Rogers new $20 unlimited mobile browsing plan an error? [Update 5]
February 5th, 2008 at 01:52pm madgunde
[Update 5] AppleInsider’s report today on a new Rogers wireless $20 unlimited on-device browsing package called the $20 Communicate Value Pack got me super excited about finally having a data plan worthy of my iPhone:
Canadian wireless carrier Rogers Communications, often criticized for its exorbitant data rates, has just introduced a $20 per month unlimited data plan that could knock out one more barrier to an official iPhone launch in Canada.
The Toronto, Ontario-based carrier said customers could start adopting the new plan, dubbed the $20 Communicate Value Pack, beginning today. In addition to unlimited on-device mobile browsing, it also offers 2500 standard outgoing text messages, 1000 outgoing picture or video messages, call display and voicemail.
I immediately called Rogers to find out more about the package and sign up if it was true. I was connected with a sales rep who seemed adamant that the unlimited browsing was limited to a 3 month promotion period, afterwhich it was limited to 5MB of data. So I jumped on Rogers website and found the plan listed exactly as AppleInsider had reported here and here. I took the following screenshots, just to prove it, in case the website changes:
I pointed this out to the customer service rep, and she seemed to disagree on what the website actually said, continuing to argue that the unlimited browsing was for the promotion period only, no matter how hard I tried to convince her that the website didn’t mention that at all. So I asked to speak with a supervisor. After a good five minutes on hold, the supervisor finally came on and after she was sure where I was coming from, she put me on hold for another five to ten minutes before coming back, apologized sincerely and explained that it was an error on the Rogers.com website. The plan is only a 5MB data plan, with unlimited browsing for only the first 3 months. Apparently I raised a serious shitstorm over at Rogers HQ, because she said they were working to have the error corrected on the website, and thanked me for bringing it to their attention.
Needless to say, I was quite disappointed, but pleasantly surprised when she then offered to credit my current $10/10MB data plan AND give me unlimited data for the next 6 months. I guess I couldn’t argue with that deal. I would have rather been able to pay $20/month for unlimited data forever, but 6 months of unlimited data for free is a pretty good consolation prize. I guess I was so pleasantly surprised because for once Rogers actually offered to try and make me happy without me having to get mad or threaten to cancel my service. If I’m really lucky, Rogers will actually start offering an unlimited data plan for $20/month by the time my 6 month freebie expires. 
If any of you actually manage to get the $20 plan as was advertised above, or a sweet payout like I got, please post your experience in the comments below or discuss it in the Art Of Geek forums!
Update 1 - 2/6/2008, 2:35 pm: Well, if the plan posting on Rogers website is a mistake, they’re taking their sweet ass time correcting it. I’m starting to doubt the information provided by the rogers reps I spoke to, but I would caution anyone adding this plan to their iPhone to be extra careful that you have them confirm that it will work with an iPhone, and make a note of the person’s name and the date and time of your call to Rogers in case they try to bill you additional charges. The fine print listed on the first page I link to above states the following:
* 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.
That sounds a lot like Rogers might very well be able to get out of honoring the “unlimited on-device browsing” for iPhone customers by claiming that it’s not one of the ’select phones’, or is classified as a PDA, or is ‘a non-Rogers certified’ device. I have to say though, if they do want to play hardball, they’re going to have a bit of a legal issue if their customer service reps aren’t explaining this to customers and the fine print is missing from the 2nd link I posted detailing what’s included in the plan.
Update 2 - 2/11/2008, 4:05 pm: The news has finally been picked up by the mainstream media. CBC.ca posted this article earlier today: Rogers ‘unlimited’ cellphone plans draw fire.
