Community

Catherine_T · ‎02-16-2021

[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:

Log in on Self Serve
Go to “Plan and Add-ons”
Select “Change Plan”
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

Brandinium · ‎03-20-2021

@darlicious Thanks! That’s good to know. So there really isn’t a downside in my switching...

My current plan includes...

1.5GB at 3G Speed
Unlimited Canada-wide Talk
Unlimited International Text

for $35/30 days.

darlicious · ‎03-20-2021

@Brandinium

No as long as you don't change plans once the price increases. What is your current plan?

Brandinium · ‎03-20-2021

I just have a question regarding these “new” Canada-wide calling plans. With the current sale, I would get 1gb more data/month for the same price as my current plan. If I change, will the price increase when the promotion ends?

thank you.

Korth · ‎03-20-2021

We all feel the answer is no, to both.

The answer was already answered in the first announcement post. ("FAQ’s:

What happens to existing customers’ plans")

I don't understand why the confusion and why the speculation.

LurganIeUk · ‎03-20-2021

@Mr_Bee19 wrote:
Does it mean I'm gonna have price hiked up by $5 on my canada wide plan after this so called "sale" is over???
FYI. I've activated the plan before 2021.

PM has a record of grandfathering plans and prices. Actually you have 2 questions to ask.

1. Will price go up $5?

2. Will you loose Canada Wide calling?

We all feel the answer is no, to both.

Triguy · ‎03-20-2021

@Mr_Bee19 @The cost of your plan will stay the same. If you change your plan then you would be charged the new increased price

Mr_Bee19 · ‎03-20-2021

Does it mean I'm gonna have price hiked up by $5 on my canada wide plan after this so called "sale" is over???

FYI. I've activated the plan before 2021.

Nezgar · ‎03-20-2021

@AE_Collector wrote:
@susanjm wrote:
Thanks everyone. I've purchased the $5 500 minutes add-on and I'm going to see how it goes. We talk often but not for long as I see her fairly frequently. But I AM cheap and it's really annoying LOL.
Well it is a particular annoyance when you live in a border area. In my case I always joke that I can call from Greater Vancouver to PEI at no extra cost yet I cant call my in-laws who live in Pt Roberts WA which is about 20 miles as the crow flies south of me. YES Point Roberts IS in a different country but it isn't even attached to the USA, its attached to CANADA! And gets its water and electricity from Canada. Fortunately when I am there it gets its cell service from Canada since we are only a few thousand feet below Canada!

And yes this also means that my wife hasn’t seen her parents since the first week of March 2020 even though we live 20 miles from each other. And we have a summer cabin there that we haven't been to since February 2020 when we usually spend May - September there close to full time.

This was a good video about how Covid has impacted point roberts from those who live there and their lack of access to Canada, and a bit of history.... I guess if they got Canadian Public Mobile plans then you could call them with domestic minutes. 🙂

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARYL03Dq8cg

bluejaywpg · ‎03-20-2021

@darlicious wrote:
@bluejaywpg
Well you are in Winnipeg so the recent changes make it a little harder. Thanks for reminding me my sister in law and her son both have their contracts expire by summer so I should start working on them now....hows the reception been in the north end?

@darlicious reception in Winnipeg has been fine so far - I haven't tried in the north end of town but everywhere else on the south side so far so good. I make very few phone calls but it worked fine when testing with my wife & my dad. The only other call was a fake Service Canada call. Unfortunately, it worked well for that too. 🤣

Nobody outside of PM really knows about the changes so I don't think that would have any effect on recruiting referrals.

LurganIeUk · ‎03-20-2021

@AE_Collector

My wife's American cousin has a place on Marine Drive in White Rock and can pick up their American signal over the water to a tower in Blaine Wa.

LurganIeUk · ‎03-20-2021

@bluejaywpg wrote:
@darlicious what would be the point of starting a 2nd PM account? Doesn't that mean you will go from a $0 single account to 2 accounts - 1 for $0 per month & 1 for whatever plan you choose (less rewards, which I presume will mean you will have to pay something unless you refer a lot of people in the 1st month or use it to get a big community reward right away) plus the SIM card cost? Why wouldn't you just let it go into a negative balance or go to a higher plan?

Good point. It is kind of addictive to find deals for SIM cards and to slowly, very slowly gain some referrals. My preference would be to have a cushion of 1 or 2 per our 2 accounts. depending how close are to the next year of loyalty. For me, if I knew if there is a fairly constant supply of SIM cards at an acceptable price to me, I would deplete my stock pile and only have 3 or 4 in reserve. But what do you do if a friend knows you can be relied upon.....you just can't stop!!!

