Rogers announces plans for budget-minded 'Chatr' wireless brand
By Donald Melanson 
posted July 2nd 2010 6:38PM
posted July 2nd 2010 6:38PM
Well, it looks like Canadians will soon have yet another discount wireless brand to consider -- Rogers has just officially announced plans to launch a new budget-minded "Chatr" brand to compete with the likes of Wind, Mobilicity and Public Mobile. Yes, that's the same Rogers that already has the Fido discount brand, but it says that the "launch of a third brand mirrors many other industries like the hospitality and retail sectors and is designed to offer Canadians more choice." The official announcement follows some rumors and leaks that have been circulating as of late, which suggested that Chatr would initially launch in Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver on July 5th, although those details still haven't yet been confirmed by Rogers.
Why don't they just lower their regular prices and save all the trouble of starting up a whole new brand?
@Darkroom You guys both know that this is already part of fido right? Its 40$ for 2k minutes and unlimited texting in like 12 cities already...
Motorola wants the name back
@RioRyan
All for the illusion of giving us choice...
@RioRyan Because they don't want to reduce revenues from business customers. By creating a separate set of plans for budget individuals, they aren't pressured to lower their business prices where they make the real money.
@RioRyan
They want more brands to confuse canadian into believing there is actual competition in Canada.
Pretty much created by Rogers just to crush the new entrants in the mobile space up in Canada (WIND, Mobilicity, Public) who are offering better prices.
@Plazmic Flame
better price @ limited coverage
@Plazmic Flame And once people realise that it's Rogers running the show, I doubt they'll be more welcoming to it than the new operators.
@Plazmic Flame Rogers is just trying to put the startups out of business, and once that's done (lets hope that never happens) they won't have to worry about lowering their prices anymore.
I'm on Rogers right now, but if I was forced to go either on Wind or this Chatr, I'd gladly go Wind.
@ALBGunner04
Wind = No 3G on iPhone
Chatr = iPhone.
My choice is clear. lol
@jellotime91 umm actually you're wrong. Wind is COMPLETELY 3G. There is no part of their network that is 2G.
On the other hand, from what I've heard Chatr is supposed to be voice and text only, meaning no 3G data.
@Harp
I believe the No 3G on the iPhone refers to the fact that Wind uses the same 3G spectrum as T-Mobile in the US... and... no iPhone on that spectrum yet. So nothing about Wind's 3G... more the radio in the iPhone not covering what they have.
@JawsOGRE
u can always use nexus one on it ....i use it........ great speed perfect and i dont have to give up a arm and leg for it
And the Monopoly of Cellphones in Canada Continues
@Zeroexe43
I was with Rogers for 9 years, and Fido for the last 2 years (yes I realize it's the same ownership). Frankly I have no real problem with them other than the insistence on carrier-locking phones. The early termination charges would recoup the subsidy on the phones anyway, so why bother lock it? Oh that's right... massive roaming fees. International collusion! If I want to use my iPhone overseas (without modifying firmware), then I would pay $0.75 per text, $3.00/m calling, and $0.03/KB data. Downright insulting. Luckily I also have a factory-unlocked Nokia!
Yeah for us....more fake competition in the cell market.
Rogers should then rename itself to "Rapr" as a contrast to the discount line.
@grub +1
Also, "chatr will offer zone-based unlimited voice and text, without term contracts backed by the reliability of the Rogers network. The new brand will operate as a separate business with its own offices, customer care operations and distribution network."
Derived from my received e-mail.
@n11
"the reliability of the Rogers network"
This doesn't mean anything, If you're standing with 5 Rogers customers and one Fido customer on the street and all make calls simultaneously the Fido guy wont be able to connect as actual Rogers customers get tower priority.
I'm 99% sure this will be the same for this goofy Chatr service...
Also Wind and most of the others are using AWS!
Are any canadians happy with Rogers? I think they get more negative comments then iPhone users in NY give AT&T.
@neeko18 We've been with Rogers since getting iPhones in late 2009. They've been ok, nothing great. I phoned and got customer relations to include the tethering plan at mo charge. Stupid that they want to charge you use the data you're already paying for.
I was much happier with Telus, was with them for about 10 years.
@neeko18 I honestly don't see them as any worse than our other options. In Saskatoon their coverage really sucks, but in Calgary I find it to be good. I have the $30 6gig data plan as well so I have no qualms with their pricing. Everyone I know on Telus has horror stories, so i am fine sticking with them.
