New Province-Wide Calling Plans + Limited-Time Offer on Canada-Wide Calling Plans

[Catherine_T]

[Edited: Feb 16, 3:45PM EST]

Hey Community, 

Public Mobile is introducing some changes to our suite of rate plans. Effective February 16, 2021, we will offer two types of plans: plans that include Province-wide minutes, and plans that include unlimited Canada-wide minutes. The Canada-wide calling plans will be priced at an additional $5/month, compared to the Province-wide calling plans.  All of our plans will continue to offer Canada-wide data and unlimited international texting.

We never take the decision of changing our plans lightly.  That's why, for a limited time, we’re offering our Canada-wide plans at a $5 discount. That means customers who value Canada-wide calling can still access these plans at the original prices before they change. 

The introduction of a Province-wide calling plan comes as a result of our commitment to give you more options on features and provide savings to help you create and customize the plan that’s right for you.  If you don't value Canada-wide calling, you can still access our plans starting at $15 per month.  If you value Canada-wide calling, it will continue to be available for an additional $5 per month. 

See below for more details on our new plans: 

New province-wide calling plans: 

Province-Wide Calling
Monthly Rate	Province-wide Minutes	Data (*with 500MB Autopay)
$15	100 Minutes	250MB
$25	Unlimited	1GB*
$35	Unlimited	2.5GB*
$40	Unlimited	5GB*
$45	Unlimited	6.5GB*
$50	Unlimited	8.5GB

For more information on how province-wide calling works, check out this Help Article.

Concurrent with this launch, we are offering $5 off all Canada-wide rate plans for a limited time. 

Canada-wide calling plans:

*Current promotion: $5 off Canada-wide plans for a limited time

Canada-wide Calling
Monthly Rate (*Promotion price)	Canada-wide Minutes	Data (*with 500MB Autopay)
$30 $25*	Unlimited	1GB*
$40 $35*	Unlimited	2.5GB*
$45 $40*	Unlimited	5GB*
$50 $45*	Unlimited	6.5GB*
$55 $50*	Unlimited + U.S. Talk	8.5GB

How to change your plan: 

1. Log in on Self Serve
2. Go to “Plan and Add-ons”
3. Select “Change Plan”
4. Select your preferred plan. You will have the option of changing your plan immediately or upon the next renewal date.

FAQ’s:

What happens to existing customers’ plans?

There is no impact to existing customers' plans. All customers’ plans will be grandfathered, including those who had scheduled rate plan changes before this update. Note, if you change your plan you may not be able to go back to your previous plan if it is no longer available on our website. 

What is happening to the $15 plan?

All plans in the Canada-wide suite have unlimited Canada-wide minutes. The $15 limited talk plan will remain in the Province-wide suite and will have 100 Province-wide minutes with 250MB of AutoPay data bonus.

Can I buy an add-on with Canada-wide calling?

Yes, we currently have a $5 for 500 Canada-wide minutes add-on available which you can purchase in Self-Serve.

How does Province-wide Calling work?

For more information on province-wideon how province-wide calling works, check out this Help Article. 

To learn more about Public Mobile plans, click here.

- The Public Mobile Team

[Nezgar]

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@HALIMACS wrote:

Oh, but they ARE giving away stuff... they're giving everyone the prices of the plans at last week's prices for a "limited time only".

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I suspect "limited time only" means minimum 30 days... based on the text in the terms of service: "Changes become effective thirty days after being posted at publicmobile.ca/ plans."

[LurganIeUk]

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@HALIMACS wrote:

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@LurganIeUk wrote:

😀🎉🥳Maybe it’s the right time for some giveaways to help heal the wounds🎉🥳😀

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Oh, but they ARE giving away stuff... they're giving everyone the prices of the plans at last week's prices for a "limited time only".

Feel any better?

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Lol. I thought of that after. I put my corporate hat on a said.....well we did grandfather the plans.  

Never the less.........there was a valentines contest giveaway last year. Seems to have been missed this year. 

[HALIMACS]

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@LurganIeUk wrote:

😀🎉🥳Maybe it’s the right time for some giveaways to help heal the wounds🎉🥳😀

---

Oh, but they ARE giving away stuff... they're giving everyone the prices of the plans at last week's prices for a "limited time only".

Feel any better?

[LurganIeUk]

😀🎉🥳Maybe it’s the right time for some giveaways to help heal the wounds🎉🥳😀

[LurganIeUk]

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@jor123 wrote:

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@HALIMACS wrote:

@Catherine_T 

Very disheartening, however it's clear this may be a case of 'don't shoot the messenger'. (the "messenger", being you)

Three words to Public Mobile (TELUS)  -   THIS IS HORRIBLE

There will be several questions about this 'change'.   It has (will) cause Public Mobile to lose at least 2 people I've been trying to move over to Public Mobile onto a $25 - $35 plan which was to have INCLUDED Canada-wide calling.  They will have ZERO interest in this change.

