New Long Distance Add-Ons

[Catherine_T]

Hi Community, 

We heard you about wanting more countries and we have some exciting news to announce today! Effective October 8, 2020, Public Mobile is launching a new add-on suite of Long Distance Minutes to better serve customers making calls internationally from Canada. 

What’s changing? 

We made some key changes based on your feedback, including:

• A simplified structure 
• Increased value for high demand countries  
• Increased the number of countries included in our suite of add-ons from 19 to 41 

What does this look like? 

Previous Long Distance Add-ons (pre October 8, 2020):

• 200 Minutes to the U.S. and Canada for $8
• 400 International Minutes for $15 

New Long Distance Add-ons (as of October 8, 2020):

• 1000 Minutes to the U.S. for $15;
• 1000 Minutes to the U.K. for $15; 
• 750 Minutes to India and Pakistan for $15;
• 500 Minutes to China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan for $15;
• 100 Minutes to the Philippines for $15 
• 300 International Minutes for $15 which now includes more calling locations 
• New countries added include: Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Romania, Sweden 
• 500 Canada-wide Minutes for $5  

How to get this offer:

1. Log-in to Self Serve
2. Ensure you have sufficient funds in your account. If not, make sure to top up. 
3. Go to “Plan and Add-Ons”
4. Select “My Add-Ons”
5. Select your preferred Long Distance Add-On under ‘Talk’
6. Click ‘Make a Payment’ and follow the instructions

What you need to know:

1. Unused long distance add-on minutes do not expire and will roll over to the next plan period 
2. Customers with existing long distance add-ons can continue to use their minutes until the minutes are depleted  
3. Customers purchasing the 300 International Long Distance Minutes Add-On can now call the following countries: Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Venezuela 
4. Our 500 Canada-wide minutes for $5 add-on is still available for purchase  

Thank you again for choosing Public Mobile! Let us know what you think 🙂

- The Public Mobile Team

[RosieR]

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@Spunx wrote:

I was given 1000 LD minutes reward.  How come I received a text message saying I only have 10 minutes left on my account?  

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Hi @Spunx don't worry about it.  That is just an automatic reminder.  After you've used up all your Plan minutes, the bonus 1000 long-distance minutes will kick in.  Cheers!

[computergeek541]

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@Spunx wrote:

I was given 1000 LD minutes reward.  How come I received a text message saying I only have 10 minutes left on my account?  

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That's probably based on the number of minutes remaining in your base plan. Please go to selfserve.publicmobile.ca and check how many minutes are listed as left for your add-on.

[Spunx]

I was given 1000 LD minutes reward.  How come I received a text message saying I only have 10 minutes left on my account?  

[Lindsaylee]

Awesome!

[JoyLuck]

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@Jdblue wrote:

Uk

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FYI, 

• Ticketing via our chatbot is temporarily not working

1. If you require assistance with your account, please contact our Moderator team directly via Private Message in the Community by sending a message to @Moderator_Team  here: https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/notes/composepage/note-to-user-id/22437 

Note: In addition to the Community, the following parts of our site are NOT impacted:

• Self Serve (My Account)
• Activation 
• Chatbot SIMon

[JoyLuck]

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@Jdblue wrote:

Uk

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You need this add-on.

• 1000 Minutes to the U.K. for $15

Contact moderators to see if they can switch the add-on.

• Here’s  how to contact the Moderator Team (Public Mobile representative):

  • Get help with your account the easy way by starting a conversation with our virtual assistant, SIMon. Use the chatbot https://publicmobile.ca.ada.support/chat/
  • Alternatively, you can send a private message to the Moderators by clicking here. You’ll need to be logged in to your Community account for the link to work.

[Jdblue]

Uk

[Jdblue]

I did follow both steps. On the main page it shows up and also in payments. $15.

[Anonymous]

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@Jdblue wrote:

Hi,

i purchased 300 mins international. When i call, a message says i need to obtain a long distance plan? 

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 @Jdblue 

Did you do both steps? Deposit money then buy add-on? It's a little non-intuitive. If you see the 300 minute add-on in your data & add-ons area then you did.

Also, are you trying to call the following countries?

Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, Venezuela

[JoyLuck]

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@Jdblue wrote:

Hi,

i purchased 300 mins international. When i call, a message says i need to obtain a long distance plan? 

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Which country are you calling?

[Jdblue]

Hi,

i purchased 300 mins international. When i call, a message says i need to obtain a long distance plan? 

[AE_Collector]

Oh and I forgot to mention... hang around awhile and PM will probably GIVE you some add-ons for free. In about 1 year between August 2019 and September 2020 I was given two voice add-ons; 1000 minutes of Canada calling and 400 minutes of International calling. Also 2 - 1Gb Data add-ons plus a 5Gb Data add-on. I still haven't ever bought an add-on and as far as voice calling goes I am probably set for life! Thank you PM!