Update 3 - 2/11/2008, 4:25 pm: Ars Technica is covering the story as well: Rogers Unlimited data plan not so unlimited after all. Do you think if they get enough bad publicity over this that they might do something about it? Yeah, I know, wishful thinking. This is Rogers we’re talking about…
Update 4 - 2/12/2008, 6:20 pm: The Register, a little late to the party, has also picked up this story: Rogers wraps ‘unlimited’ mobile browsing in small print
Update 5 - 3/7/2008, 1:30 pm: Well, I just got screwed. Just got my Rogers bill, and they have switched me to the $20 Communicate Value Pack, even though I had explicitly told them I didn’t want my plan to change. Now I’m being told they can’t put things back the way they were because the $10 Mobile Internet Plan no longer exists. They still can’t give me a straight answer about the iPhone and the $20 Communicate Value Pack or $7 Unlimited on-device mobile browsing. So in 6 months when my unlimited data runs out, I’m probably going to have to either take a cut in data usage, or start paying more than I used to, maybe even for less data than I was getting before. The Data representative told me they only have $30/8MB or $60/30MB plans available now. This is progress?!?
Entry Filed under: Business, Gadgets, General, Internet, iPhone
27 Comments Add your own
1. Jon | February 5th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
I have spoken to Rogers and they have confirmed that the plan is ready to be added to any non-Blackberry or PDA device. Thus meaning any regular cell phone.
2. Donald | February 5th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
I just called service rep complaining about non related essentials charges, she said that $20 communicate plan would work on my Treo but it’s just limited to 5MB. I often use the full 10MB at this moment checking e-mails and going on facebook. I’m going to jump to whoever has the best data plan + smartphone available (doesn’t have to be iPhone… just any decent smartphone), I used to love Rogers but lately they don’t seem to even be trying to keep me as a customer…
3. shawn | February 5th, 2008 at 4:19 pm
I wanted to upgrade my phone package to get voicemail, caller id and a bucket-load of text messages, and ended up getting roped into this $20 communicate package. I noticed after which that I was getting a 5MB/mth data plan as well. I shrugged it off and figured hey, I could check my email WAP style and everything would be fine.
So then as I’m doing my daily browse through Appleinsider, I see this headline about Roger’s. I was so excited, I would finally be able to get a phone, THAT WOULD WORK WITH MY MAC. I really was exited just for the fact that Rogers was actually progressing. However this turns out to be untrue, and a huge pool of speculation went into talking about the damn iPhone in Canada.
Anyway, long story short, it’s either one hell of a PR stunt to get people into this communicate pack, or some poor web designer is going to get the boot tomorrow.
4. Vito | February 6th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
The person you were talking to is an idiot - this plan is not a mistake, she was just not informed.
It’s still on the site and people are adding it to their phones.
I was told I could add it to my iPhone so I did, we’ll see what happens…
5. madgunde | February 6th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
@Vito,
I suspected this could be the case, but at the same time, I thought, what are the chances that the customer service rep AND her supervisor AND whomever the supervisor consulted with were clueless about what Rogers was offering?
I hope for every Canadian iPhone owner’s sake that you’re right and that they aren’t limiting the unlimited on-device browsing to WAP and Rogers approved browsers as is hinted in the fine print (see the update I posted at the end of the article). I’m not entirely convinced Rogers can even really tell the difference between which phone you’re using, or even what apps for billing purposes. They just don’t seem to have their act that much together, but at the same time, I’d caution due diligence to avoid a potentially costly mistake.
6. ITF | February 6th, 2008 at 4:03 pm
I just got off the phone with Rogers after appleinsider got my hopes up. The first wireless rep I spoke with wasn’t sure, so I got transferred specifically to the data department (1 866 931 3282 if you like to call yourself).
The rep here told me, and I asked him if he’s 110% sure about it to which he said yes… that the unlimited browsing is ONLY within the rogers network. That means you DO NOT get unlimited general web browsing — you ONLY get unlimited within the Rogers network.
Hopefully I made that clear, as I said the rep said he was certain this is how it worked. Moral of the story, it’s hardly worth a damn… Rogers is still offering the same old same old, charging an arm and leg for data plans.
7. madgunde | February 6th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
@ITF
Thanks for posting that. Typical Rogers, they don’t know their ass from their elbow! I’m not sure I believe the rep you spoke to either, since what they describe doesn’t really mesh up with what the website says, so they’re still in a legal quagmire.
8. ITF | February 6th, 2008 at 4:30 pm
The webpage has been updated and the pics at the top of this thread are no longer accurate.
http://your.rogers.com/business/wireless/plans_services/essentials/compare-value-packs.asp
http://your.rogers.com/business/wireless/plans_services/essentials/20-essential-value-pack.asp
It’s a dead issue now, inaccurate information was posted on Rogers.com to start the ball rolling, AppleInsider then reported on it, raising hopes and bringing attention to it. As of now (unfortunately) the stars are back in alignment and Rogers remains a horrendous option for data plans.