I especially found the following phrase to be a load of ________ (fill in the blank):  "The introduction of a Province-wide calling plan comes as a result of our commitment to give you more options on features and provide savings to help you create and customize the plan that’s right for you."  

Very disappointed.

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Have to agree, there is no benefit to consumers here - it is just a price increase through reduction of service.

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Lol so true.  Call it Nutella Marketing. Not that I would eat that stuff...they decreased the size of the jar and maintained the  price. 

[jor123]

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@HALIMACS wrote:

@Catherine_T 

Very disheartening, however it's clear this may be a case of 'don't shoot the messenger'. (the "messenger", being you)

Three words to Public Mobile (TELUS)  -   THIS IS HORRIBLE

There will be several questions about this 'change'.   It has (will) cause Public Mobile to lose at least 2 people I've been trying to move over to Public Mobile onto a $25 - $35 plan which was to have INCLUDED Canada-wide calling.  They will have ZERO interest in this change.

I especially found the following phrase to be a load of ________ (fill in the blank):  "The introduction of a Province-wide calling plan comes as a result of our commitment to give you more options on features and provide savings to help you create and customize the plan that’s right for you."  

Very disappointed.

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Have to agree, there is no benefit to consumers here - it is just a price increase through reduction of service.

[BearFBI]

@darlicious said " For those with a dual sim phone (a must buy these days I think) "

😭 My Galaxy S10 isn't even Dual SIM. Thats the only thing I really hate about this phone.

[darlicious]

@dave-420 

Yes I had previously mentioned the irony of rolling out provincial calling admist a bug/glitch affecting provincial calling plans causing the inability to call out whatsoever without a long distance add on.

Have they fixed that bug yet? Sure hope so.....

[darlicious]

@Nezgar 

Now that most questions about how provincial calling works have been answered or at least clarified most customers choosing this option on the $15 wouldn't see much of a difference in the price that they pay or their usage. It only really affects those who travel a lot in Canada for work etc....and those with a lot of family and friends spread about Canada. Since most already add the $5/500 min add on its usage would just be more dedicated to actual long distance (out of province) rather than "paying" for local calls if you happen to run out of your plan minutes.

What it does affect as a few have mentioned like @AE_Collector  and @BearFBI is your flexibility to change plans. With my one number locked into the $10 50/50 plan I took solace in the fact I could change up my other number to higher data plan as needed. Not now.....I'm locked in again. I have plenty of free data and minutes to carry me forward but I know when I'm back to spending most of my summers at the lake like @AE_Collector  and his wife at their cabin bumping up to the $40/5gb was just a little more economical and relaxing to not watch the data counter 

There is a fairly simple fix to this conundrum that may even save one a bit more money. Not quite the bf's "burner" phone ( at least as long as @Anonymous  is convinced he's mobbed up...lol) but the "burner" plan instead. For those with a dual sim phone (a must buy these days I think) or a half decent back up phone to put the new sim card in to use as a mobile hotspot. With a little pre-planning and hopefully a free month promotion or extra data bonus a new "burner" plan will cost less if shared among two people especially.....add in the cheap or free sim and the ongoing up to half off first month promo offered by CCS you will get a very cost effective work around to inability to move between plans by the grandfathering of the $15 Canada wide calling plan.

For example : If @AE_Collector and his missus used to switch to the $40/5gb plan × 2 for 2 months it would cost=$80 (minus rewards) ×2=$160 - $8(autopay)=$172. Now to preserve their plans they keep them $15×2=$30 ×2 months=$60 Activate a "burner" plan with a free month credit and activating with CCS with a free sim and the highest data plan ($50/8.5gb) to achieve the highest first month discount of 50% off and referring themselves will work out to....

$50 - $25 (CCS discount)=$25 outlay = credits of $50+$10 referral credit=$60+$4 autopay=$64  Second month $64 - $50=$14 remaining credit add $1 to purchase $15/1gb data add on if needed. $60($15 plans×2×2)+$25 "burner" plan=$85 (+$1 for the add on but you gain $2 in referral rewards) and by subtracting just the autopay rewards ($60 - $8=$52) $52+$25=$77

@AE_Collector  paid $172 for service in 2019 in 2021 he need only pay $77 less than half price!! ($95 cheaper+$11.40 less tax.) In keeping with public mobiles catch phrase...."more for less."  And ultimately less for public mobile....this is what happens when you nickel and dime customers who know how to save their nickels and dimes!!

[dave-420]

Is the 15 dollar plan province wide calling for local calls.? Or is it long distance? Last month I couldn't even  call  my local town without it saying it couldn't  complete the call because it was long distance???