Personally I would not start a 3rd account.

darlicious · ‎03-20-2021

@bluejaywpg

Well you are in Winnipeg so the recent changes make it a little harder. Thanks for reminding me my sister in law and her son both have their contracts expire by summer so I should start working on them now....hows the reception been in the north end?

computergeek541 · ‎03-20-2021

Moved:

bluejaywpg · ‎03-20-2021

@darlicious if I get 3 referrals, I'll be absolutely blown away LMAO!!!

darlicious · ‎03-20-2021

@bluejaywpg

All together 13. Only 10 earning currently....I would like 15.

darlicious · ‎03-20-2021

@bluejaywpg

Referrals do take persistence....my current one that I think will switch I have been working on for over a year and I will have to help manage the account. But I would like one or two more referrals for my $15 account as a cushion as there is also a few accounts that go thru suspensions( I currently have 3 referrals that are suspended.)

bluejaywpg · ‎03-20-2021

@darlicious Holy crap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As I said, I have just ONE referral. You appear to have 10. I don't know how people like you do that. I couldn't sell a juicy steak to a starving cowboy if I tried!!!!! 🤣

bluejaywpg · ‎03-20-2021

@darlicious OK, if you share with others then I can understand. I was only thinking of myself, or my wife whose account I would use for referrals if by chance I ever get to the point where my balance is at or near zero on a regular basis. If both accounts ever get to that point, I would probably just let the rewards build up so I can have a cushion in case I want to upgrade my plan or I lose referrals (assuming a lost PM customer that was a referral means my referral reward would decrease accordingly).

But I am nowhere near that point - I've mentioned PM to several people I know, but other than my wife & son, only my dad has gone to PM. So I will probably never get to a zero balance.

darlicious · ‎03-20-2021

@bluejaywpg

As you can see I am again at that point......

AE_Collector · ‎03-20-2021

@susanjm wrote:
Thanks everyone. I've purchased the $5 500 minutes add-on and I'm going to see how it goes. We talk often but not for long as I see her fairly frequently. But I AM cheap and it's really annoying LOL.

Well it is a particular annoyance when you live in a border area. In my case I always joke that I can call from Greater Vancouver to PEI at no extra cost yet I cant call my in-laws who live in Pt Roberts WA which is about 20 miles as the crow flies south of me. YES Point Roberts IS in a different country but it isn't even attached to the USA, its attached to CANADA! And gets its water and electricity from Canada. Fortunately when I am there it gets its cell service from Canada since we are only a few thousand feet below Canada!

And yes this also means that my wife hasn’t seen her parents since the first week of March 2020 even though we live 20 miles from each other. And we have a summer cabin there that we haven't been to since February 2020 when we usually spend May - September there close to full time.

AE_Collector

darlicious · ‎03-20-2021

@bluejaywpg

If there is no intention to ever move from the lowest cost plan ( like my two accounts now grandfathered in) and a balance continues to grow with no practical way of spending it what is the point of continuing to refer to an account? That's a wasted balance. By activating a new account on a good promotion to then start referring to will soon get you another $0 account with the flexibility to change plans for larger data allotments to spend its balance or to use as a spare account for visiting friends or relatives or to give another family member on a budget. I have a spare account for the bf that I switch him back and forth from to take advantage of the promos and freebies that lowers the overall cost of his phone bill. Do you have someone you want to refer? I can point you in the direction of additional saving measures.

bluejaywpg · ‎03-20-2021

@darlicious what would be the point of starting a 2nd PM account? Doesn't that mean you will go from a $0 single account to 2 accounts - 1 for $0 per month & 1 for whatever plan you choose (less rewards, which I presume will mean you will have to pay something unless you refer a lot of people in the 1st month or use it to get a big community reward right away) plus the SIM card cost? Why wouldn't you just let it go into a negative balance or go to a higher plan?

darlicious · ‎03-20-2021

@LurganIeUk

If you do not have the $5/500 min add on then when you run out of outgoing minutes then you will automatically start using the "more the merrier" international long distance freebies or the old US/Canada add on if you have it.

