Chat-r Wireless
Canadian Contracts Are Vampires: Study
Aug 11th
Get it? Flipout?
Canadians pay too much for their monthly cell phone bill, and are dragged into lengthy contracts that punish consumers for ending them before their term, according to a SeaBord Group study entitled “Death Grip.” (Great name!)
There will likely be another wireless spectrum auction in 2012 or 2013, and could increase competition again in the country, as the auction did in 2008, leading to the creation of WIND Mobile and Mobilicity, two companies who are completely contract-free.
But these companies will always be at a disadvantage to the three incumbents, Rogers, Telus and Bell, in part because they are established brands within the country, whose networks extend nationally, but also because they offer huge phone subsidies when signing a contract.
The problem comes in when customers want to remove themselves from the contract; they have already received promotional prices on their phone, and likely preferred monthly rates on their plan, but the cancellation fee is directly tied to how many months remain in his or her contract. Sometimes these penalties can cost more than the cost of the phone itself, which is the whole reason the contract exists in the first place.
But contracts are guaranteed revenue for these carriers, and they are loathe to change their business model, especially for higher-end business and data clients, who spend $100+ every month on their smartphone plan.
The report goes on to say that even though the Canadian carriers have less “buying power” when purchasing handsets, the discrepancy between the cost to the consumer and to the carrier is too high, and consumers end up with the brunt of it.
Read the entire report, and see for yourself.
(via The Globe and Mail)
Chat-r Wireless Has Officially Launched!
Jul 28th
The day has come. Chat-r Wireless, the new discount brand from Rogers has officially launched today in 5 major Canadian cities: Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Ottawa and Vancouver, confirming all rumors and speculation as of recent.
Their model is simple, offering “Unlimited” calls within your Chat-r designated zone (similar to the idea of WIND and Mobilicity), on two simple to identify plans ($35 and $45), running on the proven and stable Rogers 3G network. They also make paying for your minutes very streamlined. Either Autopay (essentially putting your credit card on account and having them automatically charge you) or Selfpay (which offers the freedom of paying when you want, through any of their retail channels), however in a strategy to promote the Autopay system, they are offering a $30 credit paid out at $10 a month for the first 3 months.
As for exposure, there is a heavy retail presence as expected. Look forward to seeing them pop-up in the following locations in and around the GTA: Future Shop, WirelessWave, TBooth, Best Buy, and Zellers.
For more information on the hardware offerings, plans, Chat-r zones and promotions visit the Chat-r website
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Chat-r Wireless Plan Features Revealed
Jul 26th
With their impending launch and device pictures being leaked out a few weeks ago, it was a matter of time that the plans get revealed as well. Following in the cookie-cutter mold of two separate “Unlimited” plans; $35 for unlimited talk, and $45 for unlimited talk and text, it is exactly what was expected.
As for the network coverage, Chat-r is leveraging the Rogers network big time, quoting in the flyers:
“your Chatr phone works better in more places”, “Better reception” and that you will have “No need to switch onto other networks when zipping in and out of your chatr zone, which means fewer dropped calls.”
Expect all-out marketing campaigns to commence on July 28th, with an official network launch shortly after.
[via MobileSyrup]
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[Updated] First Pictures of Chat-r Wireless Device Catalog
Jul 15th
With all the talk about the imminent launch of Chat-r Wireless lately it was just a matter of time that this picture surfaced. Our friends at Mobile Syrup got this from a tipster, and though it doesn’t say much in ways of release, pricing or availability one can anticipate a price point of $89.99 (obviously as an outright purchase).
Watch out for more pictures and launch information on Chat-r Wireless as we get them.
[via MobileSyrup]
Update:
Briefly after posting the first picture of the Nokia Slide, the rest of the devices scheduled to launch on Chat-r popped up online. Hit the break for the launch catalogue
The Battle For Canada: Chat-r vs Wind vs Mobilicity vs itself
Jul 9th
Is it fair that Rogers, the established giant of mobile dominance in Canada, and especially in Toronto, is launching a discount brand, Chat-r, to compete directly with the two newly-launched, low-cost providers in WIND Mobile and Mobilicity? John Bitove, Chairman of Mobilicity, doesn’t seem to think so.
After learning of Rogers’ intention to squarley aim for the the small companies’ bottom lines, he has filed a complaint to the Canadian Competition Bureau. “They’re trying to destroy our success,” he said to the Globe and Mail. Not surprisingly, Mobilicity is less keen than WIND to see Rogers attempt to eat into their limited market penetration, as the company only officially launched in May of this year. WIND has been around for almost a year now, and, while not the run-away success story that many hoped it would be, has certainly created a new sense of urgency in the Canadian mobile market for fairer prices and more included features. With unlimited internet usage, and low talk-and-text plans, WIND and Mobilicity have aimed themselves at urbanites who don’t need a great number of features on a phone, as well as new immigrants, who want cheaper ways to call back home. Chat-r does not intend to offer data connectivity with their talk-and-text plans, though those will be unlimited.
A few days ago, Anthony Lacavera stated that Chat-r is exactly what this country needs: more competition. On a BNN news segment, he said that Chat-r is “great for consumers… the big guys are starting to react, and the more they react, the better we look.” This heavily contrasts Bitove’s view, and brings home the idea that WIND, with their Egyptian financial backers, Orascom Telecom Holding, seem more capable of weathering out the short-term growth issues than does Mobilicity. Certainly, Rogers is going to have a much easier time than either WIND or Mobilicity in bringing Chat-r to the market, since they are providing similar service and similar prices without having to build an entirely new network infrastructure to it; instead, they are piggy-backing off existing Rogers towers in the same locations that the former carriers have launched in: Toronto, Calgary, Ottawa, Edmonton and Vancouver.
I don’t necessarily see Chat-r as a full-fledged success from the get-go. Sure, Rogers is going to leverage its own brand when advertising it, unlike with Fido which operates completely independently of its big brother. But with the knowledge that Chat-r is owned by Rogers will also come the understanding that it is not the nimble, young company that WIND is, nor the forward-looking enterprise that is Mobilicity. It’s Rogers under a new banner, and for some people, especially those that have been burned by the company in the past, Chat-r must be a huge turn-off.
Rogers Officially Announces Chat-r Wireless
Jun 30th
So the rumours are true: The already saturated Canadian market is about to become more competitive with the launch of another new wireless carrier. Chat-r will be a completely new division of Rogers Wireless with unlimited talk and text offerings, similar to WIND Mobile and Mobilicity.
With this addition, Rogers will try to capture even more of the Canadian market. Chat-r plans to launch in five major Canadian cities including Toronto, Calgary, Ottawa, Edmonton and Vancouver later this summer.
Here’s what you can expect from Chat-r on launch:
- Contract-free plans
- Unlimited talk and text only (no data) within Chat-r zones
- Independent customer care centers with an extensive retail presence
- Low cost handsets including: LG Sapphire, Samsung Gravity, and Nokia 2680 Slide
With this announcement many questions arise from my end, but I will save them for a future editorial. For now, I leave it to my loyal readers: What do you think of this announcement? Good move on Rogers’ end? Let us know.
Read the official press release.
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