[Nezgar]

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@maheshboloor wrote:

...you are basically making it so much more complicated for people when they change plans. Are you guys so hard up that you cant give nation wide calling? Smh.

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After the "sale" ends, just adding a simple $5/500 mins non-expiring addon to a province wide plan with  gives you basically the same as a nation wide calling plan... Not very complicated. This is more prudent than spending an extra $5/mo every cycle if you don't actually use >500 mins...

Remember, incoming calls while anywhere in Canada, and outgoing calls to the province you are currently in are unlimited, so the LD minutes are only used in 1 of the four cases.... (those being incoming/outgoing/in/out of province)

[Korth]

@DPyro 

Third-tier providers like Public Mobile will support VoLTE before 3G is fully phased out.

When 5G is fully deployed and "Vo5G" (tentatively being called "VoNR") is ready to become the new commodity feature which sells premium devices.

[DPyro]

Don't forget that 3G will be turned off in 2025. With 3G in Manitoba being turned off already, I'm guessing they'll need to start offering VoLTE.

[Hasib514]

Dear Public Mobile Team:

I just read your announcement regarding changes that you will apply to your Canada wide calling plans. As an experienced customer, I would say if PM bring up such changes , they would lose lots of potential new customers in the near future to Lucky Mobile and Fizz.

Please take into consideration this suggestion seriously before bringing any changes to your plans. 

[JK8]

@dougc 

Your existing $15 plan is grandfathered (no changes). It will stay as it is with Canada Wide Calling. 

[dougc]

So there will no longer be (existing plan) ;

_ Canada-Wide  100 minutes/monthly $15 ?  

 (just unlimited $30,  temporarily $25)

Meaning when PM system  switch-over is implemented;

_ system  will down-grade my existing plan,  to  PM 'new'  (just) Province-wide 100 minutes monthly ?

Ahhhh if so,  when making subsequent outgoing calls outside province (within Canada)  will the PM system take minutes from existing International 500 min (presently includes Canada-wide)  add-on  ?

If that add-on did not exist (or restricted to international/provincial ?) ;

_ How much would a outgoing - outside province  call   cost  ?     

_ Unlimited  incoming minutes  now just  from in- province calls  ?

_ Or  Still unlimited incoming minutes  !?

_ Different costs > voicemails    _Provincial ?   _Canada ?

Thank you.

p.s.

when this new  pricing model becomes active and (attention in the) details are reviewed later in month,   PM may no longer be attractive  !?

[LurganIeUk]

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@saeliux wrote:

Disappointing news.

Lucky and chatr could be more attractive if you only care about canada wide plans, and not care at all for non-expiry addons, monthly discounts, and the multiple bonus, or yearly gifts. 

Hear me PM: If you take away the nonexpiry addons, I will consider leaving. 

Hah, i dont have much leverage, i pay only $5.. 

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Leverage....you underestimate your self. Assuming you are on $15 plan, - $2 auto-pay, -$2 loyalty means you are one of many here in the Community, but one of a few overall that has brought in 11 customers!!!! And a few of those 11 have done so too. You will never know how many more, of that 1 you first referred,  that were attracted by that referral.

I am sure PM has various stats on the whole referral program. And a lot of us work real hard to bring in new customers, coach them, help them etc. 

You have power...You have leverage. 

It's kind of a pyramid thing but has its benefits for sure. And less advertising cost, less commission sales, and less costs paid to franchise stores to sell the mobile plans. 

Next time you are in strip mall with a Telus Mobility, sit in your car and have a Tim Hortons drink. Check out the cars that these commission sales folks drive. 

[saeliux]

Disappointing news.

Lucky and chatr could be more attractive if you only care about canada wide plans, and not care at all for non-expiry addons, monthly discounts, and the multiple bonus, or yearly gifts. 

Hear me PM: If you take away the nonexpiry addons, I will consider leaving. 

Hah, i dont have much leverage, i pay only $5.. 

[Korth]

@XionBunny 

I'm pretty confident that each of the Big Three already employs plenty of people to come up with plenty of ideas about how they can milk their captive subscribers for increased ARPU numbers.

[XionBunny]

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@Korth wrote:

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@Greggex wrote:

One of the things that I liked about Public was that they did not perpetuate the fiction of "long-distance" calls. Sadly, that is no longer the case.

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It was simpler then. Unlimited Talk on all plans, no counting minutes. Canada-wide Talk on all plans, call from anywhere in Canada to anywhere in Canada without worry. For a while the advantage of simplicity actually justified the loss of (customizable) complexity once offered by the Build Your Own Plan calculator.

But the old limits seem to always get reintroduced to the market whenever the carriers do big network upgrades. This time around the limits are probably lowering operational costs or increasing operational revenues to pay for 5G deployment. Plus the carriers lost money (or, rather, didn't make as much profit) last year because of the covid situation.