@neeko18 Keep in mind that's just based on Canadian options. Compared with US and European options we are constantly getting screwed.
@neeko18 They have awesome reception and customer service....they just charge frikin stupid prices! Seriously take a look, you'll be glad to live in the US! The lowest data/voice plan is like 80$ after taxes and bullshit fees!
@neeko18
Only way to be "happy" with Rogers' price plans is to become a corporate user.
My bill is ~$30/mo and I get enough extra stuff on my account my friends all turn red when I compare with them.
@neeko18
well, i was with rogers for three years, and then when my contract expired i went on wind.
my friend is an employee there, and all wind employees get five references so promotional prices, so i got one of their special plan, still no contract.
its $15 dollars a month for unlimited talk and text, plus Canadian long distance, and the standard caller id, voicemail, call waiting, call conferencing etc.
i bought a HTC Maple for 200 bucks plus tax, and wind even gave me the unlock code. ive been super happy with their customer service, and since i live in toronto, its been no reception problems at all. even in my basement.
@neeko18
I am patiently waiting for my 3 year contract to expire in November, so I can call Rogers customer service, threaten to leave Rogers, get sent over to a retention specialists, get offered shit deals like they've tried offering before (ex. when I called and asked for a better deal on my bill, their offer gave me less features for more money) and begin my half hour long rant about Rogers, their service, their company, and possibly about the blood relatives of the customer service rep I get stuck with.
I can not wait to tell those cock-sucking, pieces of horseshit what I really think of them. Those motherfuckers and their monopoly will sooner or later come back to bite them in the ass, and if I have to, I will go out of my way to bring that company to its knees. Launching an internet campaign of slanderous lies is not beneath me, and linking me to any of the thousands of comments, messages, rumours, etc... I will spread will not be easy.
THOSE DOUCHE BAGS SONS OF WHORES HAVE FUCKED ME FOR THE LAST TIME. I WILL GET SOME SATISFACTION OUT OF ALL THIS, THOSE FUCKERS WILL PAY, AND THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO TO STOP ME!
@neeko18
I actually don't mind Rogers compared to the other two. Their coverage is great where I am, and their customer service has been top notch.
What irks me, and this goes for all carriers up here, are the posted new-customer plans are all shite. You only get decent plans if/when you negotiate after being a customer for a while (for example through the retentions department). But the thing is it's so variable as to what each customer gets, and for no rhyme or reason, that it becomes unfair for a lot of people. The time of day you call, your tone, the reps mood, the stars' alignment all have a hand in it it seems.
Just as an example, I was with Rogers for less then three months when I got a retentions plan that's good. My plan is better than most peoples' plans with Rogers and they've been with them for a lot longer than I have. It's very unfair that I was offered this plan when so many are paying through the nose. Franky I would give up my plan in a second for the chance that we all get decent standardized pricing. But what are the chances of that happening?
@DBW
ditto
Yeah that's what we need another crappy fake independant cell company selling shitty phones
Hey Rogers instead of wasting your mobile bandwidth on this crap, why don't you give us some Android phone options like the Galaxy S (going to Bell) or the HTC Desire (going to Telus)
If it wasn't for the 30 dollar 6 GB data plan I would have left your crappy network a long time ago. The only thing saving you is that every other cell provider in Canada is just as bad.
@Gort911 amen brother, I was looking for a nice android phone in Canada but none of the big company's will sell them urg....
@Gort911
you know wind and moblicity have 65 dollar unlimited data plans right?
i dont know how many phones are on aws yet, but im sure that there are some android ones. not all of the ones that work with the band are advertised or sold by the companies themselves.
The Canadian mobile market has a lot to learn from the American mobile market, which, in turn, has a lot to learn from the European mobile market.
Free incoming calls, caller ID and call waiting shouldn't be "features".
If Rogers and Bell weren't holding the Canadian government by the balls, companies like TeliaSonera could easily move in and make a mockery of Big Red and Big Blue.
@Sippeecup dont forget your $3.99 911 charge. oh and our beautiful service fee thanks.
@Sippeecup There was a small carrier in the Midwest (IN/MI/OH) that acted like Canadian carriers: Centennial Wireless (which was thankfully bought by AT&T). Although they had free incoming calls and good reception thanks to their 850 MHz spectrum, which is a good thing, they also carried a lot of cons. 30-month contracts, refurbished stale phones as new (they said that the N95 and the Touch Diamond 1 were "hot" in 2009), and unbundled caller ID/voicemail as add-ons. Plus their PDA data pack was $35 for 250 MB. That makes AT&T's 2 GB for $25 that we complain about seem bargain-priced.
