Well, my e-mail to Rogers has received a response. This isn’t surprising, as their customer support is actually not bad. Plus they are somewhat obligated to at least respond.
I would say least response is probably accurate in this case, too. The e-mail has a strong generic ring to it, and the general message is “this is priced well” and “you don’t know how you’ll use your iPhone as well as we know, so we are looking out for you”. Sure. I call bullshit, of course. Anyhow, here is their response verbatim:
Dear Peter Andersen,
Thank you for taking the time to write to us, we appreciate your use of online customer service.
In your recent email, you have informed us that you are dissatisfied with the price of our iPhone plans.
Rogers has designed a pricing structure that offers high-value, flexible voice and data packages so that Canadians can make the most of their
iPhone 3G experience.The majority of carriers offering iPhone 3G worldwide do not have unlimited plans for this device. Some carriers have implemented a soft cap so the plan isnt truly unlimited. For example, in France the soft cap is 500MB where we have a plan that includes 4 times that amount in your bucket. Unlimited plans could end up costing you more for what you don’t use.
Based on reports that the average usage for the first generation iPhone was less than 100MB per month, our iPhone 3G plans more than accommodate the vast majority of customers. Rogers and Fido customers get 4 times the data on our $60 entry level plan (400 MB) and 20 times the data on our most comprehensive plan.
We apologize for the inconvenience.
We are pleased to have been able to address your inquiry. For additional information please visit our website at www.rogers.com. You are a valued customer and we thank you for your business.
For future email correspondence with respect to this e-mail, please quote reference number 38959100
Regards,
Grant C.
Rogers Online Customer Service
http://www.rogers.com
And mine back:
Thank you for your reply. As I’m sure you are receiving many complaints about your announced plans, I totally understand the generic nature of it.
I respectfully disagree with the definition of “high-value” in your response, as I do not feel value is being received. A lot of this is due to the fact that the restricted data plans are being bundled with voice minutes as well. There is a definite “low voice, low data” combination going on here which implies that customers must buy more of one to get more of the other. I certainly hope this is not the case. One point I was making in my message was that I felt that the data option should be a value-add, not an integral part of a plan. I see no reason why Rogers/Fido cannot structure their pricing in this way. Again, when comparing to AT&T (which I feel is the only legitimate comparison) their voice plans are separate from data. Add to this the fact that they have a single option for data and not only does it make the choice a simpler one but it also greatly simplifies their billing and monitoring – something I would have thought Rogers/Fido would have taken into consideration. $30/month gives a customer unlimited data, regardless of how much AT&T “thinks” a customer may use. They have no need to monitor the consumption or to tier pricing. This is a win-win for both sides, imho, since a) the customer has a simple decision to make – data or not – and AT&T has a simple plan to administer. If you are correct that most people use <100mb of data, then Rogers would be in a profitable situation from this type of pricing as well and it poses no risk (risk is the only thing I can assume is stopping Rogers from offering unlimited data).
While I cannot provide an argument to your findings to date (as I do not have the information you have), I strongly disagree that such low consumption rates will continue. The iPhone is a social media tool in addition to a phone. With the opening of the App Store on July 11th, more and more applications will be available to iPhone users, and more and more of these applications will be very data-centric. Tools such as Qik and Shozu have already shown popularity with video sharing, not to mention the already-available YouTube on the iPhone. Any type of video streaming or sharing will result in a large increase in data use for any customer, one that will easily surpass your lower level data tiers (and for what it’s worth, my guess as to why people have not used more video to date or exceeded 100mb on average is simply because your EDGE network can’t handle it). I feel that Rogers/Fido not recognizing the imminent nature of these data use increases is short-sighted.
Requiring that users lock in to a 3 year plan and restricting them to this pricing tier is also short-sighted as data consumption will no doubt change in the coming months, nevermind the coming years. People will feel restricted now and forced to spend increasing amounts of money on data later.
I strongly feel that Rogers/Fido should adopt a similar pricing plan to your neighbor AT&T. Data should be a feature, not comparative to voice, and should be a single-price, all or nothing choice. $30/month is competitive, but frankly I would understand and adopt even a slightly higher rate if it would afford me the ability to use an iPhone in a way that it is intended.
I have thought a lot about why Rogers is pricing in the way that they are. If the above message is sincere (hold your laughter until the end) then they feel that most people don’t have a concept of what unlimited data is and that they want to offer value-priced versions of data packages so that people feel they are not being overcharged. This would be true if the prices being offered weren’t already excessive to start with, nevermind restrictive. $60/month for the minimum plan offers 400mb of data along with 150 minutes of voice. This is a very low amount on both counts, especially the voice data. Keep in mind that this voice data, as priced, is applied for ANY call prior to 9pm on a weekday. That basically means that you have 5 minutes a day of voice usage. In current times, this is laughable. Add to the fact that the $60/month charge is closer to $95 after surcharges and taxes, it’s a pretty high premium to pay. They are basically saying we’ll give you the lowest data tier of 400mb which is “huge” by their definition but in order to get that you are limited to 150 minutes of real-world voice time. Want more voice time? Well, pay more and heck we’ll throw in a trickle more data.
In the past Rogers has split these bundles and has offered things a la carte (typically for more $) so this may be the case here as well. However they make no mention of this and as such the 4 announced pricing plans are what have to be taken as truth. And if this is truth, it’s robbery. Want more voice time on your iPhone? You have to pay for more data time as well. Want more data? You have to pay for more voice time as well. But hey, want earlier evenings? That’ll cost you $20/month because we’re going to make you take a handful of “features” with it that would otherwise be unsellable on their own. Have a nice day.
It’s also yet unknown what will happen to the 1st gen iPhones. On two counts – first what Rogers intends to do with them in terms of what is offered and/or what is allowed, and second what the 2.0 firmware upgrade will do to them. If the best case is true and Rogers allows the phones (and 2.0 doesn’t lock them down solid), then what data plan will be available? Currently it appears to be a $30/300mb plan. Compared to my existing $10/10mb plan (I kid you not) this is a “bargain” but it’s still robbery.
Time will tell I guess. And I’m hoping that Rogers is actually listening to the no doubt thousands of complaints they are receiving on a daily basis. The current online community is nothing if not revolutionary, something I’m sure Rogers is now discovering.