AE_Collector

[AE_Collector]

@Peggie99 

There are effectively two different types of cell accounts/plans. Prepaid and Postpaid.

Plans where you get a bill every month that is possibly a different amount each month due to excess data or Long Distance calls made is a Postpaid plan. People can only get Postpaid plans after having a credit check done to confirm that they will most likely pay the bill after using the service.

Prepaid plans like all of the PM plans do NOT require this credit check as everything is paid in advance of it being used. If your credit card paid renewal fails your plan goes into suspension right then and there until you solve that problem. There is NO way to bill you after the fact for services used thus you need to pre-purchase any Long Distance, Roaming or Extra Data that you might need at some point.

If a Prepaid Cell Plan isn’t for you there are plenty of Postpaid providers out there. Pre-purchasing a LD plan isn’t quite as onerous as you make it to be. Add $15 to your account, purchase the 1000 US minutes for $15 add-on. If done properly it will be available for use instantly. As you say you dont make many calls to the US but want it available if needed, with 1000 minutes in the add-on that will roll over until fully consumed you probably don't need to check How many remaining minutes you have before every call.

AE_Collector

[computergeek541]

@Peggie99 Part of idea is to make it so that customer can't accidently spend money. However, I agree with you that there are too many add-ons. If a customer has purchased the ability to make long distance calls, it should just work without the customer needing to figure out which is needed or need to puchase multiple add-ons to call different places.

[Peggie99]

I don't understand why I have to PAY for an add-on just to call long distance. 

I rarely call long distance. It doesn't make sense for me to either buy minutes or sign up for some sort of plan. It's additional unnecessary overhead... buy the add-on, wait for the minutes to become available... and then having to continually check if you have available minutes to even make long distance calls.
Whoops - no more minutes? Repeat the whole procedure. 

Ridiculous! 

I can't imagine what it costs Public Mobile to manage/administer all these add-ons; probably a lot more than just completing calls at some higher rate. 

I just want it to work, when I need it. If I'm calling the US - it's time-urgent. 
I don't care if it's 10 cents a minute to call the USA from CANADA. 

I'm now shopping around for a different provider; the cost savings with Public Mobile don't make up for all of this extra administrative stuff when I'm trying to urgently call long distance. 

[cavemantoronto]

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@LurganIeUk wrote:

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@cavemantoronto wrote:

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@kselmak wrote:

@MoreYummy 

As I understand you get to keep the product you purchased until you use it up, so it SHOULD be the old long distance add on BUT  other users have reported that they can call new destinations with it. Apparently it's a glitch and I didn't read if it was fixed 

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The new desitinations still work on the old add-on.

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Hi. In other words.....are you saying the NEW  international destinations work on the old 400 minute international destination add-on? (The word “still” confused me)

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The world "still" is relative to the time when the new add-ons were introduced.  I didn't state that because I was replying ot a message asking if Public Mobile put an end to those calls on the 400 minute add-on. 

[darlicious]

@Jonavin 

I would imagine the reason fo not lumping together both the US and UK calling rates together despite having the same price per minute charge is that the length of the negotiated contract at this rate with the two countries are different. Since its unlikely to get any cheaper I could see it possibly rising to 2 cents per minute for the UK when the existing contract expires. While pm would still have to honour the rate with existing add ons with its customers either in a revenue neutral or loss situation. This is probably likely with all of the new add ons and have been implemented in their current status as it was the easiest and cheapest way to offer them to its customers. While cumbersome and perhaps a little more costly for customers to purchase ie 1000 min up front ultimately the rates are very reasonable as a whole and beneficial to both public mobiles customers and the bottom line.

[AE_Collector]

@LurganIeUk 

Yes the word “still” wasn’t needed in that statement. If the old plan for simplicity has had the new countries added we aren't certain if It has had Canada, US & UK removed (did I miss any?). Presumably not as this most certainly would quickly cause problems. 

Oh wait...I can confirm that the Old 400 Minute international plan still allows the USA, I just called the water district at Pt Roberts WA on Friday requesting they turn off my water at the street (Since I can’t) for the winter at my cabin. First time I had ever called out of Canada with my PM cell phone (here almost 2 years now) and first 2 minutes used from my free 400 minutes International Christmas 2019 gift. Thank you Public Mobile.

AE_Collector

[LurganIeUk]

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@cavemantoronto wrote:

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@kselmak wrote:

@MoreYummy 

As I understand you get to keep the product you purchased until you use it up, so it SHOULD be the old long distance add on BUT  other users have reported that they can call new destinations with it. Apparently it's a glitch and I didn't read if it was fixed 

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The new desitinations still work on the old add-on.

