visiting a country where you rent a car only to discover that none of them have speedometers, and the penalty for speeding is to be pulled from the vehicle and be bludgeoned to death by club-wielding police. I mean, what else would you call an $80,000 bill from Bell for downloading some movies?
There is a small glimmer of light in the tunnel, however, with Rogers' recent PC-card data plans, which range in price from $65 to $100/month. At least they're not thousands of dollars per month! The rumour on hofo is that Rogers will extend those plans to WinMo devices and non-Rogers (aka unlocked iPhones sometime in mid-March).
But for now, I'm sticking with my Virgin Samsung m510 and its $10 unlimited HTML browsing plan and won't consider using a smartphone until I see a change. I'm quite happy using my iPod Touch at WiFi locations if I really need an internet fix.
One thing's for sure. Big changes are coming in the next year. Telus may go to GSM (or LTE, or 4G) in order to grab some of the international roaming fees of $500 Million/year that Rogers is pocketing right now. When the 2010 Olympics hit Canada, those revenues should jump up significantly, easily compensating Telus for its investment if it can grab half of the cash. Then too, we'll have 700 MHz devices within a year or so. Point is, anyone that signs a 3-year contract right now is going to be regretting it in the not-too distant future.
cheers
Stewart in Calgary
Comparison of Big 3 rates
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