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

[vbrindusr]

@Anonymous :Free incoming calls were PM's differentiating feature for some time. Now LM and Chattr are getting closer to feature parity, which is good for us - more competition means possibly better PM features for us in the future.

Maybe I don't understand what you're referring to, but it seems obvious that an eSIM has to be attached to an account, the same way a physical SIM is. Don't we all have PM accounts? My understanding is that the eSIM just replaces the SIM on your existing account and in your phone.

You are probably right about their app. I was thinking it's something like WiFi Calling/VoWiFi: everybody still calls you on your cell number (while you have only WiFi) and everyone you call will see the call coming from your cell number instead of some other VoIP number. But then I read the reviews in the playstore and somebody mentioned they got a separate phone number for the app, which reduces its appeal. Still, free US calling may be valuable to some.

V

[Anonymous]

Yeah I dunno about these other carriers and their prepaid plans and how they do things. This place is still better in my opinion. Many have overage costs, more expensive data if you can get it, more expensive minutes. But then yes better international calling destinations, better roaming countries.

I looked at prepaid; Telus, Koodo, Virgin, Lucky, Fido, Chatr. I say this place is still better. And then the rewards.

[computergeek541]

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@Anonymous wrote:

 @vbrindusr : PM has unlimited incoming from anywhere. Lucky doesn't really specifically say that. It seems to be saying along the same lines as provincial. But it could be meaning anywhere too. But that is new for them.

Being able to activate an eSIM would be nice. Although several providers require them to be attached to an existing account. I'd rather stand-alone.

There are lots of voip apps. Don't need theirs. And you can't add data add-ons beyond the 250.

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When it comes to receiving calls, it doesn't matter for the receiving party where the other person is call from at any carrier.

[Anonymous]

 @vbrindusr : PM has unlimited incoming from anywhere. Lucky doesn't really specifically say that. It seems to be saying along the same lines as provincial. But it could be meaning anywhere too. But that is new for them.

Being able to activate an eSIM would be nice. Although several providers require them to be attached to an existing account. I'd rather stand-alone.

There are lots of voip apps. Don't need theirs. And you can't add data add-ons beyond the 250.

[JK8]

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@cynthialing wrote:

You’re absolutely correct.  I was going to refer a friend who wanted the $15 plan Canadian wide calling but now she’s holding back.  Fido is now offering her $15 all you can talk Canada wide calling for 1 year to keep her.  All my effort of trying to get her to PB is wasted because of the the province wide calling 😢.

cynthia  

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You can tell your friend that with autopay it will be $13 and after a year $1 less with loyalty. She. Can always purchase a Canada Wide Add-On for $5 for 500 minutes and the unused minutes will roll over to each cycle until consumed. One year offer at Fido is not worth it when you could be saving at PM and earning loyalty as well as helping to reduce your payments. Also free SIM card with activation at London Drugs until March 3.

[cynthialing]

You’re absolutely correct.  I was going to refer a friend who wanted the $15 plan Canadian wide calling but now she’s holding back.  Fido is now offering her $15 all you can talk Canada wide calling for 1 year to keep her.  All my effort of trying to get her to PB is wasted because of the the province wide calling 😢.

cynthia  

[vbrindusr]

Wait, I didn't know Lucky has unlimited incoming calls for their $15 plan, but I checked and they do! Is this something new?

This could be a solution for those who really need a cheap plan with eSIM support, as PM doesn't support them. Lucky also has an app for free WiFi calling to US and Canada.

One could dream this will incentivize PM to modernize their service :-).

V

[LurganIeUk]

Public Mobile still is better. 

Look at Virgins home phone rates too.....they are ridiculously high. 

[gpixel]

Virgin Mobile Prepaid plans

 

[XionBunny]

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@gpixel wrote:

Lucky Mobile just changed a few of their plans. I don't think they are going to adopt the same strategy as PM. they might just accept the $5 increase? or not? lets see what happens in March. this is going to be interesting!

$45($50?)/7.5gb

$50($55?)/8.5gb and added US calling

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They did make the 15$ talk and text plan province-wide, so who knows.

[gpixel]

Lucky Mobile just changed a few of their plans. I don't think they are going to adopt the same strategy as PM. they might just accept the $5 increase? or not? lets see what happens in March. this is going to be interesting!

