cellular

I read a story the other day, that I bookmarked to blog about in the future, which outlined how Verizon Wireless in the United States was lowering its' ETF or Early Termination Fee, based on how much time is left in your contract.

Speculation in the article on Engadget was that pressure from the FCC was what brought about this change of heart, however today I am wondering if it also might have to do something with trying to increase market share, or at least hold on to existing custmers.

Basically on Verizon, as well as my carrier in Canada, Rogers Wireless, because the phone you purchase is subsidized, they charge you an Early Termination Fee if you cancel your contract early under the guise that because the phones are very expensive, unless you keep your contract and your phone for the full term, the carrier is losing money. I agree with that to some extent. However what I have never agreed with is that on the last month of your contract, your Early Termination Fee is the same as in the first month. Verizon has changed their contracts now, for new signups, to prorate this amount, based on the length of time you have had the contract in force. This in my opinion is how it should work, and how I remember it working at Rogers in the past, when I first became a customer of theirs.

iPhone 3G S coming to Rogers from AppleWe keep hearing that the cost of the new iPhone 3G S to be released on June 19th will be $199 for the 16GB model or $299 for the $32GB model, but only if you are signing a new 3 year voice & data contract with Rogers. They throw in this last disclaimer saying that the carriers are subsidizing the cost of the phone, so we don't have to pay as much up front, and it is in our best interest. But is that really the case?

Until the actual device is released, and torn apart by a company like iSuppli, who has expertise in determining the cost to purchase and assemble electronic devices, we can only guess at it's cost to manufacture. But what we can do is look at how much previous devices have cost, and make a few assumptions.

* Sale prices below are accurate for both Canada and the US, but build costs are based on USD.

Rogers Wireless As I mentioned last week, there was some excitement in the blogosphere about Rogers updating their wireless data rates on February 5th. Well, as that date is now upon us, those rates new rates have indeed become a reality, however it is the fine print that spoils most people's excitement.

"Important: This plan includes unlimited on-device mobile browsing only.
Plan is available on select phones only (PDAs such as Blackberry or
Windows Mobile devices, PC cards and non-Rogers certified devices are
not eligible). Data usage incurred on ineligible devices, incurred
while tethering (using device as wireless modem for laptop) or incurred
using non-Rogers (3rd party) applications downloaded to your device
will be subject to pay-per-use charges of 5 cents/KB."

Now, I wasn't looking for the ability to tether my laptop to my iPhone for $7 a month, but I would wish that my wife and I could use between 10 and 20 MBs of data per month for things like Google Maps, Email, and other little productivity tools.

I have been pretty happy with Rogers through the years, but promoting WAP websites as new and exciting technology is just getting a little ridiculous. And to visit WAP sites on 3G? There should be a law against this!