Rogers Employees Beginning 'Pre-Launch Training' for iPhone 5

iPhoneinCanada.ca reports that employees at Canadian wireless carrier Rogers are currently beginning "pre-launch training" for the iPhone, suggesting that the carrier is preparing its staff members for the roll-out of the iPhone 5.

As of August 11th, the training for the iPhone pre-launch will start. Please complete this training once notified by the Just in Time (JIT) training coordinator in your site. The module is a 45 minute self-study; please make sure to complete the following training: iPhone Pre-Launch Training – Rogers Wireless 2011.

Unfortunately, the program appears to be generic in nature and the program description does not refer to a specific model of the iPhone. The generic nature suggests that Rogers is simply providing its staff with an initial briefing outlining procedures for selling the next iPhone using assumptions based on previous releases rather than any specific training related to the iPhone 5 provided by Apple.

Rogers is preparing employees for an eventual launch, and this training has been confirmed by a Rogers employee. Rogers will most likely find out launch dates like the rest of us, but they’re already preparing.

The report notes that a similar training program was offered by Rogers for the iPhone 4 last year, although that device did not launch in Canada until a month after it went on sale in the United States. Consequently, that training program, which came two weeks before the Canadian launch, was able to offer specific details about the hardware being released, but many of the carrier's policies for new and upgrade customers will be universally applicable regardless of the exact hardware being launched and when it debuts.