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Plan updates + new $10 limited talk and text plan!

Brooke_C
Retraité / Retired
Retraité / Retired

Update as of June 19, 2018: This post has been updated to provide additional clarity that leaving a voicemail message uses minutes. 

 

Update as of June 11, 2018: This post has been updated to rectify that call forwarding counts toward your plan’s minutes.

 

Update as of May 4, 2018: This is no longer a limited time offer. 

 

Hey Community,

We recently completed a pricing review and wanted to let you know that you will be seeing some changes to our 3G pricing, effective today.

 

Our goal is to provide our customers with simple plans that provide great value. You can check out all the new pricing on our website, but at a high level, the big thing to note is that our Canada-wide talk, text, and 3G-speed data plans are now more competitive. Great news for anyone traveling within Canada this summer!

 

Additionally, we are introducing a new limited time $10 30-day limited talk and text plan.This plan is available for new and existing customers and includes:

  • 50 minutes of Canada-wide Talk
  • 50 International Outgoing Texts and Unlimited Incoming Texts and Picture Messages
  • Voicemail and Call Display

Note, checking your voicemail will use your minutes. Since this is the first time we have offered a ‘limited’ plan since we re-launched the brand, we’ve included FAQs on how this will work  in the spoiler below.

 

-Public Mobile Community Team

 

Spoiler

FAQs

Question

Answer

How long will this plan be in market?

This is a limited time offer and is subject to change without notice. Please refer to Public Mobile’s Service Terms.  Please note that the promotion will not be honoured after it has ended. This includes SIM cards that have been purchased online, are in-transit and not yet activated.

What does and does not use my minutes?


Uses Minutes

Doesn’t Use Minutes

  • Making a call
  • Answering a call
  • Retrieving or leaving voicemail messages
  • Using call forwarding
  • Calling *611 (the IVR)
  • Making or receiving calls from 911
  • Using calling apps when connected to Wifi


What is the maximum length of one text message?

A text message contains 160 characters; longer texts are broken down into 160 character segments. Each segment is counted as one text message.

Will you notify me when I’m almost out of text messages or minutes?

Yes, you will get an SMS message from Public Mobile when you have 10 outgoing texts left or 10 minutes left in your plan.

If I don’t have any minutes left, but I have a voicemail message, how do I check my voicemail?

There are two ways you can check your voicemail.

  1. From a landline or another mobile phone, dial your 10-digit phone number and press the * key to interrupt the system greeting. From here, you may need enter your voicemail password.
  2. You can purchase a long distance Add-On such as the 200 minutes Add-On that allows you to call to Canada and the US for $8. Note, the minutes in the Add-On will rollover to your next billing cycle.

Do I have to purchase a Long Distance Add-On to get more than 50 minutes?

Yes, you need a Long Distance Add-On to get more minutes added to your plan. If you often use more than 50 minutes per 30 days, we recommend one of our plans with unlimited talk.

I’ve run out of outgoing text messages included in my plan. What are my options to keep sending text messages?

We do not offer an Add-On for text messaging. We suggest you try one of our plans with unlimited text messages included. You can select any of our other Ready-Made Plans or build your own plan using our calculator.

If you like your limited talk and text plan, you can wait until your next billing cycle or you can renew your plan early.

Why is a text Add-On not being offered?

This is the first time we have introduced a plan with limited Talk and Text, so, to-date, there hasn’t been a need for a Text Add-On. Depending on demand and market changes, we may introduce a Text Add-On in the future; however this is not available at this time.

If I purchase a Long Distance Add-On, will my calls use up my Add-On minutes or my in-plan minutes?


 

Making a Call to someone in Canada

Making a Call to someone outside of Canada

Answering a Call from Anywhere in the World

In Canada

Will use plan minutes, before Long Distance Add-On minutes.

Requires Long Distance Add-On. The Long Distance countries we support can be found here.   

Will use plan minutes, before Long Distance Add-On minutes

In U.S.

Requires a U.S. Roaming Add-On with talk included.

Requires a U.S. Roaming Add-On with talk included. Aside from calls to Canada, you will only be able to make calls to people in the U.S. and its territories.

Requires a U.S. Roaming Add-On with talk included. You will only be able to receive calls from people in Canada or the US and its territories.  


If you purchase a Long Distance Add-On and you’re calling in Canada, your call will use your in-plan minutes first.

If you purchase a Long Distance Add-On and you’re calling outside of Canada, your call will use your Long Distance Add-On minutes (as long as the location you’re calling is accessible through your Long Distance Add-On).

Will I keep the same plan forever? Will my plan change?

