Ruined iPhone

Today, as Rogers Wireless launches the coveted Apple iPhone, Canadian consumers and politicians will be blitzing the Internet to protest unfair wireless phone contracts.

A Toronto-based Internet marketing company that's spearheaded an online campaign urging customers not to buy the 3G phone is holding a live Webcast at 10 a.m. on July 11.

The Webcast will conclude with the delivery of a hard copy of Oilchange.com's RuinediPhone petition to Rogers. The petition, so far, has garnered more than 60,000 signatures online.

Today, as Rogers Wireless launches the coveted Apple iPhone, Canadian consumers and politicians will be blitzing the Internet to protest unfair wireless phone contracts.

A Toronto-based Internet marketing company that's spearheaded an online campaign urging customers not to buy the 3G phone is holding a live Webcast at 10 a.m. on July 11.

The Webcast will conclude with the delivery of a hard copy of Oilchange.com's RuinediPhone petition to Rogers. The petition, so far, has garnered more than 60,000 signatures online.

Liberal MP David McGuinty (Ottawa South) talks about his "Get Connected Fairly" act.

"We're going to invite Rogers to participate and make a comment to people who are very angry about the pricing," says Jamie Lynch, vice-president and co-founder of Oilchange.com. "People here are fed up at being overcharged."

Rogers did respond partially to consumer clamour for a better data plan, by offering those who activate an iPhone before the end of August the opton to add 6 GB plan to any voice package for $30 a month.

"We heard a lot from our customers, they were very enthusiastic about the iPhone," says Rogers' spokesperson Elizabeth Hamilton. "They were very knowledgeable about how much data they need."

It's unlikely Rogers will accept the invitation to participate in today's Webcast organized by Oilchange.com.

"We generally don't respond to petitions or polls," Hamilton says.

But at least one high-profile politician, Liberal MP David McGuinty -- brother of Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty -- will be participating in the Webcast.

The Liberal environment critic says Rogers is using the iPhone as bait to lure Canadians into unfair contracts.

He said Rogers' promotional price cut on its controversial iPhone plan "is very temporary and dubbed it a PR measure.

"I want a long-term solution to this problem."

Many Canadian consumers are outraged that Rogers is charging more for its iPhone data plans compared with providers in the U.S. and the U.K.

Oilchange.com experienced first-hand, the difference between Canadian and American wireless plans.

Petition Against Ridiculous Wireless Data Prices in Canada

As many of you may know consumers in Canada are being gouged by the wireless phone companies here - largely because of the lack of competition.  Many people myself included believe that the companies involved are being particularly shortsighted and the company which made the first move towards what I am going to suggest would likely reap huge rewards.

My suggestion is to go to the Sprint "The Simply Everything Plan".   The plan includes Unlimited talk (including long distance and roaming all over the USA), Web surfing, emailing, texting, video-messaging, picture-sharing, GPS navigation, push-to-talk, and Sprint TV and Music programming.  All for $99!

Many telcom analysts believe that plans like this which allow consumers to no longer fear extra costs, of any kind, is going to drive real change in the marketplace.

The only thing missing in this plan is that it should also include both the USA and Canada with no roaming for either data or talk.  If you are listening Sprint - if you implement this people from Canada will cross the border to sign up with you especially with the current strength of the Canadian dollar vis-a-vis the US dollar.

At minimum the wireless phone companies here should introduce reasonably priced all you can eat data plans like those from AT&T for the iPhone in the US.  I encourage everyone to sign this online petition - it already has 5375 votes as of this writing.

Links:

http://www.petitiononline.com/iPhone99/
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/unlimited-talk-data-plans-wireless/story.aspx?guid=A3CF0343-5242-40A7-B350-51F02F276BBB
http://newsreleases.sprint.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=127149&p=irol-newsArticle_newsroom&ID=1113525

Technorati Tags: canada wireless,data plans,simply everything plan,iphone

A COMMUNICATIONS UTOPIA

I just ran across this on an old unpublished website I had written a few years ago interestingly I still believe strongly in this idea. Hopefully one day it will come to be.

This is just a short note of my view of what the world should be like from a utopian communications viewpoint.

Essentially my belief is that:

1. All communications should be free.

2. When you are born you should be assigned a telephone number which will follow you for the rest of your life.

Imagine this world.

You are born Mark Johnson, your telephone number is 514-416-978-3906. You are given a microphone implant and cochlear implants with this phone number. You essentially have technological telepathy. If it any point you want to be not disturbed, no problem, disconnect and divert to voice messaging or accept only text messaging to your single e-mail account which is linked to this phone number. You can also block unwanted numbers accept calls from people you want to talk to even when you are busy, caller id, whatever, you have the freedom to choose. You can disallow GPS location, or allow it.

Imagine you go off to Malaysia for a business trip, you can talk to your wife all you want for free, even on the airplane if you so wish, she can call you if she needs you. You can talk to your kids when they are at school, anything. Just say the word, "call little johnny", and there he is, talking to you in your head.

It does not make sense that wireless licenses are being sold by governments for exorbitant sums to big business whom in order to make back the money has to fleece the consumer. Government exists to serve the people not big business, the people I believe want free communication, let us use the money for that, or at least not demand it in the first place.