Roland Tanglao's Weblog

I am unencumbered by knowledge when it comes to R-UIMs on CDMA phones. Are they really the CDMA equivalent of SIM cards (which allow people to switch phones).? If so, it seems logical (but unfortunately nothing is logical in the 'krazy' world of the mobile bandwidth oligopoly) to make their use mandatory and to make R-UIMs work across different Canadian CDMA carriers so people can switch carriers just as easily as they can switch numbers. Have any other CDMA carriers around the world done this? I'm guessing no and I'm guessing this is yet another reason why CDMA will continue to lose market share world wide.

FROM Telecom Trends: Looking forward to Videotron wireless:

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A new entrant on this market would be a nice thing. But beside a 4th entrant, maybe the CRTC should mandate first the Bell, Telus, Virgin Mobile and other CDMA operators to let customers port their CDMA handset. So that to really complement the MNP of March 14th.I find this situation where to benefit from the services of one operator you have to buy "one of his phones" and you can't use he same phone on another CDMA network. The case with Virgin Mobile which operate on the physical infrastructure of Bell doesn't allow one to buy say a CDMA smartphone from Bell and activate it with Virgin Mobile is abusing for me. I am used to the european market and maybe porting CDMA phones from one operator to another is by far an efficient way to bring competition and innovation in this market. R-UIM technology have been around for years but operators still hold back the customer's freedom to choose the best offer. I don't see where a customer will benefit from a 4th operator.

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Pretty hilarious that Rogers is hawking a video shot on N series Nokia phones when Rogers doesn't offer any Nokia N series phones in Canada. Or maybe this means Rogers will be selling N series phones in Canada soon? Now that would be cool! Fingers crossed.

Of course anything that Rogers sells would be horribly locked like my trial KRZR K1 which has had its ring tones locked (you can't put your own MP3 ringtones even though unlocked KRZRs support them) and its bluetooth address book and calendar are locked.

I'd love to see Rogers introduce unlocked N series phones. If/when that day comes, I'll be the first to praise them for it. Not holding my breath.

Buyers beware. Buy only unlocked phones if you want to use all their multimedia features and not be tied to cellcos r*poff ringtone stores. At least Rogers and Fido customers have the option of buying and using unlocked phones. Telus and Bell customers are stuck with the cr*ppy handsets that Bell and Telus foist on them.

FROM Chantal Kreviazuk, Rogers and Nokia Partner to Shoot the First Canadian Major Label Video with Handsets:

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TORONTO, April 5 /CNW/ - Multiple award-winning singer/songwriter Chantal Kreviazuk has partnered with Rogers and Nokia, to film her new video for the smash single "Wonderful," entirely on two Nokia Nseries mobile phones. The video was conceptualized by SONY BMG MUSIC (CANADA) to be filmed using a Nokia Nseries handset and was shot in Los Angeles last month at six unique locations. This marks the first time a major record label has partnered with a mobile phone manufacturer to shoot a music video for widespread servicing on national television outlets. Log onto www.chantalonline.com/wonderful to watch a 30second clip of "Wonderful" and access information on Nokia products. Win one of 5 prize packs including a Nokia 5300 XpressMusic phone, $100 gift card from Rogers and a full Chantal Kreviazuk discography. Visit Rogers Yahoo! at rogers.yahoo.com to get an exclusive first look at "Wonderful" and the making of the video, for a limited time.

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Fido data has come down in price since I blogged about this in 2006 and 2005. According to Boris, it now costs $4000 for 1GB of data on Fido instead of $4000 for 250MB, a bargain, NOT :-) And although Telus only charges $400 for 1GB, it's still too much especially for a network like Telus's where you can't use cool GSM devices only the cr*ppy CDMA ones.

Boris's graph says it much better though:

[NOTE: Since I don't believe in whingeing :-), this will be my last post complaining about high mobile internet rates in Canada. My last post about this was: Wireless data in Canada is ridiculously expensive | Boris is right.]

I am very lucky to have my grandfathered unlimited mobile data plan from Fido of $50. Last month I used 252 MB of traffic (I am guessing about 75% was transmitting N70 cameraphone 2 megapixel photos via Shozu to flickr and 25% transmitting N70 cameraphone videos MPEG 4 of between 1-3MB each via Shozu to roland.blip.tv)

1. 500 KB plan: $5 + 251 * 30 = $7535
2. 5 MB plan: $25 + (252 - 5) * 10 = $2495
3. 25 MB plan: $50 + (252 - 25) * 30 = $6860
4. 50 MB plan: $75 + (252 - 75) * 30 = $5385
5. 100 MB plan: $100 + (252 - 100) * 30 = $4660

I guess the $50 that I pay is a lot cheaper than $2495 or even $7535 that others have to pay, eh :-) ?!?!

Not to mention the fact that you have to pay "4 ¢ per KB while roaming internationally" (which I guess includes the US). I don't have to pay this roaming fee in the US with my grandfathered plan.

Very interesting and very depressing for Canadians who actually want to create and share their mobile phone's photos and videos using the mobile internet i.e. without going through the "mobile phone to PC via Bluetooth or USB" chain of pain. Can somebody do the math for Rogers, Telus and Bell? Love to know if they are any cheaper! But somehow I doubt it!

From Options you can add.:

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Mobile Internet options
Within Canada and the U.S.

