iPhone prices to be higher in Canada?

It will certainly be interesting to see where this goes. CRTC is claiming it will hopefully bring our high cellular bills down. I doubt that. Couple of things that might happen:

1. Price of smartphones will increase.
2. Will have to pay up front for phone on contract.
3. Contract price will become higher to pay for phone within the first two years, even on a 3 year contract.

We as Canadians pay some of the highest cellular prices in the world. Do not fool yourself into believing prices will go down.

As for unlocking, well I personally believe the 90 days is a good time frame to have to wait, but also believe it should be done for free at the end of a contract. You have by then paid for the phone in full. Why should I have to pay to be able to use my phone as I please because my provider will not unlock it. Especially the prices cellular providers are charging. It also has to be done while you are under contract with them so they can get paid for doing it.

I really like the fact that they will be capping data overage and data roaming overage. I can not tell you how many people I know, stories I have read and heard that have had one of those shocking bills arrive. I also believe people should be smart and be aware of how this can happen.

There are many loop holes that the cellular provider will find to keep prices high here in Canada. That I have no doubt about. These are only my opinions on what will happen. I hope I am wrong though.

I think the base on-contract price of the phone will just increase (e.g. lower subsidy). Fido, my provider, offers the Samsung Galaxy S4 for $200 on a 3-year contract, or $449 on a 2-year contract. I expect the iPhone would be priced similarly.

Before smartphones, most people expected a cell phone to cost between $0-100 on contract. They needed aggressive subsidies to prevent people from balking at the cost, and therefore longer contracts to keep people from reneging on their commitment. Today people understand that smartphones can cost $200-$400 on-contract, so there is no longer such a need to keep initial sticker shock down.

Monthly plans may also go up. Fido offers a $39 plan for 2-year-contract signers, but the equivalent plan on a 3-year contract is $50. If you choose an Android device, you can pick whether you want a 2-year or 3-year contract, but if you choose an iPhone, you must take the 3-year plan. Obviously the extra fee is to recover more of the subsidy over the extra year. If that extra year is no longer an option due to these new rules, then either the plan prices go up (no more $39 plan) or the initial phone jump.

I hope these guys understand that shortening to a two-year contract can be a GOOD thing. Don't they want me giving them an extra $200 or $449 every two years instead of every three?

notjustjay said:

I think the base on-contract price of the phone will just increase (e.g. lower subsidy). Fido, my provider, offers the Samsung Galaxy S4 for $200 on a 3-year contract, or $449 on a 2-year contract. I expect the iPhone would be priced similarly.

Before smartphones, most people expected a cell phone to cost between $0-100 on contract. They needed aggressive subsidies to prevent people from balking at the cost, and therefore longer contracts to keep people from reneging on their commitment. Today people understand that smartphones can cost $200-$400 on-contract, so there is no longer such a need to keep initial sticker shock down.

Monthly plans may also go up. Fido offers a $39 plan for 2-year-contract signers, but the equivalent plan on a 3-year contract is $50. If you choose an Android device, you can pick whether you want a 2-year or 3-year contract, but if you choose an iPhone, you must take the 3-year plan. Obviously the extra fee is to recover more of the subsidy over the extra year. If that extra year is no longer an option due to these new rules, then either the plan prices go up (no more $39 plan) or the initial phone jump.

I hope these guys understand that shortening to a two-year contract can be a GOOD thing. Don't they want me giving them an extra $200 or $449 every two years instead of every three?

Click to expand...

"Fido offers a $39 plan for 2-year-contract signers, but the equivalent plan on a 3-year contract is $50."

seems like the 2 yr contract is the better deal unless I am missing something

unlimitedx said:

"Fido offers a $39 plan for 2-year-contract signers, but the equivalent plan on a 3-year contract is $50."

seems like the 2 yr contract is the better deal unless I am missing something

Click to expand...

It is. That's why I'm eager to quit my contract so I can hop onto the cheaper monthly rate.

firedept said:

It will certainly be interesting to see where this goes. CRTC is claiming it will hopefully bring our high cellular bills down. I doubt that. Couple of things that might happen:

1. Price of smartphones will increase.
2. Will have to pay up front for phone on contract.
3. Contract price will become higher to pay for phone within the first two years, even on a 3 year contract.

We as Canadians pay some of the highest cellular prices in the world. Do not fool yourself into believing prices will go down.

As for unlocking, well I personally believe the 90 days is a good time frame to have to wait, but also believe it should be done for free at the end of a contract. You have by then paid for the phone in full. Why should I have to pay to be able to use my phone as I please because my provider will not unlock it. Especially the prices cellular providers are charging. It also has to be done while you are under contract with them so they can get paid for doing it.

I really like the fact that they will be capping data overage and data roaming overage. I can not tell you how many people I know, stories I have read and heard that have had one of those shocking bills arrive. I also believe people should be smart and be aware of how this can happen.

There are many loop holes that the cellular provider will find to keep prices high here in Canada. That I have no doubt about. These are only my opinions on what will happen. I hope I am wrong though.

