iPhone 3G or 3GS. Rogers iPhone exclusivity deal has expired which
compelled Apple to reach agreements with both Telus and Bold. These
carriers will both sell the iPhones starting with November.
In case Rogers Wireless is not your favorite Canadian carrier then you
should be happy to see Bell and Telus getting into the iPhone business.
Both carriers have acknowledged officially the agreements signed with
Apple. Their short, to the point, press releases indicate that the
iPhone 3G and 3GS are coming in November. But neither Bell nor Telus
want to tell us more at this point. The press releases do not reveal
actual release dates, pricing details or plans.
The news is even more exciting for Bell. As you already know the carrier
has deployed a nationwide HSPA network on top of its current 1xRTT EV-DO
Rev. A overlay. The official network of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games
will now be able to offer one of the hottest phones on the planet, the
iPhone. Bell customers will be able to enjoy a reliable phone working in
a high-speed HSPA network so it would seem that Bell has a small edge
over Telus.
But don t be fooled folks as Telus network is also a very dependable
one. Telus has been also deploying HSPA in preparation for LTE so buying
an iPhone from Telus is surely going to be a good move.
What about Rogers? Should you disregard it completely? Not entirely. The
carrier could adopt a different strategy come this November when both
Telus and Bell will launch their iPhone offers and plans. We could see
better iPhone prices and plans from Rogers too but it s too early to tell.
So far we ve seen O2 and Rogers lose iPhone exclusivity deals in the UK
and Canada. Orange and Vodafone in the UK and Bell and Telus in Canada
have all announced their intention to sell iPhones in the near future.
Is this a trend we see here? Should AT T feel threatened in any way?
Will we see Apple terminate AT T s exclusivity deal soon? Fortunately
for AT T, its main competitors are running CDMA networks so Apple would
have to make a new iPhone version for both Verizon and Sprint while
T-Mobile s young 3G network will probably not be enough for iPhone
customers. That said, it looks like AT T is safe for the moment but that
doesn t mean things won t change in the more distant future.
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