Wednesday, July 9,2008 @ 9:45am
Rogers to offer $30 6GB iPhone 3G plan [U]
(Updated with extra plan info) Rogers and its sub-brand Fido today made concessions to potential subscribers worried about low bandwidth by offering a limited-run promotional plan for the iPhone 3G. Customers who sign up for the Apple device before the end of August will have access to a $30 monthly plan that offers 6GB of data per month while purchased with any existing voice plan Rogers or Fido already offers. The pricing effectively gives an iPhone user enough bandwidth to watch nearly 105 hours of YouTube videos per month on the cellular connection, Rogers claims.
Users will also be able to upgrade to the iPhone 3G, according to the company, and should be purchasable online. However, Visual Voicemail is considered separate from the data plan and will cost an additional $8 per month, as will text messages. Subscribers can still order these individually or as part of value packs.
In addition to the last-minute plan addition, certain Rogers and Fido stores will also open at the same 8AM advance date as American Apple and AT&T stores, including Fido's flagship Montreal shop as well as individual Rogers stores in Calgary, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver. Apple Canada isn't believed to be selling the iPhone 3G either online or at retail.
Company spokeswoman Elizabeth Hamilton also notes that the 6GB plan isn't limited to the iPhone 3G and will apply to any 3G-capable smartphone sold by Rogers or Fido during the timespan, including the BlackBerry Bold. The official also doesn't expect the discount to last past the August 31st cut-off date. Such news points to the $30 deal primarily overcoming concerns over a dampened iPhone 3G launch rather than a long-term solution.