Next thing to go:  per second billing for monthly subscribers.

- -
         

Actually, long distance was used a lot. And remember that Fido even used to
sell it for your landline. And remember that when you place a call from
outside a city, you are never really sure if it will end up being long
distance or not, unless it is extremely obvious (in québec calling someone in
BC or in Australia).

So it was extremely convenient to be able to make calls at reasonable long
distance rates equivalent to what Bell charges when you subscribe with  some
package incurring monthly fees. It wasn't designed to rip you off. It was acceptable.

But at 0.20, it is a ripoff and I will protest now by using a prepaid card. So
in the end, Rogers will get less revenu from its long distance rate increase ,
and if every Fido customer did the same, Rogers might get the message.

Rogers should learn some tricks from the dog instead of the other way around.
Right now, it is out to protect its own very high rates by cannabalising Fido
rates. An in the end, the most feared competitor (Virgin) turns out to be just
a new brand for Bell Mobility at roughly the same rates, so it isn't such a
big threath after all.

It isn't a surprise that Rogers is wrecking Fido. But it is a disapointment
that the lack of competition in Canada's wireless is allowing Rogers to wreck
its oppportunity to compete against landlines. Then again, with VOIP, perhaps
it isn't possible to compete against the new generation of landline service,
so might as well milk customers while it lasts.

(with WiMax, expect VOIP based mobile phones, and that will definitely compete
against traditional legacy mobile phone companies).