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I just read an article in the Globe and Mail Newspaper today. This article talks about the high cost of data services associated with the Apple iPhone.
The latest Apple iPhone will be available in Canada very soon from Rogers Wireless and Fido. The new iPhones which come with either 8 gigs or 16 gigs of memory will come with a 3 years service plan. Does not look like a shorter plan is available. Combination voice and data plans start from $60/month and can be as high as $115/month. AT&T in the States offers an "all you can eat" data plan for $30/month. Looks like we are still paying too much for data in Canada. It is not that it costs more in Canada to offer the wireless service but that the competition is flat in Canada. Also, I feel users have the need for that instantaneous data access and are still willing to pay the high prices being offered,
Do we really need to access data "on the run"? Personally no. For business this is different but still becomes a large expense for the company. I still feel that companies like Rogers Wireless should provide an "all you can eat" data plan in Canada which will certainly increase the number of mobility users and increase the number of non data subscribers that sign up for data. The increase in users will certainly add to their bottom line. Currently, cellular providers are relying on the backs of large corporate and government clients to offset the costs of providing a data service in Canada.
Online gaming is a huge market and we have not even come close to duplicating this on a mobility level. Majority of the devices currently available on the market that support downloadable games can easily support multiplayer. Online wireless multiplayer games will be the next frontier to be forged by gaming enthusiasts and game developers. Currently many devices do support multiplayer games via a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connection to a landline. By having access to an "all you can eat" wireless data plan, the doors would be open to a large number of gamers mving from a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connection to a cellular connection for their gaming past time.
Windows Mobile devices are now being offered by the various carriers but the potential of these devices are still limited to email and simple browsing only. Downloading online games or music directly via the mobile device is very costly and not that popular as it is in the States. Canadian carriers need to wake up and grab the bull by the horns instead of trying to lassoo the bull from afar. A large segment of the general public use cell phones for voice but only limited data access. Limited as in emails, simple browsing, texting, music downloads and ring tone downloads. If we open up the accessability to data, cell phone users would now be downloading:
- Applications
- Games
- Playing multiplayer online games
- Playing single player online games
- Taking high quality images from their digital cameras and uploading them to photo sites via their mobile devices.
- Watching online movies and news plus accessing their own video selections via a unit called the Slingbox from Sling Media.
The potential of mobility/wireless data usage could increase by 3X or more if the pricing could be made more accessible.
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