[graphex]

Hopefully, this is an appropriate forum to ask this question. If not, please educate.
I am with telus and see that my Blackberry Smartphone data charge rates run about 10x the standard datarate ($30/mb vs $3/mb). can anyone explain why there is this discrepancy? I've asked the question of the Telus agents and no one could give me an answer other than it is what it is.

[Motorcycle Mama]

To what devices does the "$3/mb" rate apply?

And it's very doubtful that the BlackBerry Data rate is "$30/mb". From where did that figure arise?

[NJBlackBerry]

FYI - this forum is not associated with Research In Motion or any carrier. It is privately owned and everyone here volunteers their time. If the carrier can't/won't explain it, then it is unlikely anyone else can.

[graphex]

I knew (hoped) that this was not a "sponsored" site but that someone else may have encountered similar issues and/or at least understood the rationale behind the differential rates between the Telus "Blackberry smartphone datarate" and the general datarate. As to my source, my bill from Telus has two separate lines related to data charges. Applying simple mathematics:(Data Usage - BlackBerry Smartphones 4.125 MB 116.45 - right from my bill).

[hrbuckley]

Do you have a Blackberry Data Plan with Telus? Canadian carrier ad-Hoc data rates can be punishingly high.

[graphex]

Fully aware of the punishing rates. I was more interested in learning if anyone knew the rationale (technical or otherwise) that justifies Smartphone rates that are an order of magnitude greater than regular rates. Is there something goping on behind the scenes that involves more work, etc. or is it a case of "They do it because they can?" (BTW... I'm using an 8330)

Tnx again

[rambo47]

Sprint charges the same data rate across the board. The caveat is that they now charge an extra $10/month for "premium" or 4G data devices like the EVO and Epic 4G. But otherwise they charge the same amount on a per MB basis.

[Motorcycle Mama]

Originally Posted by graphex

I knew (hoped) that this was not a "sponsored" site but that someone else may have encountered similar issues and/or at least understood the rationale behind the differential rates between the Telus "Blackberry smartphone datarate" and the general datarate. As to my source, my bill from Telus has two separate lines related to data charges. Applying simple mathematics:(Data Usage - BlackBerry Smartphones 4.125 MB 116.45 - right from my bill).

So you are saying that you used 4.125 MB of data on your BlackBerry for only that amount of data (no other services or charges) you were charged $116.45 ?

That makes no sense if you have a data plan with Telus.

Typically, carriers will have different data rates for smartphones vs non-smartphones because smartphone use more data. For example, a smartphone can access the full version of a webpage whereas a non-smartphone can typically only access a WAP version or text-only version.

Typically, carriers would have (for example) a $30 per month unlimited data plan for smartphones and a $10 per month unlimited data plan for non-smartphones. This makes perfect sense.

[AaronR]

I have a Rogers plan.
I have "unlimited" data usage, which amounts to 6 gig/month including data, mail, text etc. rolled in. The rate for per gig (or meg) works out to much more.
When the Iphone came out, Apple refused to authorize carriers to handle it unless the carrier guaranteed they would put the bandwidth up for the purchasers to use it.
If you are a casual data user, maybe 200 mb/month, it may not pay, but I use my phone on data a lot, so I made sure I got the plan when it came out.