9. madgunde | February 6th, 2008 at 5:11 pm
@ITF
Those links you provide seem to be for business plans. The original links I posted are still live, and I can still navigate to them from the main Rogers homepage by clicking: Plans & Essentials in the Wireless section, then Value Packs under Wireless Essentials.
10. ITF | February 6th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
My mistake, sorry for that it was an oversight.
11. e | February 6th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
I’ve been reading about this plan everywhere. I added the “NEW” $20 communicate package. I have an IPhone. I called Rogers today, I happened to record the call. Got some Tech Support then off to the data dept. for some plan clearing up. So I got for better or worse.., a recorded conversation saying the plan covered email, browsing, and even they mentioned MSN.
I have them saying that on wav from my corporate system. Also, I have them saying they added it themself.
12. will | February 6th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
I called rogers early this afternoon to add the value pack to my plan and they new about it and the person knew what i was talking about as soon as i mentioned it:
I still see the $20 value pack on the website and now i also see a $7 unlimited browsing pack with out the 2500 texts and all the other junk.
http://www.rogers.com/web/content/wireless-plans/essentials?content10=20_comm#start
I am still holding onto hope but after reading this thread doubt has entered my mind… and will have it out with rogers tomorrow if this turns out to be somekind of SCAM… i used 8mb worth of data today alone!
i am pretty good at getting what i want with rogers though so we’ll see how it goes
13. madgunde | February 7th, 2008 at 1:16 am
@will
Yeah, I don’t know about that $7 unlimited on-device browsing data package. If you read the fine print, it states:
That sounds pretty cut and dry. Pretty clear they don’t intend for iPhone users to use that for full Safari web browsing, Google Maps, YouTube, Weather, Stocks, etc. I’m still not sure why they are being so damn selective, but their wording tells me to exercise caution.
What’s completely idiotic, is how do they expect their customers to be able to tell which uses will be charged extra for? If they want to encourage people to sign up for a data plan, they’re doing a horrible job of making us feel comfortable and no doubt many customers will be fooled into racking up expensive data bills out of a lack of understanding.
14. will | February 7th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Ok so i just got off the phone with the Rogers BILLING department and “kaitlynn” was nice enough to look up my pending charges as of yesterday when i used 8mb worth of browsing on my iphone and she assured me that i was not being charged the per/KB rate on my browsing and that i was indeed getting the unlimited browsing. Given the fact that rogers usually can’t tell their face from their ass I won’t fully believe it until i see my next bill.
until then i am disabling edge
i’ll keep everyone posted
15. madgunde | February 7th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
@will
Thanks for keeping us posted will. Out of curiosity, what apps were you using on your iPhone? Just Safari or a mix of POP/IMAP mail, web browsing, Google Maps, Weather/Stock widgets, etc.? If you were using a mix of everything then this is somewhat proof that Rogers has no clue or doesn’t care what apps you’re using.
Of course, there’s always the possibility that they have the ability to distinguish how much data is used by application, but just haven’t started using it. Would be really uncouth of them to only start checking after people are all confident they’re really got an unrestrictive unlimited data plan.
16. will | February 7th, 2008 at 4:26 pm
I was using everything… you can imagine my excitement when i found out i could the iphone to its full potential… i have 2 POP/iMAP accounts… i think the onlly thing i didn’t do was youTUBE… i even checked the stock widget… and i have no stocks lol…. but given the weather hear in Toronto yesterday i was constantly checking the weather….. I am stilll going to be skeptical until i see that bill…. for now i have disabled edge will have to resist the urge to surf
17. ITF | February 7th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Why disable it and resist surfing when billing has told you a) that you won’t be billed and b) that you have no pending bills
If what you say is true it’s great new - maybe the plan is what we hoped for after all. Since you have not been billed, does that mean any phone is open to visiting any website and viewing any content without being billed (at least, according to Kaitlynn)?
