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Big Wireless News from Industry Canada

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Industry Canada divulged plans for the upcoming auction of additional wireless spectrum: Government Opts for More Competition in the Wireless Sector. The good news is that they have set aside a good proportion of the new spectrum to new entrants into the Canadian market, as well as mandating things like shared tower space (for antennas). Hopefully this will put some price pressure on the incumbents in the Canadian wireless industry – Rogers, Telus, and Bell.

Update: Thomas Purves has written a post about this at StartUpNorth which lays out some of the implications of this announcement.

More fun from Rogers

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Alec Saunders reports on his experience with a new Rogers service he tried out – in particular, the basic buying (and returning) experience: Rogers Portable Internet bait and switch. There’s something strange going on when a market leader makes even more elementary mistakes than it did when it built its leadership position. Rogers reminds me of the record companies more than anything else – scrambling frantically in all directions when the road ahead is difficult but clearly marked.

Kapica on Canadian Data Rates

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The Globe and Mail’s Jack Kapica wrote a piece on Rogers data rates and the problems these pose in relation to bringing the iPhone to Canada. Take special note of the insulting comment from Rogers’ communications flack, who managed to both be inappropriately aggressive AND completely avoid the point of Kapica’s article. I wonder if mobile carriers – particularly those in Canada – will ever get it? Not only are they gouging their customers, but they’re leaving a ton of money on the table by completely underestimating the demand for wireless data in Canada.

Ooof. Calling Rogers is painful,

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Ooof. Calling Rogers is painful,

especially when it’s to buy a data plan from them. Nadia got a new phone yesterday – a Treo like mine – and for a device like that, a data plan is pretty important. So I called them up – knowing already what the deal on the table was – and signed up for a 3MB plan… for $25. I feel like Rogers is intentionally laughing at me or something. They invented plans in the late 90s for WAP and have kept charging people through the nose ever since.

Thomas Purves has posted

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Thomas Purves has posted

a comparison of mobile data pricing in Canada and elsewhere in the world, and demonstrates that Canadian rates are by far the highest anywhere. The only *possible* light at the end of the tunnel is that if Rogers does bring in the Apple iPhone, then they’re going to have to do something to address the fact that the iPhone is designed for a pretty high level of network access, or so it seems. With any luck – but I’m not holding my breath – this will benefit Canadian customers across the board.

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