iPhone 3GS and 3G Not Available in Manitoba or Saskatchewan at Launch
By James Falconer on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 at 7:27 AM PST In Coming Soon, Telus, iPhone
Color me unimpressed. With TELUS (NYSE: TU) going live with their new HSPA network, and a whackload of new devices (including the iPhone 3GS), I am quite eager for launch day on November 5th.
So, imagine my surprise this morning when I read an email from TELUS (pictured above), notifying me that the iPhone 3GS and 3G will NOT be available in the provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan at launch! Booo-urns!
I hail from the city of Winnipeg in the province of Manitoba, and from discussions with friends and colleagues over the past week or so, I know MANY of them were looking forward to the iPhone 3GS launch on TELUS. Almost everyone I asked was either peeved or pissed at Rogers (NYSE: RCI) for one reason or another (a common thing, it seems), and couldn’t wait to get their hands on the latest iPhone from Apple (NSDQ: AAPL)… if for no other reason than to move away from Rogers. Sad, but true.
I suppose all we can do is hope and pray that TELUS gets their collective butts in-gear, and launch the iPhone 3G and 3GS on their new network ASAP. If November 5th isn’t going to happen, I’m going to have a timer running to see how long it takes them to make it a go. C’mon TELUS…. You pumped us up with all of this new HSPA network love, new device love, and all kinds of good stuff. Now you’re pulling it away. Not cool.
Note: I guess those iPhone 3GS promos were all a big, fat lie for folks in MB and SK, right? 
C’mon TELUS, there’s still time. Make it happen.
I am sure the their current roaming agreements with SaskTel and MTS prevent both Telus and Bell Mobility from offering a device that will not operate on on their CDMA networks. So until SaskTel and MTS decide to augment their CDMA footprint with HSPA, you will be waiting a very long time for iPhone in your area.