Rogers 4g?

[KyleB]

Rogers increases Q2 profit by 21 per cent but feels impact of new competition - Yahoo! Canada Finance

See below from article in link above:

Linton said Rogers will also contend with the introduction of 4G technology, the latest generation of wireless service.
"What we don't know at this point is the level of device upgrade costs we might incur in the second half of the year as we begin to upgrade a portion of our smart phone subscribers to the next generation of devices," Linton said.

Anybody know which smart phone subscribers will be getting upgrade to 4G? I think we should all get it just for being valued customers

Wondering if this is just to accommodate new Iphone?

 

[XBrav]

Rogers increases Q2 profit by 21 per cent but feels impact of new competition - Yahoo! Canada Finance

See below from article in link above:

Linton said Rogers will also contend with the introduction of 4G technology, the latest generation of wireless service.
"What we don't know at this point is the level of device upgrade costs we might incur in the second half of the year as we begin to upgrade a portion of our smart phone subscribers to the next generation of devices," Linton said.

Anybody know which smart phone subscribers will be getting upgrade to 4G? I think we should all get it just for being valued customers

Wondering if this is just to accommodate new Iphone?

4G is probably not coming to Canada any time soon. I believe the 4G in Canada will be called HSPA++, but the reality is that the EVO is the first American phone with 4G. In my area, the best I can get on 3G is 1.04mbit compared to the advertised maximum 7.2mbit in Calgary. I am not impressed.

 

[GreatBigDog]

Rogers increases Q2 profit by 21 per cent but feels impact of new competition - Yahoo! Canada Finance

See below from article in link above:

Linton said Rogers will also contend with the introduction of 4G technology, the latest generation of wireless service.
"What we don't know at this point is the level of device upgrade costs we might incur in the second half of the year as we begin to upgrade a portion of our smart phone subscribers to the next generation of devices," Linton said.

Anybody know which smart phone subscribers will be getting upgrade to 4G? I think we should all get it just for being valued customers

Wondering if this is just to accommodate new Iphone?

As Xbrav said, Rogers is not putting out 4G, it's a HSPA+ network that will increase the max data rate from the current 7.2mbs to 21mbs.

Rogers is not putting this out right now to accommodate any of the smartphones on the market because none of them are compatible with it yet. The upgrade is currently to support faster data transfers for users of the Rogers Rocketstick.

gbd

 

[Akkuzo]

And theoretically we might start to see some hspa+ phones inn the fall...

 

[Roze]

I wonder if Rogers will charge customers another $10 on top of the regular dataplan to use the HSPA+ band like how Sprint did for the EVO with its 4G.

 

[bunhead]

To be honest here guys I don't see the point in rogers upgrading their gear to support up to 21mbs. I have a 3g phone right now and I don't see ANYWHERE near 7.2mbs here in Ottawa. I don't know I just do see the point of being sold a racecar and only having rutted dirt roads to drive on. Maybe I am missing the point but I would like rogers to start to deliver the claimed speeds at 3g before they start to move to new tech.

 

[Akkuzo]

To be honest here guys I don't see the point in rogers upgrading their gear to support up to 21mbs. I have a 3g phone right now and I don't see ANYWHERE near 7.2mbs here in Ottawa. I don't know I just do see the point of being sold a racecar and only having rutted dirt roads to drive on. Maybe I am missing the point but I would like rogers to start to deliver the claimed speeds at 3g before they start to move to new tech.

Don't think about the theoretical numbers attached to the tech (7mbps, 21mbps). Think about it as fast, faster, fastest. You likely won't get near 21mbps with an hspa+ phone/network, but you still will get much faster data than on an hspa phone/network.

 

[GreatBigDog]

I wonder if Rogers will charge customers another $10 on top of the regular dataplan to use the HSPA+ band like how Sprint did for the EVO with its 4G.

I've been wondering that myself. I'd hate to pay extra for a HSPA+ enabled phone when I know we won't be seeing that capability installed locally for several years, if ever.