18. will | February 12th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
Hello all Canadian iPhoners,
quick update with the rogers situation and the “unlimited” mobile browsing:
I had to call them back again today because every indication from everything i have read is that i should be geting billed for using the Data on my iPhone… and 20mb later and there are still no charges on my account… the customer service rep was even blown away by the fact that i have not incurred any charges using Safari on the iphone… he said it may come up later on the billing date but gave me TRUE unlimited until march 11 when my next bill is due… and he offered to call me back if there have been any changes… he was even telling a coworker of his that has the iphone too and were both shocked that i hadn’t been billed.
He also told me that because the iPhone is not a Rogers phone that he could not make a note on my account that i was using it on their network… so as far as i can tell Ted Rogers has no clue what phone I am using and what i am using it for
for my next trick…. i will see how many MB or even GB of data i can run up before they get wise!… but somehow Rogers and “wise” are two words that just don’t go together
19. madgunde | February 12th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
Thanks will. I’ve been curious about how Rogers is going to know what kind of apps/phone people are using. Your experience kind of supports the theory that they don’t. Let’s hope it stays that way!
20. Donald | February 15th, 2008 at 2:52 am
Rogers denies EVERYTHING on their website. I told them that I was being overcharged and not getting 33% off my additional essentials since I got a value pack. They told me that because of my voice plan i did not qualify for the 33% discount. No where on the site did it say that certain plans did not qualify for the discount, All it said was “Subscribe to a Value Pack and get these additional Essentials for 33% Off!” Needless to say I switched to Telus and their unlmited web plan. Sure I don’t get to stream (YouTube, etc.) or VOIP but it’s still way better than what I can get at Rogers….
21. madgunde | February 15th, 2008 at 9:03 am
@Donald
I would have switched a long time ago to another carrier, but unfortunately if you want a GSM phone, you don’t have much choice. It’s either Ted Rogers or his four legged companion, FIDO. I’m really hoping the rumors of Telus deploying a GSM network is true, we could really use the competition.
22. Liza | February 19th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
After reading the posts on this page and realizing that some of you got a 3-month promotion unlimited data I called Rogers to find out why they charged me this month and why they did not give me the 3-month promotion and was told very pointedly by Julietta that Rogers has NEVER had such a promotion and then proceeded to ask me for the persons wireless # so she could check their bill to see what I was talking about. Rogers strikes again.
If anyone has any info they can share with me so that I can get this promotion and maybe screw them over, please let me know.
23. madgunde | February 19th, 2008 at 9:40 pm
@Liza
I think the 3 month promotion is unlimited data, but you still have to pay for it. Maybe call them back and ask them if you have unlimited data for a limited time.
24. Swifty | February 28th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Ok, I just signed up for the plan. I was already payin $10 for the voice mail, 120 texts and call id. Total $47.53 incl. taxes. Now they added this plan cuz i complained about what sprint is offerin my dad and so they kept it at the current total price with this unlimited browsin plan. And they said the first 3 months is free. Free what? Downloading, google maps etc? And on top of that my cell phone is the iphone. First of i wonder if $47.53 is a good deal. If any1 is getting better lemme kno. Also maybe (post 16, will) the reason this individual is not gettin charged for usin combination is because the first 3 months is free after which he has to pay. Also is unlimited browsing really unlimited browsing after 3 months?
25. will | March 25th, 2008 at 12:56 am
so i got a call back from rogers today
it was the same gentleman i had previously spoken too
and what he said was that although it seems to be working as an unlimited package now… at any moment rogers could suddenly get wise to the fact i am using the iphone and start billing me immediatley
so i have disabled the plan so to as to avoid any surprises
it was nice to have unlimted for a month…i used almost a full Gig
one day maybe they will hear our prayers or perhaps maybe we will assert our rage
26. madgunde | March 25th, 2008 at 1:18 am
Thanks for the update will. Better to play it safe than risk one day getting a $1,000+ data bill. When my 6 months of unlimited data run out, it’s going to be really hard to give up the freedom of accessing the internet wherever I am.
27. rhz | April 4th, 2008 at 3:01 am
i added this value pack to my account yesterday, when i asked the rogers rep about the unltd mobile internet he told me this applies only to WAP sites
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