Indeed the argument for releasing the spectrum to developers is attractive. Making it a use it or lose proposition would ensure that large players would not be able to 'sit on' an area and prevent it's usage by others.
Wireless is sucessful in newly developing countries that lack the in place wired infrastructure, and there is no reason why it can't provide similar service in wide open Canadian areas that don't have the population density to make 'wiring' economical. Rates that are higher than the somewhat laughable current ADSL and Cable rates are certainly possible... witness the Iphone-nomena. Improved technology and a bit of planning should provide Phone, Internet and Video services at data rates that beggar the curent offerings... if the companies that form the current technogarchy are dethroned.. or at least provided with some real competition.

Some things may have changed since some of these comments have been written, some haven't.

A couple things I can certainly confirm is that data usage is entirely dependent on the user and what they're doing. Even without downloading movies or music, any on-line gamer will break the Roger's basic 500MB limit in a matter of DAYS simply because of the number and frequency of page reloads.

And as for using the iPhone as a MODEM - its not only possible, its supported by Rogers and every other company I'm aware of - just not with their 500MB basic plans. It doesn't require a 'jailbroken' phone, or any second or third party software. This comment is, in fact, being written using that feature with the iPhone tethered to a desktop.