 

[vikingisson]

And this is one of the few things in the biz that are better up here. Why would I be forced to pay extra to potentially go faster on a phone and then can't use it most of the time? Add to that you have to pay extra to tether on most u.s. providers. The tether charges are the most insane because I pay for the data anyway so why does it matter. That so called 4G phone seems cool but the plan prices are criminal.

How fast does a phone need to be and when does it help enough to be worth extra charges? Perhaps if your speed already sucks but at least in T.O. we get decent speeds and usually faster than most of the u.s. Capacity on the network is important so when I see 5mbs on a network that claims 7mbs I'm happy. On regular towers that top out at ~2.5mbs that is also good unless I'm seeing a fraction of that. If I can't get what I'm already paying for I damn sure won't pay extra to get 21mbs and then maybe see what I should have gotten on my original plan.

That being said I've found slow areas that should be much faster but again I'm not paying extra because I can't get what I should already. Generally I can't complain about data speeds. We'll see what piggish devices like the ipad do to my speeds but so far it is still good.

We already have a high speed network but it has a different name. I'd rather have faster home internet and that is what totally sucks here unless you're lucky to live in the right spot. My cell speeds are as good as my home internet and have even tethered just to get my work done when our crappy landlines got too slow.

 

[bunhead]

And this is one of the few things in the biz that are better up here. Why would I be forced to pay extra to potentially go faster on a phone and then can't use it most of the time? Add to that you have to pay extra to tether on most u.s. providers. The tether charges are the most insane because I pay for the data anyway so why does it matter. That so called 4G phone seems cool but the plan prices are criminal.

How fast does a phone need to be and when does it help enough to be worth extra charges? Perhaps if your speed already sucks but at least in T.O. we get decent speeds and usually faster than most of the u.s. Capacity on the network is important so when I see 5mbs on a network that claims 7mbs I'm happy. On regular towers that top out at ~2.5mbs that is also good unless I'm seeing a fraction of that. If I can't get what I'm already paying for I damn sure won't pay extra to get 21mbs and then maybe see what I should have gotten on my original plan.

That being said I've found slow areas that should be much faster but again I'm not paying extra because I can't get what I should already. Generally I can't complain about data speeds. We'll see what piggish devices like the ipad do to my speeds but so far it is still good.

We already have a high speed network but it has a different name. I'd rather have faster home internet and that is what totally sucks here unless you're lucky to live in the right spot. My cell speeds are as good as my home internet and have even tethered just to get my work done when our crappy landlines got too slow.

I have had this argument with rogers MANY times. I live in Ottawa and I pay the same as my friends in Toronto for my cellular data, however my coverage is spotty and 1/10th of the speed. I don't understand WHY I pay the same for an inferior product. I am also mystified how rogers can post a map of coverage that says that between Ottawa and Toronto has full coverage for voice and data but when you take the train (which never even gets CLOSE to the edge of the coverage map) you get no signal. I have called them on this several times and I get the response of "Well are you inside the train? Because that can effect your signal strength." When I ask why the train car does not effect my signal strength when I am near Ottawa or Toronto I either get silence as a response or a quick subject change. Frustrating how a company can just lie and get away with it.

 

[Roze]

I have had this argument with rogers MANY times. I live in Ottawa and I pay the same as my friends in Toronto for my cellular data, however my coverage is spotty and 1/10th of the speed. I don't understand WHY I pay the same for an inferior product. I am also mystified how rogers can post a map of coverage that says that between Ottawa and Toronto has full coverage for voice and data but when you take the train (which never even gets CLOSE to the edge of the coverage map) you get no signal. I have called them on this several times and I get the response of "Well are you inside the train? Because that can effect your signal strength." When I ask why the train car does not effect my signal strength when I am near Ottawa or Toronto I either get silence as a response or a quick subject change. Frustrating how a company can just lie and get away with it.

I think it just depends on where the signal towers are located. I live in the GTA and when I take the GO Train to work, there are spots along the Lakeshore Line that gets very spotty and it's always the same spots that I'll disconnect every time!

 

[vikingisson]

and there's another reason to never go on contract. I would have left by now in your case. In fact I didn't have a cell phone at all for over 7 years because of poor coverage in any house I lived in or visited. Now it works slightly better but we also get data and that works pretty good where I am.

