Thoughts on Rogers iPhone Deal — Data Plan Focus, Not the iPhone
May 6, 2008 by Jayvee Fernandez
Filed under 3G, iPhone
It’s been talked about how Rogers is going to be carrying the iPhone in Canada. If I were Rogers – or any telco for that matter competing against everyone else this year, I’d debut the iPhone not as a product in itself – but as an incentive to a new type of service that is friendly to consumers who consume heavy amounts of data.
Launching the iPhone as an “exclusive” item on your rack of mobile phone bundles doesn’t make you remarkable as a telco. Sure, you do get the subscribers signing up for the service, but there’s no revenue after that – a good number of these sign ups prolly would have hacked their iPhones.
Staking the claim to the “second coming of Jesus” or the 3G iPhone which is supposedly due in the next 90 days, telcos should concentrate more on launching excellent consumer plans for data using the iPhone as a springboard. Knock on wood, the iPhone may not always be the next big thing. But yet — in this moment that it is, the “Jesus Phone” will definitely be a springboard as well for mainstream consumers to start using their phones for data, more than calls or SMS.
So yes, have a good, solid, data plan that can’t be matched. That way, there will never be the temptation to switch to another telco provider because it all boils down to excellent service – and being the first.
