Can you say mobile data bandwidth oligopoly / r*poff? I knew you could :-( ! We've been blogging about this for what four years now? I know that I blogged about this for the Peer 1 NA Bandwith News Blog waaaaay back when (2005 if not earlier)!

QUOTE [From $6K per gigabyte? No thanks, Ted. — Alec Saunders SquawkBox]

Howard made a call to Rogers to inquire about US roaming rates for his iPhone. The good news? You can buy roaming voice minutes from Rogers. And, they’ve recently reduced their data roaming charges as well. How much you ask? Well, the friendly CSR who answered Howard’s call provided the answer:

“How much data are you likely to consume on your trip, Sir?”, she asked.

“I don’t know”, said Howard. “How much would a gigabyte cost?”

“Umm….”, came the reply “$6,000. Let me just double check that for you. (pause) yes sir, it actually is $6,000″.

For what? So that AT&T and Rogers can exchange billing records?

Now you know why I’m no fan of locked mobile phones. Nope, not at all. I’ll take an unlocked phone over a locked phone any day.

END QUOTE