iPhone Canada: Data Plan Question
Yesterday, I wrote a few tips on how to manage your iPhone in a way that can keep the current data plans proposed by Rogers manageable. While I’m hoping the info is a bit useful, I was asked the following question:
Is it reasonable to expect to curtail usage to 750Mb per month or is that nearly impossible if your intent is to use the phone primarily for e-mail?
My response to this is yes.
One additional item that I failed to mention yesterday is that you will receive a text message from Rogers once you are nearing your data usage limit for the month. What I’m presuming Rogers is banking on, at least initially, are oblivious users ignoring the message and thinking “it’s no big deal, how much more can it cost if a download a few more pages?” Beware, the casual additional page downloads here and there COST A FORTUNE!
An associate of mine has had an iPhone in Canada for nearly a year now and has only turned the Edge network on once simply because he a) had a minimal data plan (standard Rogers fare) and b) when he turned it on the first time for only 15 minutes, he incurred over $30 in fees!
My recommendation for casual users who will be using primarily e-mail is to take one of the lower packages and then closely monitor your usage and implement a few of the tricks I suggested to keep the costs down (i.e. turning off the “Edge” network). Also, be careful of opening attachments such as PDF files as those can be a killer.