$45($50?)/7.5gb

$50($55?)/8.5gb and added US calling

[AE_Collector]

@darlicious 

I remember that.

Now make sure to add your UNIVAC 5000 skills to any resumes....

AE_Collector

[darlicious]

@AE_Collector 

Long ago I offered my proof reading/writing skills to pm for cheap.....but they never asked for my resume?!! With my lopsided rewards i do still "pay" $1 - $2 a month from my hefty credit for one account so they have less to barter with......

Maybe if my overall computer literacy was better I would apply for the newly open vacancy pm is currently listing.....

[kb_mv]

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@AE_Collector wrote:

@kb_mv 

Yes for sure. If the Spammers could EVER put something together that didn’t have fairly obvious errors in it they might have a good career ahead of them. But then, many fall for it anyway, specifically the people who aren’t “detail people”. (Here I am talking about “details” after the recent Mb/MB discussion!)

AE_Collector 

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@AE_Collector I almost tossed in k vs ki to keep it going lol.

[AE_Collector]

@kb_mv 

Yes for sure. If the Spammers could EVER put something together that didn’t have fairly obvious errors in it they might have a good career ahead of them. But then, many fall for it anyway, specifically the people who aren’t “detail people”. (Here I am talking about “details” after the recent Mb/MB discussion!)

AE_Collector 

[kb_mv]

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@AE_Collector wrote:

@darlicious 

Did they finally change something to clear up the 250 MB plus 250MB Autopay on the $15 plan? I haven't checked for awhile now.

If they asked me what one thing they should do to make PM better overall, I think that having been here for over 2 years now and with so much to choose from... I would likely tell them to get a “Detail Person” to go over everything they say/write on web site, promotions, advertising etc. It is absolutely constant that they can’t publish anything that is clear an concise without creating endless questions and contradictions as well as people switching plans or activating here under the wrong impression from wording that PM used to describe plans and features.

AE_Collector

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@AE_Collector I often think of offering my services to spammers, for a fee correcting their terrible spelling / grammar and conflicting wording. At least make it a bit more believable lol. I'm now thinking PM could use my services

[AE_Collector]

@darlicious 

Did they finally change something to clear up the 250 MB plus 250MB Autopay on the $15 plan? I haven't checked for awhile now.

If they asked me what one thing they should do to make PM better overall, I think that having been here for over 2 years now and with so much to choose from... I would likely tell them to get a “Detail Person” to go over everything they say/write on web site, promotions, advertising etc. It is absolutely constant that they can’t publish anything that is clear an concise without creating endless questions and contradictions as well as people switching plans or activating here under the wrong impression from wording that PM used to describe plans and features.

I would have switched from my Canada Wide $15 plan to the new Provincial Wide version that has 500 MB of data (with Autopay) in a flash! But having been here long enough to recognize poor wording when I see it, it just was not worth the gamble to wind up without the extra 250 MB and consequently without the Canada Wide calling even though I can easily live without Canada Wide calling. 

AE_Collector

[darlicious]

@LurganIeUk 

Catherine clarified the wording somewhere in this thread. I"m not sure if they changed the original wording when they removed the extra 250mb of data this plan was showing.

[LurganIeUk]

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@Nezgar wrote:

@LurganIeUk 

Heh.. Yeah thats funny wording... but "receive from anywhere in Canada" means you can "take" calls while you are anywhere in Canada... no matter where the caller is

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I guess who ever does the wording won't be promoted to Telus very soon. I've noticed a lot of wording that is poor and not concise. Thanks for the clarification. 

[Nezgar]

@LurganIeUk 

Heh.. Yeah thats funny wording... but "receive from anywhere in Canada" means you can "take" calls while you are anywhere in Canada... no matter where the caller is

@BearFBI  Sorry, I totally misstated... edited earlier post as indeed Chatr and Lucky have unlimited Canada-wide incoming on their $15 plans...

[LurganIeUk]

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@BearFBI wrote:

@Nezgar  wrote "Keep in mind that with Lucky & Chatr incoming calls deduct from their 100 min plans. Public Mobile's $15 "province-wide" plan still has a huge advantage with unlimited Canada-wide incoming calls."

