Google weighing in on wireless

The growth and success of wireless applications are severely hampered by the lack of competition, and the relatively high consumer costs for this service (especially in Canada).

The Globe and Mail reports Rogers (the Canadian carrier set to carry the iPhone) will have to drastically overhaul its pricing on data services for consumers even to consider owning the device here.

All I know is that I have a measly data package on my Rogers phone. It covers me checking email now and again (forget about surfing web pages, it's too damn slow and most sites are not designed for wap services). But you know what, somehow Rogers "accidentally" canceled my data package and I was stuck with a $47 bill for downloading less than 1Mb of data! I called them and they apologized and credited me.

Still, you have to wonder how Canadian cellphone carriers are going to deal with the shifting tides when Google becomes a real player, and consumers demand real and affordable data services.