Combine any of these options
with your monthly package. 		Monthly charge
500 KB 		$5
5 MB 		$25
25 MB 		$50
50 MB 		$75
100 MB 		$100
hiptop option - Unlimited data
hiptop device required 		$20

Note 
	

Data transmission charges of 4¢ per KB apply for downloads. Options also available without a monthly airtime package (except 500 KB option and hiptop option), in which case, a system access fee of $6.95 per month applies.


  $5 per month for 500 KB
Combine this option with your monthly package
500 KB of data transmission
Mobile Internet enabled handset or PC Card required
4 ¢ per KB while roaming internationally
Each additional MB costs $30

Taxes, international mobile Internet roaming charges, system access fee ($6.95), and other applicable charges not included.

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  $25 per month for 5 MB
Each additional MB costs only $10
Mobile Internet enabled handset or PC Card required
You can subscribe to the $25 package alone or you may, except in the case of a hiptop or world PC Card, add it to a monthly airtime package.
4 ¢ per KB while roaming internationally

Taxes, international mobile Internet roaming charges, system access fee ($6.95), and other applicable charges not included.

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  $50 per month for 25 MB
Mobile Internet enabled handset or PC Card required
You can subscribe to the $50 package alone or you may, except in the case of a PC Card, add it to a monthly airtime package.
4 ¢ per KB while roaming internationally
Each additional KB costs 3 ¢

Taxes, international mobile Internet roaming charges, system access fee ($6.95), and other applicable charges not included.

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  $75 per month for 50 MB
Mobile Internet enabled handset or PC Card required
You can subscribe to the $75 package alone or you may, except in the case of a PC Card, add it to a monthly airtime package.
4 ¢ per KB while roaming internationally
Each additional KB costs 3 ¢

Taxes, international mobile Internet roaming charges, system access fee ($6.95), and other applicable charges not included.

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  $100 per month for 100 MB
Mobile Internet enabled handset or PC Card required
You can subscribe to the $100 package alone or you may, except in the case of a PC Card, add it to a monthly airtime package.
4 ¢ per KB while roaming internationally
Each additional KB costs 3 ¢

Taxes, international mobile Internet roaming charges, system access fee ($6.95), and other applicable charges not included.

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  hiptop option - $20 per month
Unlimited data
To surf, chat, manage your e-mail, stay organized, take pictures and download.
hiptop device required

Available with the hiptop device only; must be combined with a monthly airtime package. The Unlimited data hiptop option does not include text messages and is subject to certain restrictions. Taxes, international GPRS roaming charges, system access fee ($6.95), and other applicable charges not included.

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The Canadian mobile oligopoly of Telus, Rogers and Bell will not innovate or produce anything in the mobile space that's innovative and hasn't been pioneered elsewhere (and they will kicking and screaming start to implement mobile number portability). They will also not introduce affordable (to the power users and geeks even) 3G and GPRS will still be a r*poff in Canada. TV phones will be a failure. But it's not all gloom and doom. Luckily cool mobile stuff will abound elsewhere in the world that the oligopoly can copy and we will start to see phones like the N91 that hopefully (fingers crossed) allow us to start routing around the Canadian mobile oligopoly.

The oligopoly and the CRTC compromise on a deadline that's too little too late. It shouldn't take 18 months! How about July 2006 for Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Ottawa and March 2007 for the rest of the country? That would be something that would almost be acceptable. Corporations always talk about the need for world class infrastructure and taxes; how about putting their money where their mouth is and implementing world class mobile number portability sooner rather than later?

From CRTC Shortens Wait Time for Number Portability - Michael Geist.:

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The CRTC yesterday issued its much-anticipated decision involving the implementation of wireless number portability. The Commission mandated number portability by March 14, 2007, about six months faster than the industry proposed, though not exactly the "expeditious" implementation that the government called for last February.

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LATER: The $50 a month unlimited data plan is no longer available to new Fido subscribers. I am "grandfathered". So unlucky new users will get r*pped off! This is really bad and doesn't encourage mobile data at all!

My data traffic from my last Fido bill was 89 Megabytes (of cameraphone pictures uploaded to flickr using the fantatic flickr uploader Shozu) which means that if I didn't have the $50 a month flat rate plan, I would be paying $30/MB * 89 = $2670 (this can't be right, it can't be this much of a r*poff, somebody leave me a comment and say it ain't so!) ! Until we have real competition in Canada (which is not in the cards thanks to the moribund CRTC; the next mobile phone I buy with my own money, like Boris, will use WiFi to route around this damage!), I can't see wireless data services taking off here. I laugh every time I see one of the Canadian TV phone ads and picture the sad day when one of these TV phone customers gets their bill. Hah! Even cameraphones are a r*poff here in Canada!

From Wireless data in Canada is ridiculously expensive | B.Mann Consulting.:

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Mentioning his on the road week at Les Blogs, Paolo Valdemarin reports that 3G access with his phone costs 0,75 eurocent/kb = 7,6 Euros per Mb.

I would happily pay that price, especially for the approximately 300kbps speed of 3G. How much does wireless cost in Canada? Well, only Fido/Rogers have GPRS, while Bell and Telus have the ridiculous 1X no SIM card lock in nonsense. If you don't have a data plan, GPRS costs $30 CDN / MB, or 30 cents/kb. So, uploading one picture from my 1.3MP cameraphone costs about $9. Ridiculous!

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