Please refer to our Terms of Service for more information about our plans. 

 

 

302 REPLIES 302

featherland
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

This is actually a good plan offered by PM for younger school kids or elderly people who need to get in touch with their immediate family members in case of emergency situation. With autopay this plan is under 10 dollars a month. Great and I will sign up for my parents

srlawren
Retired Oracle / Oracle Retraité

@kav2001c wrote:

@MoreYummythere is a $90 plan with data (unlim mins/txt + 1.5GB) which was VERY popular in old days


@kav2001c @MoreYummy you can still get that plan today:  90 days, unlimited Canada-wide calling (since province-wide and Canada-wide now cost the same on almost all "3G" plans), and 1.5GB (approx 500MB per month) of "3G" speed data (3Mbps cap in both directions, delivered over LTE with fallback to HSPA/HSPA+).  

 

So, for the same price, you're getting the same amount of data as that classic plan, albeit at the capped "3G" speed as a downgrade, but also getting Canada-wide instead of Province-wide calling as an upgrade.  


>>> ALERT: I am not a moderator. For account or activation assistance, please click here.

@MoreYummythere is a $90 plan with data (unlim mins/txt + 1.5GB) which was VERY popular in old days

If same plan was 150 mins / txt and costs $30 for 90 days it would be better *hint Cat Wink

@Brooke_C

jp2
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

Add ons carry over but in plan minutes don't. The plan is a limited time offer at this point. 

danlee
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle

What happen to the leftover minutes or SMS that we did not use it up?  Will it be carryover to the following month?  Is this plan going to stay for long or just promotion period?


@luckee7 wrote:

When did this $10 referral credit happen? I signed up April 17 and did not get it.


Are you talking about the $10 referral credit for the new customer?  That went live today. 

luckee7
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

When did this $10 referral credit happen? I signed up April 17 and did not get it.

How about adding a low cost plan with data?

@raulg, I am on the 90-day plan, but it was a deal when I got on it.  I still think I'd prefer the frequency over the 30 day, as for some people, transaction fees may be a factor.  It's not for me, but there are some who may be affected.

raulg
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

@stonechucker wrote:

Quarterly-ish payments, rather than monthly-ish payments @raulg


Yes, I see your point. But that's meaningless for me when I have the autopay option.

I always saw the 90 days plans as an engaging system. If there's no difference I'll always choose the 30 days plan, just because you never know. Maybe in a week there's a great promotion in another provider and you'd like to switch...

 

As @Luddite said, the only advantage I see is bveing able to manage your data allowance during the 90 days. But still, that isn't enough for me.

 

I would love to see another price update on the 90 days plans 🙂


@raulg wrote:

So what's the advantage of having a 90 day plan now? The 90 day plans have now the same price for every 30 days as the 30 days plans. Isn't this weird? Are you planning further updates in the 90 day plans pricing?


- Assume no discounts are coming for 90 vs 30 days on these plans.

- Another advantage to some is managing their data allowance over 90 days, rather than 30.


>>> ALERT: I am not a CSA. Je ne suis pas un Agent du soutien à la clientèle.

Quarterly-ish payments, rather than monthly-ish payments @raulg

raulg
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

So what's the advantage of having a 90 day plan now? The 90 day plans have now the same price for every 30 days as the 30 days plans. Isn't this weird? Are you planning further updates in the 90 day plans pricing?

smp99
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

So SMS seems to be the big talking point here. People are happy with the 50mins talk.

 

Koodo already has $15/month unl text. No talk, no data, you need to buy addons. But PM is supposed to be discount even to Koodo.

 

Keep this plan as is, do not touch it. But if you bump to 90 days and charge an extra $5/month for unlimited SMS I think people will jump on it. Then this would be 150min CdaWide (or even 100mins), unl text for $45/90 days.  Data can be completely optional. Same price as Koodo plan, but you have to commit for 90 days, and for that you get some talking. Throw in autopay, even nicer. 

 

Wormie
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

Can't ask for much more, this plan is fantastic.  However, if the plan were to improve I can see the following viable to different age group of people:

1) 90 days 150 Canada wide minutes + 150 text for $30

Pros: Great option for seniors with minutes allocated for 90 days instead of the current 30 days

Pros: More convenience without having to remember to top up every 30 days

Pros: Great for Public Mobile to retain customer committment for a longer time frame.

 

2) 90 day plan with unlimited text + 50 minutes for $20

Pros: Great plans for kids/tweens who need a phone for emergency calls (usually from parents) and unlimited texting to their friends

Pros: Low cost option for kids

 

Both plans are targeted for two unique niche groups, where unfortunately the big players have ignored.  