We dropped them right before AT&T bought them, as AT&T independent dealers have to be exclusive to Ma Bell. Our company sells a lot of Sprint and some Verizon, and we didn't want to drop Sprint in the days of the iPCS Nextel/iDEN boondoggle. Until recently, when Sprint added iDEN to corporate stores after the iPCS buyout, we were the only iDEN store left in a town of 240,000 because of iPCS... But that is a different story.
It's funny because the majority of people I see (as I work in the cell phone industry) that have painfully high bills are people who have no idea what their plans include. They don't know how long distance works or 411 calls or even toll free numbers. A little education goes a long way. Out of all the Canadian carriers Rogers definitely has the best upgrade policies. P.S. I don't work for Rogers I work for another carrier. I agree that instead of creating another sub-brand that Fido should carry the new business model (even if they wanted to rename it). The real crime in the cellular market in Canada is sales reps who know nothing about what they are selling you. Prices between the companies are usually the same.
@casik
"Prices between the companies are usually the same"
This is one of the things that burns me to no end... it's a friggin' cartel. No one is competing, prices are all the same. So WTF? Why have 3 different carries? BS... in my opinion. Now that the "new guys" give hope, Rogers steps in to to try and destroy it. I hope they lose money in this venture and back off.
@Plazmic Flame
Or maybe it's what the companies need to charge to be able to subsidize people's obsessions with wanting free phones.
The new guys don't bring hope. They just bring a different service that works for some people. Some people never use their phones outside of their LCAs and can use something like Wind or City Fido or whatever else is out there, while to others that travel and need to use their phone outside those types of plans would not benefit from an unlimited plan. It's all about knowing how you use the phone and what you are willing to pay for and then coming to a solution.
Either pay for a plan that gives you what you WANT or pay for a plan that gives you what you NEED.
If either are too expensive for you than the other choice is to not get a phone. Ranting and raving won't do any good when your still paying your bill. We all want cheaper prices.
@casik
wah wah wah. wah wah wah.
I'm with Rogers and i pay $50/month for an iPhone with 200 minutes, 6gb of data, 6pm early evenings and weekends and 2500 txt. Just go to howardforums.com and look at the retentions thread to find out what deals other people are getting. Save yourself a ton of money and you don't have to compromise on features.
2G-only phones, no data options... what a great way to compete with Wind. (not). :(
If they want to offer discounted plans, that's what Fido is for. Me? I'll stick with Bell Mobility as they're the lesser of three evils from my experiences so far (yes, I know others who have had major problems with Bell and customer service, but I'm not one of them).
There's a reason quite a few people joke about "Robbers" after all. :(
@Devhux WHOH WHOH WHOH Bell LESS evil. dude their the ones about to screw us over with new bandwidth fees man. do your self a favor and look up Bells UBB it's going to screw EVERYONE in Canada.
Rogers is crap (along with Bell and Telus) and depending on where you are, their reception / network is not the best either.
True story:
At my previous work office in downtown Toronto (at Bay and King which is supposed to be the financial center of Canada's largest city) my Blackberry Curve (EDGE) would regularly fail making HTTP requests. We were a mobile software company that launched a product on Rogers (BBTV - mobile TV service for Blackberries) and Rogers complained to us about downloads of the app failing. I pointed out that this issue was their network and their genius 'engineers' said that wasnt possible because it didnt happen with other apps. So the first thing I did was try to download another popular app - sure enough it failed. I sent a giant screenshot to their product manager and his so-called engineers @ Rogers who sheepishly said 'well our downtown Toronto network has a lot of traffic. Even if we built another 400 towers it wouldn't help'. Umm - building more towers AND supporting infrastructure definitely would help there genius. I have lots of stories like that - all of them end with downright embarrassing actions / words from Rogers managers and so-called engineers. So if you think that their customer service is bad, trust me - they're the SMART ones at that company.
I would welcome this new brand nicely! As more competition is good! But what I don't understand is the name. CharR . R is obviously Rogers But why Chat?? That pretty much eliminates options for Texting though Obviously it would offer Texting but that name just does not go well with the brand sound like a non-smartphone brand! :|
what does this have to do with hockey?
@Psyclotr0n
What does your comment have to do with this article...
@casik
oh sorry, i forgot you only liked curling.