A growing balance (I have one of those and and a very slowly diminishing one by $1 or $2 a month) if not used for plan upgrades can only be spent on add ons. The other option would be to change the community email address of your community reward so it could go to pay for another account ( which i may or may not do for the bf's account) once you calculate how much accumulated account balance + rewards + maximum loyalty reward ($5) becomes a pemanent $0 bill account.

I switched my referrals to my second $15 account from my $10 account as soon as I hit $10 in rewards. Then the next month I went from top 25% to top 5% and even with the loss of a few referrals it still builds a minimum $5 of credit every month with $4 of loyalty to come.

If you start getting too many referrals with no intent on changing from the $15 plan then consider activating a new account to act as a spare and start referring to it. You could periodically suspend it when you start out with only a few rewards on it until it gets to a point where suspending it would have no advantage due to the amount of rewards. Think about the CCS scenario that gets you halfway to your first loyalty reward + suspending for less than 60 days would keep you on track.....

Nezgar · ‎03-20-2021

@LurganIeUk the International calling add-on that many people acquired via the xmas givaways are usable for canada wide calling. I dont think international addons currently available for purchase can do that.

LurganIeUk · ‎03-20-2021

@darlicious

I remember reading a long time ago that if you are on the $15 plan and did not have the $5 add on (and you have used your 100 minutes) that you could continue to call in Canada and PM would use the more expensive add on minutes if you had some on your account. I can't try either ...... I don't know any one other than here or USA and I have a ton of Canada Wide minutes.

Which leads to another question.

When you are doing well with rewards and the odd quarterly top up ($2) to keep a credit card alive and you have a balance that covers your guaranteed rate for 6 months ($66 for me)....what do you do with the surplus.....leave for US roaming, start to buy add-ons, or leave balance for next needed add on? No refunds so what is the opinion out there for a growing balance....

And let's say moving up a plan is not warranted.

edit: I think I just confirmed one reason why PM will not allow one login for multiple accounts drawing from "one" balance.

RosieR · ‎03-20-2021

@susanjm wrote:
Thanks everyone. I've purchased the $5 500 minutes add-on and I'm going to see how it goes. We talk often but not for long as I see her fairly frequently. But I AM cheap and it's really annoying LOL.

Hi @susanjm Welcome to Public Mobile!

Good to hear that you had made a decision and I hope everything works out for you. The good thing about Add-ons is that they roll over to the next cycle until fully consumed. Just keep an eye on your minute usage by checking out your self serve account often.

Here's how, log in your self serve account here https://selfserve.publicmobile.ca/

On the overview page you will see your Data and Add-ons

also Public Mobile gives out free data and minutes every once in a while.

Have a wonderful weekend

RosieR

darlicious · ‎03-20-2021

@LurganIeUk

As far as I know....yes only for the countries the add on states. I don't have it, don't need it so I can't test it. The "more the merrier" freebies yes but if you were given a complimentary long distance add on ie $15/1000 UK min then no....you could only call the UK. Like the recent Lunar New Year promo... you can only use those add ons to call China, Macao and Taiwan ( I think it's Taiwan....?)

LurganIeUk · ‎03-20-2021

@darlicious wrote:
@LurganIeUk
To my understanding the country specific long distance add ons are just that. The multiple countries freebies we get are coded to include Canada/US for flexibility for customers who have little or no use for international calling.

Are you saying:

If 1000 minutes for $15 for US calls or the one for UK calls.....

If paid for ..... can only be used for US or UK? (I have always been led to believe that this add-on could be used for Canada Wide as well)

If a freebee.......can be used for US or UK OR Canada Wide?

darlicious · ‎03-20-2021

@LurganIeUk

To my understanding the country specific long distance add ons are just that. The multiple countries freebies we get are coded to include Canada/US for flexibility for customers who have little or no use for international calling.

LurganIeUk · ‎03-20-2021

@susanjm wrote:
Thanks everyone. I've purchased the $5 500 minutes add-on and I'm going to see how it goes. We talk often but not for long as I see her fairly frequently. But I AM cheap and it's really annoying LOL.

Good!! If you move about on the plans and only have Provincial calling I would suggest that you buy another $5. And watch your $5 minutes and when you dip into the second one, buy another. That will all more of an un interrupted service. But if you move to a plan that has unlimited Canada Wide it will make the $5 minutes redundant. Also keep in mind if the PM generosity remains.....you will get some freebies and from what I understand some of the international LD minutes can be used for Canada Wide calls. So the US or UK LD minutes at 1.5 cents a minute may allow better flexibility.

Community

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