Sorry that it sucks in Ottawa, I've heard that about parts of Montreal too. We'd both agree that paying extra for a super speed promise is pointless.

Doesn't work well on the train doesn't surprise me. They don't see enough profit margin and don't care about small markets. Catch-22. Funny thing is that when the Amtrak goes by I briefly see a WiFI signal, no idea how they are linking from there but hope it isn't a cell link.

In some ways we're better off than the U.S. but in general we're a decade or two behind most of the world. Once the leaders in communications but now a laughing stock.

 

[Roze]

Once the leaders in communications but now a laughing stock.

Once...you mean in the early 20th century?

 

[bunhead]

and there's another reason to never go on contract. I would have left by now in your case. In fact I didn't have a cell phone at all for over 7 years because of poor coverage in any house I lived in or visited. Now it works slightly better but we also get data and that works pretty good where I am.

Sorry that it sucks in Ottawa, I've heard that about parts of Montreal too. We'd both agree that paying extra for a super speed promise is pointless.

Doesn't work well on the train doesn't surprise me. They don't see enough profit margin and don't care about small markets. Catch-22. Funny thing is that when the Amtrak goes by I briefly see a WiFI signal, no idea how they are linking from there but hope it isn't a cell link.

In some ways we're better off than the U.S. but in general we're a decade or two behind most of the world. Once the leaders in communications but now a laughing stock.

I believe that the trains use satellite Internet, but I could be wrong. All I can say is rogers had better hope that nobody needs to call 911 on that train.

 

[vikingisson]

Once...you mean in the early 20th century?

LOL
dit dit dit da da da dit dit dit
Yeah Marconi made his fame here...
Talking about the early days of the internet and long range wireless voice and data links to reach great distances. So much was developed right here and we were the envy of the world.

Front St held so many international websites because of the available speed and low prices that Canada seemed to be the kings of comm. The world caught up and kept moving while we slept.

 

[Roze]

The world caught up and kept moving while we slept.

That basically explains us in a few words. We USED to be this...we USED to be that...oh how we have fallen.

 

[chris0101]

That basically explains us in a few words. We USED to be this...we USED to be that...oh how we have fallen.

It's sad because we show no signs of making any efforts to catch up. The hubris and arrogance of our society's leaders is appalling at times. We've become a short term and "me"-first society in many ways. Firms value short-term profits and don't care about what happens in the future. There are times when I wonder what would happen if a real competitor, something like one of those european telecoms came here. Instead we have firms that fight net neutrality, use data caps (despite their profit margins, which are the highest of any telecom company in the developed world) to fight bandwidth usage instead of upgrading their infrastructure, and make every effort to capitalize on their monopoly.

 

[vikingisson]

The saddest is not the wireless but the wired, it is falling apart. My home internet works as advertised but is a shame that it is way behind the times and no hint of getting better, ever. My wireless speed is good enough as long as they keep up with capacity which might not happen but for now it is decent. But with all the push to get other devices such as laptops and homes on wireless we're going to have problems but the carriers will make huge profits. They can let the wired world rot and you'll prefer to go wireless as the only workable solution. They have a plan and we're getting screwed.

Having a Euro telco come here won't work because of how we're setup. It works for them over there partly due to legislation but imho mainly due to who owns the hardware and wire. The telcos don't own them like they do here. A wholesale company sometimes state owned builds and maintains the wire and towers, they sell to the telcos who provide the service to end users. Everyone has incentive to provide the best service at the best price. And it works. Profits are made and the user gets much more for much less. Even a tiny country can have multiple providers for cell, landline, internet, tv, etc. When I saw fiber to the house with a lot more on offer for much cheaper I was ashamed that we don't come close to the same. It does however get expensive to roam across providers since there are so many but that's something they are looking at now.

Short of a state take over of the infrastructure we can't fix that problem and the carriers will continue to drown themselves and us in a system that can't keep up with the world at large. It drives them to these dirty trick tactics and corruption all the way up the chain to the agencies designed to protect us. Sometimes you have to do things yourself to get what you need.