No they don't?

Under plan details it says. 

• Unlimited incoming & 100 outgoing Province-wide minutes

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What where???? The only thing that I see that is different in regards to incoming calls is it says unlimited calls from Canada...which must be a misteak as why would in not be "from" worldwide??

[BearFBI]

@Nezgar  wrote "Keep in mind that with Lucky & Chatr incoming calls deduct from their 100 min plans. Public Mobile's $15 "province-wide" plan still has a huge advantage with unlimited Canada-wide incoming calls."

No they don't?

Under plan details it says. 

• Unlimited incoming & 100 outgoing Province-wide minutes

[BearFBI]

Chatr has already price increased all plans by 5$. There was no mention of them switching to Province Wide though. 

Existing chatr users were getting text messages saying that their plan will increase by 5$ starting March something. I assume their site will be updated with those plans until then. 

[Nezgar]

Keep in mind that with Lucky & Chatr incoming calls deduct from their 100 min plans. Public Mobile's $15 "province-wide" plan still has a huge advantage with unlimited Canada-wide incoming calls.

Edit: oops I see I'm very wrong with the above statement... both Lucky & Chatr's $15 100 min talk+text plans do include unlimited incoming. (And 250MB with autopay...)

[computergeek541]

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@Pawprints1986 wrote:

So far chatr hasn't made any changes, and lucky only made the changes to their 15 plan...

I'm interested in keeping tabs on how this unfolds across the board, *if* it unfolds across the board

 

 

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They're unlikely to copy until the plans actually show up on the Public Mobile plan page at the new, higher prices for Canada-wide calling.  Unfortunately, Public Mobile became the first of the three to make the plans worse when it comes to this. Public Mobile knows what I think about all this, and have received an earful from many members. 

[Pawprints1986]

So far chatr hasn't made any changes, and lucky only made the changes to their 15 plan...

I'm interested in keeping tabs on how this unfolds across the board, *if* it unfolds across the board

 

 

Out of koodo/Fido/virgin prepaid, only koodo seems to have made any changes (but don't want to post a million screen shots)

Still interested in knowing if the others will follow or if this was a terrible move by telus and will be reversed

[darlicious]

@JK8 

“The mandated reduction would apply only to post-paid plans where consumers already own their devices or purchase a new one at full price.”

Well that statement contradicts itself......seeing as it is prepaid customers that mostly own their devices or have purchased one at full price whereas postpaid customers are often under contract have yet to own their device and many still upgrade their device before ever paying it off.

[Korth]

@cellphoneuser1 @JK8 

The Liberal Party made promises during an election. They don't need to keep promises after winning an election, as if people seriously expect politicians to have real integrity, but sudden urgent fixation on covid has provided a wonderful distraction/reason/excuse to not follow through.

The whole issue was abandoned in politics after Ottawa's focus moved onto other problems. The whole issue was abandoned in advertising once the marketing folks realized that they don't want to reinforce a "brand" strategy which imposes upper limits on the prices Canadian consumers expect to pay.

Especially now that this government and these corporations are trying to focus on consolidation instead of expansion - a recession looms because all the money spent on covid has to be paid back, there's still uncertainty about whether covid is going to get better or get worse - it's prudent to adopt low-risk strategies in times of uncertainty. Cellular communications are a necessity. But new phones, new features, and big mobile data plans are luxuries - people can't afford to buy luxuries during economic crisis, downsizing the monthly phone bill is always the first "sacrifice" they'll make.

[cellphoneuser1]

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@JK8 wrote:

Gone are the True North Affordability logo.

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The logo was meaningless. Customers don't need to be told if a plan is affodable. They'll judge for themselves. Public Mobile's plans aren't great like they used to be anyway.

[JK8]

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@Canlan54a wrote:

Sure seems like the CRTC not surprisingly set the bar pretty low, also makes no mention of it applying to prepaid plans...they would hold no allure at all compared to postpaid plans if the prepaid wasn't priced significantly lower, hence their raison d'etre.

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https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/wireless-cellphone-fees-1.5484080

“The mandated reduction would apply only to post-paid plans where consumers already own their devices or purchase a new one at full price.”