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Hi. In other words.....are you saying the NEW  international destinations work on the old 400 minute international destination add-on? (The word “still” confused me)

[kselmak]

I assume they will just leave it as is, I'm not sure of the benefits of 'fixing ' the glitch as long as nobody complains

[cavemantoronto]

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@kselmak wrote:

@MoreYummy 

As I understand you get to keep the product you purchased until you use it up, so it SHOULD be the old long distance add on BUT  other users have reported that they can call new destinations with it. Apparently it's a glitch and I didn't read if it was fixed 

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The new desitinations still work on the old add-on.

[Korth]

@cavemantoronto @MoreYummy 

Where there's overlap the old add-on minutes will be used first, until they're all gone. New add-on minutes will then be used moving forward. Explained on first page of this thread.

[kselmak]

@MoreYummy 

As I understand you get to keep the product you purchased until you use it up, so it SHOULD be the old long distance add on BUT  other users have reported that they can call new destinations with it. Apparently it's a glitch and I didn't read if it was fixed 

[cavemantoronto]

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@MoreYummy wrote:

does the old long distance addon roll over to the new addon ?

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The old 400 minute international add-on work for the new countries. I don't know if the old 400 minute add-on had countries taking away to match the 300 minute add-on (shouldn't be becuase no notice was given).

[MoreYummy]

does the old long distance addon roll over to the new addon ?

[Korth]

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@LurganIeUk wrote:

But I imagine the PM gurus and had a huge conversation about this. 

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I imagine PM allocated the divisions while considering data we don't have. Like how many subscribers actually contact each country on the list.

We like to forget that PM is a business interested in making some profit. Also a division or department of Telus which has to comply with larger objectives and higher directives.

Maybe this new long-distance add-on structure appears to be cumbersome or overpriced. But it is still (mostly) cheaper than what competitors are offering. And it is still coupled with all the Rewards which save PM customers money in other ways.

[LurganIeUk]

Or keep all pricing as is and knock all down to a 400 min. plan each. 

But I imagine the PM gurus and had a huge conversation about this. 

[Korth]

@computergeek541 

What you're saying makes sense. One generic long-distance add-on which consumes minutes at different rates for different countries. More akin to paying for exactly what you use and what you need instead of buying bundles. I agree this would be better. It may be impractical for PM to implement because of whatever arrangements they've made to buy these minutes from their foreign partners.

Although I think it would also cause confusion over time. Lots of questions and complaints from people who misunderstand the details and wonder why they're suddenly paying more after changing their calling habits.

The worst-case example would be somebody having to buy one of every long-distance add-on to call folks in many different countries. A high initial cost ($15 Philippines + $15 UK + $15 USA + $15 International, $15 China/etc + $15 India/etc = $90) and a little bit of an extra chore to monitor separate usages in Self-Serve. Though I think it unlikely that many people will need to call so many countries, one or two or perhaps even three of these add-ons would probably suffice.

[AE_Collector]

$10 Long Distance Add-on gives you 1000 units. Easy,  Unit = 1 Cent.

Canada Minutes cost 1 Unit.

USA Minutes and UK Minutes cost 1.5 Units.

China and India Minutes cost 3.5 Units.

Philippines Minutes cost 15 Units

With this set up there is really no reason that calling cant be allowed for to any and every country if they want to. They can make as many different rates as they need. Just put the rates online somewhere so you can see how many units per minute to each country.

With $10 buying 1000 Units they could leave it at that as $10 isn’t a big investment to cover all your LD needs including extra Canada minutes. But they could make a couple more packages say 300 Units for $5 and 2500 Units for $20. Just a couple more options to give a bit better rate for larger investment and a less attractive rate for a smaller investment so there is a package for everyone.

Much simpler but I’m sure they would have considered this as an option and rejected it for some reason. I always point out that maybe they don’t want everything to be easy, logical, smooth running AND inexpensive. To get inexpensive you have to take some of the other things along with it or you can look at moving up to Koodo or Telus.

AE_Collector

[computergeek541]

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@LurganIeUk wrote:

NO NO!!! Not one price for all!!! LOL!!! Do you want the 15 cent a minute one to sway the prices upwards???

I'm not suggesting one per minute rate for all countries. I said a weighted amount of the add-on being used. That means that a call to one of the more expensive coutry uses more of the add-on on than calls to one of the less expnsive countries. From a customer standpoint, this is absolutely the best way for all when it comes to cost.  If you have a $15 add-on that includes 1000 minutes or credits to the U.S., calls to a more expensive desitination can use more than 1 of those credits per minute.  As it is now, having multiple add-ons only causes customers to pay more. What I'm suggesting is to allow the use of the $15 add-on to call anywhere but for a different amount/credit to be used up depending on the destination being called.