| International Cost Comparisons1 | |||
| Canada (Rogers)2 | United Kingdom (O2)3 | United States (AT&T)4 | |
| Phone cost (8 GB model) | $ 199 | free | $ 202.03 |
| Plan cost per month | $ 100 | $ 76.63 | $ 131.97 |
| Minimum contract length | 3 years | 1.5 years | 2 years |
| Voice minutes (day) | 600 | 1200 | Unlimited |
| Voice minutes (evenings/weekend) | Unlimited | N / A | Unlimited |
| Data | 1 GB | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Text messages | 300 | 500 | 0 |
| Call display included | No | Yes | Yes |
| Mandatory extra fees per month | $ 7.45 | $ 0 | $ 1.25 |
| Caller display fee | $ 7 | $ 0 | $ 0 |
| Total monthly cost | $ 114.45 | $ 76.63 | $ 133.22 |
| YOUR TOTAL COST COMMITMENT: | $ 4319.20 | $ 1379.34 | $ 3399.31 |
NOTE: Jul 07, 08 at 11:29 AM EDT - UK prices updated to remove 17.5% VAT.
NOTE: Jul 07, 08 at 5:53 PM EDT - CDN prices updated to add $0.50 911 emergency service fee.
NOTE: Jul 07, 08 at 5:53 PM EDT - US plan updated to remove text message allowance. US customers may add 200 outgoing text messages for $5 per month.
NOTE: Jul 08, 08 at 3:14 PM EDT - US prices updated to reflect cost of unlimited data plan.
|
A note about the final line in each table: "Your Total Cost Commitment" Many readers have noted that the dollar amounts are arrived at by multiplying the total monthly cost by the number of months required in the contract. A few readers have suggested there is a bias present; that the tables are not an "apples-to-apples" comparison. It is a conscious decision to calculate the cost on this line in this way, and this is why the line is labelled "Your Total Cost Commitment" and not simply "Total Cost". One must keep in mind that a contract is just that -- an agreement to pay the monthly fee for the duration of the contract. After 18 months, for example, iPhone users in the UK are free to upgrade to a better handset or a different contract at no cost. Or, an iPhone user in the UK might decide not to sign any contract and begin using their iPhone like an iPod Touch. Canadian iPhone users who sign with Rogers will not have this freedom. If a Canadian iPhone user wishes to end their contract early, for whatever reason, they are required to pay a large Early Cancellation Fee. If contract length is not a concern, may I draw your attention to the disparity between plans in the Voice Minutes (day) and Data rows? |
| International Cost Comparisons1 | |||
| Canada (Rogers)2 | United Kingdom (O2)3 | United States (AT&T)5 | |
| Phone cost (8 GB model) | $ 199 | $ 198.09 | $ 202.03 |
| Plan cost per month | $ 60 | $ 59.60 | $ 71.05 |
| Minimum contract length | 3 years | 1.5 years | 2 years |
| Voice minutes (day) | 150 | 600 | 450 |
| Voice minutes (evenings/weekend) | Unlimited | N / A | 5000 |
| Data | 400 MB | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Text messages | 75 | 500 | 0 |
| Call display included | No | Yes | Yes |
| Mandatory extra fees per month | $ 7.45 | $ 0 | $ 1.25 |
| Caller display fee | $ 7 | $ 0 | $ 0 |
| Total monthly cost | $ 74.45 | $ 59.60 | $ 72.30 |
| YOUR TOTAL COST COMMITMENT: | $ 2879.20 | $ 1270.89 | $ 1937.23 |
NOTE: Jul 07, 08 at 11:29 AM - UK prices updated to remove 17.5% VAT.
NOTE: Jul 07, 08 at 5:53 PM EDT - CDN prices updated to add $0.50 911 emergency service fee.
NOTE: Jul 07, 08 at 5:53 PM EDT - US plan updated to remove text message allowance. US customers may add 200 outgoing text messages for $5 per month.
Also: A comparison of low-end iPhone data plans from Global TV News in BC.