Click to expand...

Statement 1, 2 & 3 are all correct.


This actually will backfire on us; carriers still gotta make that revenue target in the end, regardless if its 2 or 3 years later. I have a feeling they will jack up the monthly plans to ensure that target will be met in 2 years and if the average Joe doesn't know about the 2 year cancelling, that extra year is free money for them.

I actually like how things are now, $12.50 cancelling fee and pay the rest of your subsidizing cost of $13.00 per month of your remaining balance.

This explains why Rogers Retention is not budging at all, they're preparing for this new Wireless Code.


We are so screwed with this new Wireless Code, carriers need to recover that subsidizing cost at the end of the contracts and they will jack up the prices to ensure that.


Please remember the US has a population of 313.9 million (2012) and Canada is 34.4 million (2012)

AT&T VP & DP
$100 (approx) x 24 = $2400

http://www.att.com/shop/wireless/plans-new.html#fbid=0xO7DVrel9J

Rogers VP & DP
$70 x 36 = $2520

http://www.rogers.com/web/Rogers.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=WLRS_Plans

New Wireless Code
$70 x 24 = $1680 (Missing $840 if the customer bails in 2 years)
$100 x 24 = $2400 (Recovered & Cleared)
$100 x 36 = $3600 (Free Money if the customer fulfills 3 years)


You guys are welcome to join in the fun over on HoFo with us.


http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1800153-Article-Are-the-new-CRTC-rules-enough

I highily doubt the price of the iPhone will increase to be honest. Rogers, Telus and Bell are already ripping customers off...

In USA customers pay $199 on a Two year contract....in Canada Customers paid $199 on 3 year contract....they already made a fortune off of everyone so I dont see them increasing the price as the carriers will still be making money at the end of the day no matter what. Not to mention Canada has worlds most expensive carrier plans...

with all that being Said I don't see the prices increasing on iPhones purchased on "Contracts".

Hopefully Wind Mobile sticks around long enough and we could finally see the Canadian Wireless market finally starting to make sense and be affordable for everyone like it globally with many options when it comes to choosing the carrier that fits our needs.

ps I'm from Canada and was a Telus & Virgin customer for years.

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pogoyoyo said:

I believe Fido has been the provider going forward with reasonable prices plans and then carriers like koodo copying the exact same plan.
Fido's 3 year plans right now are absolutely retarded... The lowest plan is $55 with 200mb of data and 250 minutes... I really don't see the reason why the plan i got in December 2012 of Unlimited talk text and 2gb of data can't be offered on a 3 year contract... I HIGHLY doubt fido pays anywhere close to $56 for 2gb of data and lets face it, most people won't use over 1000 minutes in a month. There's still room for profit and subsidy costs.

Click to expand...

Fido is owned by Rogers 100%, So is Chatr....its Rogers that makes money from you with retarded plans...I know the plan your talking about "Unlimited Canada-Wide + 2GB Data" for $56+Tax was the absolute best deal, I got that on a Two-Year contract.

Some of Fido, Koodo, and Virgin plans just dont make sense...actually Virgin (Bell) has been changing its plans over the past like year so much that I feel like they just dont know what bundles they should just put together which work....lol...only if they were like Straight Talk/Simple Mobile etc.

PS good thing about Canadian Sub-Carriers is that they have access to LTE/4G HSPA+ at full speeds as compared to Straight Talk/Net10/H2O Wireless/Simple Mobile etc.

Telus owns Koodo and Bell Owns Virgin Mobile, however they all like to say that they are not "Associated" when in-fact they are...

Satnam1989 said:

I highily doubt the price of the iPhone will increase to be honest. Rogers, Telus and Bell are already ripping customers off...

In USA customers pay $199 on a Two year contract....in Canada Customers paid $199 on 3 year contract....they already made a fortune off of everyone so I dont see them increasing the price as the carriers will still be making money at the end of the day no matter what. Not to mention Canada has worlds most expensive carrier plans...

with all that being Said I don't see the prices increasing on iPhones purchased on "Contracts".

Click to expand...

Subsidizing cost will be the same as the US; in the past, present and the future.

Our carrier plans are cheaper then the US, starting in 2008 when the iPhone 3G came out. I still pay the following prices for two lines.

1) VP w/ Can LD + DP 500 MB + SMS unlimited, VVM, etc = $45.00

2) VP w/ Can LD + DP 6GB + SMS unlimited, VVM, etc = $55.00


Moving forward with the new wireless rule, that's not gonna be the case anymore.

With the worldwide roll out of LTE, every carrier has jacked up their prices to cover the cost of the new network expansions.

Rogers increases Early Upgrade Fee for Smartphone and Premium Smartphones to $20/month

http://mobilesyrup.com/2013/06/07/r...martphone-and-premium-smartphones-to-20month/


In the past it was $13 x 36 (3 years) = 468 and now its the same as the US $20 x 24 (2 years) = 480