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Rumor: Rogers Wireless May Not Support iPhone in Canada

iphonehand.jpg
Apple’s widely anticipated iPhone may see a dearth of network support up in Canada according to suggestions that have been made that provider Rogers Wireless may not support the iPhone. In a recent statement, corporate communications head Odette Coleman told journalists that no announcements had been made regarding support for the iPhone, despite Rogers currently being the only GSM carrier in Canada.
According to MacNN, Canada’s telecom industry is mostly composed of iPhone-incompatible CDMA networks used by providers Bell Canada and Telus. Rogers and its sub-brand Fido would be Apple’s only possible carrier to go with should the iPhone go on sale in Canada.
Additionally, Frost & Sullivan analyst Ronald Gruia has stated that Rogers may not be inclined to carry the iPhne and have its own reasons to delay a Canadian iPhone launch. Rogers is currently in the middle of existing contracts with Motorola and Sony-Ericsson to sell a certain number of music phones from these companies and might not want to hurt these sales via introduction of the iPhone.
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iphonehand.jpg
Apple’s widely anticipated iPhone may see a dearth of network support up in Canada according to suggestions that have been made that provider Rogers Wireless may not support the iPhone. In a recent statement, corporate communications head Odette Coleman told journalists that no announcements had been made regarding support for the iPhone, despite Rogers currently being the only GSM carrier in Canada.
According to MacNN, Canada’s telecom industry is mostly composed of iPhone-incompatible CDMA networks used by providers Bell Canada and Telus. Rogers and its sub-brand Fido would be Apple’s only possible carrier to go with should the iPhone go on sale in Canada.
Additionally, Frost & Sullivan analyst Ronald Gruia has stated that Rogers may not be inclined to carry the iPhne and have its own reasons to delay a Canadian iPhone launch. Rogers is currently in the middle of existing contracts with Motorola and Sony-Ericsson to sell a certain number of music phones from these companies and might not want to hurt these sales via introduction of the iPhone.
Gruia also commented that Rogers may be waiting until it feels the time is right. According to the analyst, Rogers has just introduced its VISION 3G wireless network for video messaging services and may hold off on launching the iPhone until the device can support the faster HSDPA mobile Internet access protocol. Gruia commented that such a phone may be as far as two years down the road.
“Rogers may wait to see how well it does in the U.S.,” Gruia noted. “If this thing really takes off and has tremendous uptake in the U.S., maybe we’ll see it here in time for Christmas.”
Even with these potential delays, Gruia felt the iPhone will most likely appear in Canada and that Apple has probably tested the phone in the country. Even without Rogers’ support, the phone may be unofficially available for customers who sign up for U.S. accounts or successfully unlock the device for use on the Rogers network.
If you have any comments, ideas or have heard anything about this, let us know.