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Rogers Wireless

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Rogers Wireless Inc.
Company typePrivate (subsidiary of Rogers Communications)
IndustryWireless Services
FoundedToronto, Ontario (1983)
HeadquartersToronto, Ontario
Key people
Robert Bruce - President
ProductsUMTS, HSDPA, EDGE, GPRS, GSM, BlackBerries, Wireless Data Services, Two way messaging
Revenue$4.01 billion CAD
OwnerRogers Communications
Number of employees
5,287 (2004)
Websitewww.rogers.com/wireless

Rogers Wireless, formerly known as Rogers AT&T Wireless, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Rogers Communications. Rogers purchased Fido in November 2004, creating Canada's largest wireless carrier, surpassing Bell Mobility in subscriber volume, before Bell Mobility bought Virgin Mobile Canada in May 2009. Rogers Wireless operates High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) networks in Canada.

History

Rogers began with an Advanced Mobile Phone System (AMPS) network, and later moved to the IS-136 standard before finally introducing a GSM network in 2001 [1]. At various times the service was sold under the names Cantel, Cantel AT&T, Rogers Cantel AT&T, and Rogers AT&T Wireless. Their network is GSM standard with development currently focused on UMTS, HSDPA, and EUL service. Both the AMPS and IS-136 networks have been decommissioned; they were shut down on May 31, 2007.

Prior to the Rogers acquisition, the wireless business was known as Cantel Communications and Cantel AT&T.

In 2007, Rogers created a music festival in downtown Toronto, "The Rogers Picnic". The inaugural Rogers Picnic, created by Rogers Wireless was on July 29, 2007 and was held at the outdoor venue, Historic Fort York in Toronto. The second annual Rogers Picnic took place on July 20, 2008 at the same venue.

Mobile Devices

Rogers was the first Canadian carrier to carry the Apple iPhone 3G and 3GS in Canada. The inaugural launch of the device was on July 11, 2008. Bell Mobility on November 4th, 2009 became the 2nd Canadian carrier to carry the Apple iPhone, Telus Mobility will begin to carry the iPhone on November 5th, 2009, ending the iPhone exclusivity Rogers had. Rogers also currently sells the BlackBerry Bold and the BlackBerry Curve, and on June 2, 2009 the company launched the first Google Android-powered devices in Canada, the HTC Dream and the HTC Magic[2]. Rogers has the exclusive rights to sell the Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 in Canada, and will release it in Q2 2010.[3]

Services

Rogers offers the following services:

Rogers Wireless carries phones made by Apple Inc., Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, LG, Sony Ericsson, HTC, HP, ZTE, Firefly, Palm and RIM. A large majority of the Rogers' customer base uses its GSM/GPRS/EDGE network, but the primary focus for development and new customers has been on its UMTS/HSDPA/EUL network. Rogers Wireless claims to be the only Canadian Wireless Provider to offer a complete, independent coast-to-coast network spanning all Canadian regions excluding the Territories.

In February 2006 at the 3GSM Conference in Barcelona, Rogers announced that testing for their 3G/3.5G UMTS/HSDPA network would be complete by March 2006. The network was brought online for select markets on November 2, 2006.[4] UMTS/HSDPA is available in most major cities in Canada with further expansion in 2008.[5] So far, users are reporting performance in the 0.29 - 0.74 Mbit/s range on the HSDPA network, and 1 Mbit/s using UMTS. All Rogers Wireless HSDPA-enabled Node B's support up to 7.2 Mbit/s downlink speeds and are current to Ericcson/3GPP Release 5. EUL, also known as HSUPA, is expected to be in service by 3rd quarter 2008. Rogers has further announced their intention to upgrade their network to the HSDPA+ standard, capable of a maximum theoretical download speed of 21 Mbps, in August 2009 in the Greater Toronto Area with other major cities to follow.

Rogers Wireless offers the following Wireless Business Applications to its customers: Mindit Assist, AskMeNow, Sales Anywhere, NewsClip, bbTV, FPinfomart Mobile, Connection Manager, eOffice

Criticism on rates

As one of the three main cellular providers of the Canadian market, and the only GSM in Canada at the time, Rogers has been criticized for having high voice and data prices compared to other OECD markets.[6] These criticisms have become more pronounced with the Canadian launch of Apple's iPhone.[citation needed]

Rogers' announced pricing plans for the iPhone have been noted in print media both in Canada [7][8][9] and internationally[10][11], as well as online.[12][13][14] The online critics referenced above allege price gouging and monopolistic control of the industry, along with customer service oriented complaints. However, the majority of the current criticism is directed toward the monthly data limit for the iPhone device, given the availability of unlimited plans in the United States.[15] Rogers had introduced a "$30 for 6GB" data plan.[16][17], which was discontinued September 30, 2008. After the release of the iPhone 3GS, they re-introduced this offer on a limited time basis. As of July 7, 2009, Rogers Wireless charges 15 cents for incoming text messages to customers without a text messaging plan.[18] The change does not affect the Fido Solutions brand. The change is similar to policies of charging for incoming text message that were adopted in August 2008 by Bell Mobility and Telus Mobility.

UMTS

Prior to November 2009, Rogers Wireless had been the sole provider of a UMTS network in Canada. This changed following the activation of similar networks by Telus and Bell. Similarly, Rogers was no longer the exclusive suplier of the iPhone 3G, as Telus and Bell offered the device at their network launch. Rogers remains the sole provider of GSM in Canada.

See also

WIND Mobile (styled as WIND) is a Canadian wireless telecommunications provider operated by Globalive which launched in Toronto on December 16, 2009 and two days later in Calgary.[2]

WIND is expected to increase competition in the Canadian wireless market by offering plans and services at prices below that of comparable services offered by Canada's three incumbents.

References

  1. ^ Rob Galbraith, "AT&T Wireless, Rogers to move to GSM", Dec. 2, 2000
  2. ^ http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fpposted/archive/2009/05/20/android-market-coming-to-canada-june-2-rogers.aspx
  3. ^ http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/05/rogers-signed-up-to-carry-sony-ericsson-xperia-x10-as-a-canadian/
  4. ^ http://downloads.rogers.com/wireless/forms/HSDPA_En.pdf
  5. ^ Detect Flash support
  6. ^ CBC.ca Cell phone costs
  7. ^ Globe and Mail The iPhone's cross-border price clash
  8. ^ globe and mail
  9. ^ Toronto Star
  10. ^ Washington Post
  11. ^ http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/147839/canadians_blast_iphone_pricing.html PC Mag
  12. ^ iphoneincanada.ca
  13. ^ Ars Technica "Canadians continue feeling Rogered"
  14. ^ Digg "Rogers you Ruined my iPhone dream"
  15. ^ Rogers draws fire for iPhone rates
  16. ^ Rogers Caves
  17. ^ at&t iphone plan
  18. ^ http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2009/05/05/4164728.htm
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