Bell may have 6GB of data for $30, iPad sharing option
updated 06:05 pm EDT, Wed July 28, 2010
Bell to hit Rogers with cheap data and iPad deal
Bell could land a victory against other Canadian carriers by offering a strong promo deal for smartphones and the iPad, a leaked memo shows. Similar to the deals Rogers has been running since 2008, the carrier would provide 6GB of data for $30 per month for BlackBerries, iPhones and other smartphones, including tethering. The deal identified by BGR would start July 30 -- the same day the iPhone 4 is available in Canada -- and would run until September 30, the end of the summer quarter.
Rogers will likely have a similar offer this year to keep iPhone customers onboard, but it's not yet known if Telus will follow suit.
A second plan would take advantage of Rogers' currently scrapped strategy to offer data sharing for iPads. An extra $10 per month would let an iPad with a non-prepaid micro SIM use the same pool of data given to an existing smartphone, even extending to the new 6GB plan. It's implied that the plan for the Apple tablet would also be taken away as an option by September 30.
Canadians have faced a sharp turnaround in the perception of their quality of cellular service since the iPhone arrived in the country in 2008. While limited carrier choices and bandwidth caps were considered restrictions from the outset, the country is now less restrictive than the US as all carriers use the same 3G network types and have rushed to provide promos with high data transfer caps for phones and iPads. They likewise offer features such as tethering as free bonuses for all but the most basic plans, and the nation is one of the few to have an officially sanctioned, unlocked iPhone option in addition to locked but subsidized models for multiple providers.
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Joined: Oct 1999
crooks
I never understood the concept of charging an extra for "tethering".. Fu*k, you've already paid for a fixed amount of data, it's none of their business how you use it! Otherwise it's like saying "we offer you this just to appear generous, but we hope you won't use it, but if you're really gonna use it, we're gonna have to charge you more".. it's like going to an all you can eat buffet, but being charged an extra if you want to eat your meal with a fork instead of a straw... or buying a Porsche and having to pay to use it on the highway or faster than 35 mph...
Equally, an ISP don't charge you more if you use a router at home and share your connexion with your laptop and your wife's computer.. You pay for a thing, you should be able to use it as you like, as long as you don't go over your limit...