Almost 24,000 Canadians have signed an online petition at RuniediPhone.com to protest the high priced iPhone plans announced by Rogers. The 3G iPhone is set to debut in 22 countries around the world on July 11th. Evidentially in Canada it will not be a purely joyful introduction.
The Rogers iPhone plans start at $60 per month for 150 weekday minutes, include only 400MB of data and 75 text messages. To get 800 weekday minutes, 2GB of data and 300 text messages the plan costs $115 per month. There are additional iPhone Value Packs for $15 and $20 that include additional text messages and other features, but no add-on data.
If I were Canadian I would sign the petition in a heartbeat – even if I didn’t want to get an iPhone. These rates are sky high and configured ridiculously for a device as powerful as the iPhone. It would be like buying a Ferrari but not filling it with gas. What good is having a beautiful machine that can’t go anywhere?
It is no wonder that Canada’s mobile adoption rate is only near 60% – while Europe and Asia are often 100% or more per capita. Here in the U.S. we have an 80% adoption rate. The reality is that mobile marketing can only take off if consumers are using mobile. Consumers use mobile when it is affordable and powerful. On July 11th, Canada gets one of these.
