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

[darlicious]

@susanjm 

Ditto. My fellow member beat me to it but yes I was going to say the same thing screenshot that message as proof and thanks for the update as that is good news for others who can ask customer support for the same guarantee.

@softech 

Now that makes me wonder if the promo code 2GBBONUS promo code will work on 4G plans? I haven't seen anyone give us feedback on whether they tried it or not? I suppose anyone could go through most of the activation and give it a go and see if it works and then cancel it before they pay if they are really curious?

[softech]

@susanjm   keep the message as a proof. Honest ,we had a confirmation from the Community manager saying people would loss the 2GB if switch to 4G plan.  But since the reply from another agent said otherwise, keep it as a proof just in case

[susanjm]

@darlicious

I'm so sorry to have taken so long to reply to you. I actually created a ticket and asked about it. The answer I got was that according to the info they had she wouldn't lose it but if she did to contact them and they would add it back! So that was surprising but amazing. I suspect she doesn't actually need it normally but nice to have, right?

Also, thanks for your tip for about filters on usage.

[darlicious]

@susanjm 

If your daughter switched to a 4G plan she will very likely lose the 2GB data bonus. You can message customer support and ask though never hurts they may allow her to change and apply the promo on the new plan the worst that can happen is they say no.

Checking data usage in our glitchy new accounts can be a pain in the hip..... But best you clear your browser and then login using secret/incognito mode that should solve the problem or try refreshing the page by using the little round arrow thingy at the bottom right hand corner of the page. Alternatively download the usage and add it up manually. You can use the filters for dates but do not use the filter for the type of usage because it is also glitchy.

[susanjm]

Hi @darlicious,

My daughter currently has  $40 5GB plan at 3G speeds. She has 2GB recurring monthly data and wants to change to one of the 4G plans - specifically the 4G plan. Do you think she will lose that? It probably doesn't matter but (as you may be aware) it's currently impossible for her to know what her recent data usage has been.

Thanks in advance,

Susan  

[darlicious]

@59 

If you have any they will show on that page under your plan details. The only possible promotion you could lose would be recurring bonus monthly plan data. Bonus data add ons usually stay 99% of the time but of course it is always YMMV. Otherwise this is a courtesy warning to check before you schedule a change plan on next renewal.

To contact customer support click below:

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/notes/composepage/note-to-user-id/22437

To pre-verify your account include your full name, address, email, phone # and 4 digit acct pin #.

[59]

Same question later time as I am looking to decrease my 35 dollar plan and it says that I will lose my promotions.

What are my promotions? 

Thank you!

[cynthialing]

Thanks 👍

[Anonymous]

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@cynthialing wrote:

Limited time = from now until when pls?

---

 @cynthialing 

Times up. They've retracted the provincial plans and returned to Canada-wide with some changes for the better.

[cynthialing]

Limited time = from now until when pls?

[Rosguru]

Public Mobile has reimplemented the Canada Wide minutes.  This is good news for all.

[Korth]

The people who left panicked and stopped reading partway through the announcement.

Those with existing Canada-wide plans wouldn't lose them. Those who signed up onto "limited time" Canada-wide plans wouldn't lose them. It was carefully explained in the announcement, it was asked and it was answered many times since.

As things turned out, it was also a moot point since the Province-wide plan structure was withdrawn. Anyone who left Public Mobile could come back. Those who ported their numbers would have to port again, those who didn't port their numbers would still find their Self-Serve account (and SIM card, phone number, plan, add-on, Rewards, etc) fully intact - for a few months, anyhow. Hope they found better deals somewhere else, lol, otherwise it's just a series of kneejerking towards failures.

[KamWest]

@darlicious

He is not alone, at my peak I had 7 lines with public, after the province wide fiasco I only have 5 lines with public and two went to the competition.

The idea of losing my canada wide status when I shifted plans was a tough pill to swallow so I started to experiment with providers that offer more data and higher speeds.

All in all I can say it is a good balance for me but Public messed up, my lines have been here for a long time and the province wide fiasco was solely responsible for my shift to try another provider.

[darlicious]

@XionBunny 

Well I suppose if you have already left then one must just move forward. But I am surprised with you coming up on 2 years of loyalty, averaging a $2 community reward each month and a $2 autopay reward along with any possible friend rewards ($5+ in rewards)you may have that you feel pm broke your trust when most providers did attempt the backwards step of province wide calling before reneging on its roll out.

What provider and plan was so appealing to you to switch? It couldn't have been just "broken trust".

[RosieR]

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@XionBunny wrote:

They broke my trust honestly, so for now I've left, there may come a time ill return again, but for now I'm gone, good luck folks.

---

@XionBunny you do what makes you happy.

Hasta la vista

RosieR

[hTideGnow]

so, with Koodo Prepad going back to National calling and now PM , we are left with poor Koodo Prepaid stuck with Provincial Callings?

[kselmak]

@XionBunny 

Why are you leaving? Did they change your plan? Your plan should stay the same as long as you don't change.

If you woke up to province wide calling without switching, contact mods asap.

If on the other hand you were hoping to go back to Canada wide 15 in the near future, all is not lost. You can use Fongo call transfer for unlimited Canada wide calling. 

[Anonymous]

 @XionBunny : With grandfathering, where's the problem for existing customers? Apparently some like to switch in and out of different plans as needs change so maybe that's why but still...things do and will cost more over time what with inflation and all. But you've been here a while and plans stay as they are with grandfathering.

Oh well. Sorry to see you go.

[XionBunny]

They broke my trust honestly, so for now I've left, there may come a time ill return again, but for now I'm gone, good luck folks.

