Rogers data limit an iPhone barrier?

While the likelihood of Apple's iPhone arriving in Canada has lately been cast into doubt, an increasing number of prospective buyers in the country are up in arms over restrictive data limits that threaten to cripple the iPhone's usefulness. Starting a petition, a group of potential owners have decried a 25MB limit on its typical Internet access as arbitrary, pointing out that Rogers has the most expensive data rates of any carrier in North America -- even compared to its own Palm Treo plan and its Fido sub-division.

"Users have paid several hundred, and in some cases more than $1000, during one month for data usage," read the complaint. They "would have not been charged extra on any other North American carrier on their best data plan."

Customers pointed out that Rogers' plan discourages any use of some of the iPhone's best features when outside of Wi-Fi hotspots, such as e-mail access, web browsing, or widgets. The original 25MB plan was designed before phones were capable of many of the Internet features of today's devices. Immediate rivals Bell and Telus have recently expanded or eliminated their restrictions, and a change may be essential to help compete, the customers said.

Rogers is one of the only cellphone providers in North America to go without a true uncapped Internet plan. Although the company claims to have an unlimited plan at $100 per month, the carrier notes that it reserves the right to throttle or otherwise limit use past 100MB. Customers also have no means of viewing Internet use until the pay period expires and frequently incur extra fees without their earlier knowledge.

In contrast, the US-based provider AT&T is the only currently announced provider of the iPhone and offers a true unlimited smartphone data plan for $20 US ($23 CDN) per month. AT&T has been a partner of Rogers in the past.

Rogers hasn't yet responded to these criticisms and has yet to confirm a definitive release window for the iPhone in the region. [via iPhone World]