At least this time around they aren't putting limits back onto Text. New customers will still enjoy unlimited global SMS (and unlimited MMS attachments).

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don't give them ideas or those limits will apply next.

[Korth]

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@Greggex wrote:

One of the things that I liked about Public was that they did not perpetuate the fiction of "long-distance" calls. Sadly, that is no longer the case.

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It was simpler then. Unlimited Talk on all plans, no counting minutes. Canada-wide Talk on all plans, call from anywhere in Canada to anywhere in Canada without worry. For a while the advantage of simplicity actually justified the loss of (customizable) complexity once offered by the Build Your Own Plan calculator.

But the old limits seem to always get reintroduced to the market whenever the carriers do big network upgrades. This time around the limits are probably lowering operational costs or increasing operational revenues to pay for 5G deployment. Plus the carriers lost money (or, rather, didn't make as much profit) last year because of the covid situation.

At least this time around they aren't putting limits back onto Text. New customers will still enjoy unlimited global SMS (and unlimited MMS attachments).

[maheshboloor]

Seriously PM? I mean ignoring the fact that the plans are super disappointing, you are basically making it so much more complicated for people when they change plans. Are you guys so hard up that you cant give nation wide calling? Smh.

[Camera4617]

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@KamWest wrote:

Personally I administrate 6 accounts at public mobile and it is not uncommon for me to move them up or down a tier depending on the needs of the account.

This basically prevents that because moving an account up or down in plan will cause it to lose the Canada Wide Status.

Therefore Public Mobile has done nothing here but to assure I shop the plans around before I make the change. Up to now I never gave it a second thought, even on my own phone I moved it up a tier if I was going away or something.

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Exactly. That's what I was doing too, based on my needs I would go up/down and that is beauty of this prepaid service. If I always need 4-5 GB, then PM (or LuckyMobile) is not company for me, but if I need it for month or two in a year, then it is.. Now, I'm pretty sure I'll stay on my $15 plan and milk it while I have these accumulated minutes/data. Also I'd rather buy more minutes if I need (I doubt I'll actually ever need) then change the plan. As for data, I'll buy it from DentWireless if I need, it is half price compared to PM. So, my guess is that most of people will either stay on the current grandfathered plan or change provider. 

Anyway, we all have different needs and looking for different things. It is simple, you like it stay, you don't, then leave. Then let PM deal with 'why customers are leaving'. 

[gpixel]

@XionBunny are you sure you aren't dreaming about Ryan Reynolds? 

all I can say is, use pm to the fullest. there are many members who have free plans. so let's be thankful for that. I'm grateful I was able to save over $300 so far. lets just ride the wave until it ends.

if nothing changes with pm plans in the next month or so(data,throttle speed, volte). that will probably be the sign of PM's demise. probably by next year. 

Koodo prepaid plans were upgraded

Province wide

$40/2.5gb

$45/5gb

$55/8.5gb

take note of how the new Koodo plans are structured

they just had a promo for $65/7.5gb Canada wide

[PMinfo]

@XionBunny ...  The reason changes are happening is because Telus has already "been hit in the pocketbook".  ARPU's are down for all incumbents because several companies, WFH'ers slashed their monthly top tier plans during Covid.

$15 monthly plans are not going to cut it for PM/Telus and the intent is to get ARPU up here $25+.  Whether it works will depend upon whether other incumbents follow but I can tell you (from looking at investment financials) all Competitor ARPU's are down because of Covid.

[XionBunny]

As long as we are all complacent with the market here we'll all get screwed by it *mic drops and leaves thread*

[farmbot]

re----Mint mobile

Subscribers to Mint mobile must pay  3 months 6 months or 1 year ahead to capture any savings. Otherwise priced per month as per the prepaid monthly competition in US.

I dont want to pay 1 year in advance. Its like having a contract postpaid.

Thats why we are here.....no contract and good value.

[XionBunny]

@KamWest if more people like you leave, the more likely they are to listen and roll back this gouging tactic, have to hit public/Telus where it hurts, in the pockets so then the share holders get mad then order gets restored.

[KamWest]

Should I stay or should I go?

Personally I administrate 6 accounts at public mobile and it is not uncommon for me to move them up or down a tier depending on the needs of the account.

This basically prevents that because moving an account up or down in plan will cause it to lose the Canada Wide Status.

Therefore Public Mobile has done nothing here but to assure I shop the plans around before I make the change. Up to now I never gave it a second thought, even on my own phone I moved it up a tier if I was going away or something.

So now that stops and I will be watching other brands very closely to see where the value lies. Will I be adding a 7th line for my business after province wide kicks in? Probably not because the $5 more for nation wide is now starting to make Public Mobile less attractive to me. That was the main reason I activated my lines, for my business we often call out of province and when my current plans stagnate Public Mobile will have to think of something new to make up the difference or risk losing all 6 lines to a competitor.