[Korth]

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@Anonymous wrote:

I would still maintain that it was technical trouble with the roll-out that caused them to go back.

That and/or boardroom shenanigans.

---

While it was announced - and was probably conceptualized - as a "promo" it obviously wasn't received very well by existing customers. So I'm guessing it wasn't very appealing to new customers, either. Apparently, it's even encouraged some customers (or their referrals) to leave, which would be a counterproductive result.

Experiment failed, experiment terminated. But the boardroom and marketing execs will remain undaunted, there are always scapegoats at the lower tiers.

[Anonymous]

I would still maintain that it was technical trouble with the roll-out that caused them to go back.

That and/or boardroom shenanigans.

[darlicious]

@Korth 

Oh I agree with you....and it looks like with all our bitchin' and complainin' has paid off with today's announcement as noted by @computergeek541 in the previous post. It only took 7 weeks and 63 pages.....but it was successful in the end.

[computergeek541]

These province-wide plans are no longer available. New and better $35 and $50 plans have been introduced and the $15 Canada-wide plan has returned, as advertised on the plan page that is accessible from the Public Mobile homepage.

[Korth]

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@darlicious wrote:

Public mobile still holds its own for the low usage user but your profit is made on the higher end plans.  For about $5 more koodo is offering :

1. Full speed 4G LTE data speeds.
2. Call centre.
3. International roaming.
4. voLTE calling.
5. Larger data plan options.

Public mobile is becoming very niche market and its telus' way of fufilling  the regulator's and Ottawa's need to show there are low cost options available in the marketplace and that further competition is not needed to have affordable cell phone service.

---

Some of us don't need VoLTE, faster data, bigger data. And never need features like call center support or international roaming. Those who do need (or want) those features will choose a plan with another provider - and Koodo is only one option, there are a half dozen others.

Public Mobile's "niche market" is lowest cost. It seems obvious that we're still with PM because we feel that features offered by Koodo (and others) aren't worth paying that extra $5 (or more) per month. I'm not in the habit of buying more groceries than I can eat just so they'll rot away in my fridge, no matter how tasty they might be, so why would I do the same with my other bills?

So it seems like Telus doesn't really need to maintain the PM brand just to impress Ottawa. It makes enough money from the "niche market" to be worthwhile. You can bet that if Telus ever decided to suddenly shutdown Public Mobile then rushing over to Koodo wouldn't be my first choice.

[Camera4617]

I wish they cut price for it that much but I doubt. My main advantage of PM is that I don't need that much data every month, and I can change up/down based on how much data is needed. If I was using it constantly, then I would not use PM, I'd go with 2 tier providers. If I ever need 6 GB data for short time, I'm ok with paying it as it is now since I know it will not be for long time. But that's just my reasoning, for somebody else it could be different. 

[darlicious]

@gpixel 

Public mobile still holds its own for the low usage user but your profit is made on the higher end plans.  For about $5 more koodo is offering :

1. Full speed 4G LTE data speeds.
2. Call centre.
3. International roaming.
4. voLTE calling.
5. Larger data plan options.

Public mobile is becoming very niche market and its telus' way of fufilling  the regulator's and Ottawa's need to show there are low cost options available in the marketplace and that further competition is not needed to have affordable cell phone service.

[gpixel]

Koodos canada wide base plans 

$35 unlimited calling/text

$45/3gb 

$50/5gb

$55/8gb

$60/10gb

Koodo prepaid province and Canada wide is justifiable. I don't believe the third tier should be... $48/6.5gb doesn't hold much value when we have so many downgraded options plus the sub par web experience. they need to increase the data allotment for pm customers. there needs to be at least a $10-12 price difference

that's so bad... 

[Korth]

@Pawprints1986 

"Grandfathered" plans are entirely discretionary. The legal term of contract has expired, the provider and the subscriber then continue to maintain the existing arrangement indefinitely.

Public Mobile has (so far) chosen to "grandfather" all legacy plans for all customers.

But Rogers (along with Fido and Chatr) has generally been resistant to "grandfathering" plans.

They sometimes continue these plans without change, just like Public Mobile does.

They sometimes continue these plans but impose a $5 fee, or simply change the price to whatever they currently charge for similar plans.

They sometimes halt the plan entirely - suspend service until a new plan is purchased/negotiated - and sometimes even apply (or offer to "waive") deactivation/reactivation/porting fees on the number.

In short, they basically do whatever they like. They have no contractual obligation to the customer so they decide their own terms. Sometimes they're fair - they do have some happy customers who feel they get great deals on great service. Sometimes they push too far - they aren't afraid to intimidate customers into staying, they aren't afraid to burn customers who insist on leaving - and apparently they get away with things often enough that it's worth their while to not change their business practices.

But the ways Rogers/Fido/Chatr does things has nothing to do with the ways Telus/Koodo/Public does things. Public Mobile's Terms of Service (and strategic intentions) with these Canada-wide vs Province-wide plans have nothing to do with Fido's policies on "grandfathered" plans.

[Pawprints1986]

Pretty sketchy of Fido to not grandfather their plans I just read above. Unless it was very specifically for a new promo plan only and was laid out, up front that it would change after X amount of time. Then that's fair. If they raise prices on everyone's standard plans with no grandfathering at all that's not cool. Would make me wonder how they're still in business lol. As much as koodo let me down in the end, I can say that the grandfathering was a nice touch

Side note koodo prepaid is still provincial only or pay $5 extra for Canada. Still temporarily waived. I like to see what's out there every so often. So far sticking with here lol