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RuinediPhone.com

By Michael Geist

There is a ton of media attention on the petition at ruinediphone.com, which has collected nearly 20,000 signatures since its launch several days ago.  The Rogers pricing and data caps for the iPhone make it very difficult to use the device as a true networked device with full video and web browsing capabilities.  That said, the high pricing strikes me as the least surprising story in recent memory.

Canada is in a wireless crisis and Rogers will naturally leverage its position as the sole GSM provider to mandate the longest contracts of any provider anywhere in the world and offer less for more.  This is a product of a Canadian market that is among the least competitive in the world.  The providers, who must answer to their shareholders, are not about to change.  Sadly, petitions won't change this dynamic either.  It requires policies that foster greater competition  - more providers, open access mandates, and foreign competition as a start - and we've only seen baby steps in this direction thus far.

Full post as published by Michael Geist on June 30, 2008 (boomark / email).