Also: The Globe and Mail compares American and Canadian iPhone rate plans.
Rogers claims that the base plan providing 400 MB of data use means that an iPhone user could view 3100 web pages6 in a month.
In reality, a user can expect to view somewhere between 829 and 1034 web pages in a month.
The Rogers claim also assumes that web browsing is the only data-fed activity that a user does in a month on their iPhone (which is a bad assumption).
Here's how I arrived at my numbers...
The Rogers claim is based on research that sets the average web page size at 132 KB. Some quick calculations7 verify that Rogers has done their math correctly.
The problem is that an average of all web pages on the Internet includes many pages that a person would never visit. Further, 132 KB is an outdated metric; this is supported by newer research than that cited by Rogers. In fact, the newer research indicates that between 2003 and 2008, the average web page size has more than tripled!
Let's leave the academic studies aside for a moment and examine a typical session of browsing. I took an informal survey of the sizes of web pages that I commonly visit. The sites included the Toronto Star and Globe and Mail websites, the Rogers home page, MySpace, and Facebook. Here are full details on the sites that I visited and the methodology used.
The average size of a web page in my browsing session was 494 KB. This is nearly four times as large as the estimate Rogers bases their claim on.
Given the newer research mentioned above and my own informal survey, it would be more accurate for Rogers to claim that an iPhone user could view between 829 and 1034 pages8 9 in a month when operating under a 400 MB data limit.
The Rogers data plans do not offer an unlimited data allowance. Why is this a problem? When a user exceeds their data allowance, they will be subject to punishing over-limit fees.
The iPhone is more a like a very small, full-fledged computer that happens to make phone calls, as opposed to a phone that happens to have a web browser and email bolted on. Photos, YouTube, the App Store, Mobile Me, third-party apps, Google Maps with GPS, email, and web browsing: all are activities that will consume data and count against your data allowance.
Rogers states that first-generation iPhone users rarely consumed more than 100 MB of data in a month. Rogers argues that their data plans are therefore more than sufficient. An early reader of this site, Shawn Drew, has written an in-depth analysis that begs to differ.
Let's say that a user runs 100 MB over their data limit. According to the fine print on the Rogers contract, they will pay 50 cents per MB for each MB over the limit, up to 60 MB, and then 3 cents per MB afterward. So by going 100 MB over their data limit, a user would pay an extra $31.20 in fees that month!
In the United States and the UK, over-limit fees are not a concern -- iPhone users will have unlimited data plans.
To close out, you might be interested to know that Rogers is looking forward to having iPhone and Blackberry Bold users increase their average revenue per customer by $30. Where do you think Rogers is expecting some of that extra revenue to come from?
Further reading:
Vancouver Sun - A high wired act
"The imminent arrival of the iPhone in Canada has unleashed a storm of controversy over the country's high wireless data rates and left consumers bewildered by an array of offerings that - if misunderstood - could leave them with a monthly phone bill higher than the cost of a house in Saskatchewan."
Do the other Rogers voice and data plans offer any better value?
Go back to the home page.
1 All prices in Canadian dollars using conversion rates posted at www.xe.com/ucc on Monday, July 7, 2008. Taxes not included.
2 Source: Rogers 3 Source: O2 4 Source: AT&T: Nation Unlimited Plan
5 Source: AT&T: Nation 450 Plan w/ Rollover Minutes 6 Source: Rogers iPhone Press Release - June 27, 2008
7 132 KB * 1024 = 135 300 bytes; 135 300 bytes * 3100 = 419 430 000 bytes; 419 430 000 bytes / 1024 / 1024 = 400 MB
8 494 KB * 1024 = 505 856 bytes; 400 * 1024 * 1024 = 419 430 400 bytes; 419 430 400 / 505 856 = 829 pages
9 132 KB * 3 * 1024 = 405 504 bytes; 400 * 1024 * 1024 = 419 430 400 bytes; 419 430 400 / 405 504 = 1034 pages
Feedback? Inaccuracies? Questions? Please contact me.
Many thanks to Iaroslav Timofeev for the French translation of this site.