Telus iPhone, Here it Comes Canada
15. Jan, 2008 
64 Comments
Analysts are predicting that Telus Corp. will consider the move to GSM to remain competitive within the Canadian market. Telus, which operates a CDMA cellular network cannot currently offer the iPhone to its users since the iPhone only supports GSM, a standard widely supported in North America and overseas.
There were some predictions in the National Post (by Grant Surridge and Barbara Shecter) this morning that it could take Telus up to two years to build out a GSM network, at a believed cost of $400-$500M.
Although converting to GSM does not guarantee Telus anything in terms of revenue, it would certainly provide for more secure competitive footing when it comes to competing with Rogers over international roaming rates and handset availability.
As a consumer, the multiple choice is nice to have. LNP (local number portability) was supposed to be the great equalizer, but with a lack of Canadian carriers supporting GSM, the competitiveness LNP was supposed to promote has been lackluster.
Plus, who can say no to little green tree frogs and lizards? They sure make a compelling case for switching carriers.
UPDATE: Oct5/09: It appears that Bell and Telus will be in a position to finally offer the iPhone as early as next month. The Globe and Mail has the full story.
I wonder how they are going to roll out GSM? Are they just converting their towers or will they be leasing space from Rogers/Fido?
telus and bell have been working on their own towers creating a gsm network called hspa. but rogers has been upgrading their towers in response
veery cool
I just bought the Iphone from Telus, my phone hasn’t worked yet, no incoming outgoing calls, no text messages, I haven’t been able to use my brand new phone yet. I talked to the telus store and they said they need to get the problems worked out with their new network. The problem is, they take your money up front, and expect me to pay each month, but I haven’t been able to use one service… Now im stuck in a contract for three years, my phone services don’t work AT ALL! Just a WARNING to all who are looking to get one! they aren’t ready for the iphone yet, They pushed it out so fast, now me and a whole line up are sitting out side not knowing what to do with our useless, expensive phones!
With pricing and service, Telus has better customer service by far. Unlike Bell you do not spend an hour on the phone WAITING for rep. Same with Rogers, Telus customer service always tries to HELP you, and not BLAME you like Rogers does. I also agree with Mike S, Rogers recontracts its clients when doing rate plan changes and Telus will help you find the best plan you need. The difference between Rogers and Telus is that Telus tailors to your needs, they ask you questions so you dont pay for things you don’t need. For example, airtime and plan features. Rogers TELLS YOU what you need. And Bell, seemingly, do eenie meenie minie moe.
WELL TELUS is being SHADY with the iPhone 4!!! They say that the reduced prices are with NEW CONTRACTS ONLY and that your contract is offered for renewal and is NOT completely over a person WILL PAY THE FULL AMOUNT OF $749.00.. that’s right!!!…Telus is making regular customers pay for the iPhone 4 full price if you are already a customer however new customer get the deal of the reduced contract prices!!! They also told me that the I could get the iPhone 3 which they still offer but I went to 8 yes ..8 stores looking for the iPhone 3 and none carry stock that includes Sony (iPhone store). Plus I was offered a refreshed iPhone 3 for the Mid-contract renewal where I had to laugh at the person at the other end of the line at telus…One other thing Telus also explained the existing customers have to wait for the iPhone for on contract renewal “because we are low on stock and save the new phone arrivals for new customers”
re: Adam,
That’s why they have you sign a CONTRACT. You see the reason you get a phone so cheap upon new activation is that Telus (and all the other companies) know that they have 36 months x (insert monthly plan rate here) of revenue stream coming in. Some people call this subsidising the phone which is kind of false… it’s more like rent to own. A new iPhone is around $750 retail, lets say your plan is $50 per month, so in 15 months of service, the retail cost of that phone is paid and the rest of the contract is Telus gravy. I’m not naive enough to believe that the cell phone companies get iPhones at retail price, mind you, but finding out what they pay is impossible… I would guess somewhere in the $200-$300 per handset range, thus taking 6 months to pay off. That leaves Telus with a guaranteed (because you signed a contract) take of 30 months worth of service. If everyone who was in a contract got the iphone at the new sign up price, Telus would basically be giving away free iphones to everyone which, in a perfect utopian world, sounds great but makes no business sense at all. Contracts are not inherently evil… a mobile phone businesses costs millions upon millions of dollars to operate and needs guaranteed revenue streams (ie contracts) to be able to function. If they can’t show that guaranteed revenue on the books they can’t get the credit secured to purchase things like $800 million dollar technology upgrades that everyone wants, or to bulk order iphones from Apple to satisfy demand. If you want ultimate choice, you have to pay retail, sign no contract and move around but in the end, if you buy retail, stay with Telus for three years anyway and then quit, you’ve still paid more in the end. New cell start up discounts (with a contract) is Telus doing us a favour and in return we’re doing them the favour of being able to add our 3 years worht of money to their revenue sheets, making shareholders happy and enabling them to stay on top of technology.