Lg85
Town Hero / Héro de la Ville

I signed up for this plan for my mom. Absolutely great deal for $8 every 30 days with auto pay!

My mom previously had a one year Telus prepaid plan for $100 per year. The plan included 400 minutes and 400 text messages. She didn't even reach 400 minutes and 100 text messages in almost a year of usage lol. 

Jonavin
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle

If you're an occasional data user wouldn't you be better off ON this plan  and just add the $30 1GB data when you need it? If you don't even  use 1gb that month you can roll it over to the next month.

pakmode
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

I signed up for this plan on a new account last night.  $8 a month is too cheap to pass up. 

@Brooke_C, No worries... it seems so long ago, I haven't looked at it since, and totally forgot!

 

Glad I could help.

Brooke_C
Retraité / Retired
Retraité / Retired

Hey @Jorno and @stonechucker

 

Thanks for bringing this to our attention, and for having such a keen eye! We have updated the plans and Self-Serve pages so that the order of the data options are the same.

Jorno
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle

@wetcoaster wrote:


... $1 a day ... could be the difference between a medium and a large cup of their daily coffeine kick.


Bravoed just for this statement 🙂

 

#my_post_is_off_topic

#back_to_the_discussion


@Jonavin wrote:

@srlawren wrote:

@wetcoaster wrote:

@Bubba wrote:

Nice idea

 

But

50 minutes.?????   Seriously

Talk about Squeezing a Stone!

 



At $0.20 (assuming you use up the full allotment), the minute price is less than at classic emergency pay-as-you-go prepaid providers like SpeakOut ($0.30/min).

 

If this one doesn't fit your / your relative's needs on a regular basis (supplementing with a LD add-on as mentioned by @srlawren) you can always go for a plan with unlimited province wide minutes. The $20 for provincial talk only or $25 for provincial talk & global text only are still very competitive. (Prices before auto-pay rewards.)

 

For texts you could always add a data add-on an use a messaging app where it makes sense (between family members, for example?).


@wetcoaster you know what, by the time a person starts buying long distance add-ons and data add-ons (which tend to be very expensive compared to plan data), I'm wondering if for many it wouldn't be smarter to go with the 30 day, unlimited Canada-wide (so no worries about number of minutes), unlimited global texting (so no worries about how many texts you send) and 500MB of 3G-speed data all for $30 per 30 days.  I'm thinking it offers a lot more value and removes having to worry about how many minutes and texts you've used.  A buck a day for what in 2018 really is a vital communication tool is pretty good, I'd say.  


Depends on your usage. $15 buys 400 minutes and that could last my mom a year.


This penny-pincher agrees with your statement, @Jonavin. I make full use of those add-on options.

However, I also see @srlawren's point: With the new $30 plan, an occasional data user could have the convenience of having all their communication needs covered for $1 a day, which, depending on the coffee shop, could be the difference between a medium and a large cup of their daily coffeine kick.

 

My original reply was to that "50 minutes.?????   Seriously" statement.

I would have run out of the 50 SMS before the end of every 30day period, but for several years before I came to Public Mobile because of changing needs, I'd have been perfectly fine with 50minutes a month and an add-on that kicks in when there is some month left at the end of the minutes.

Playing with the plan builder, it's fascinating that provincial talk, global text and 500MB is $30, Canada-wide talk, global text and 500MB is also $30 - and if you choose Canada-wide talk and global text only it's actually $35... (30day plans)

matbasm
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

@khanhly- yes, you can send the texts to Canada also.

khanhly
Great Neighbour / Super Voisin

So for 50 International texts, can I send the text to Canada numbers or the texts only for International numbers? 

Jonavin
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle

@srlawren wrote:

@wetcoaster wrote:

@Bubba wrote:

Nice idea

 

But

50 minutes.?????   Seriously

Talk about Squeezing a Stone!

 



At $0.20 (assuming you use up the full allotment), the minute price is less than at classic emergency pay-as-you-go prepaid providers like SpeakOut ($0.30/min).

 

If this one doesn't fit your / your relative's needs on a regular basis (supplementing with a LD add-on as mentioned by @srlawren) you can always go for a plan with unlimited province wide minutes. The $20 for provincial talk only or $25 for provincial talk & global text only are still very competitive. (Prices before auto-pay rewards.)

 

For texts you could always add a data add-on an use a messaging app where it makes sense (between family members, for example?).


@wetcoaster you know what, by the time a person starts buying long distance add-ons and data add-ons (which tend to be very expensive compared to plan data), I'm wondering if for many it wouldn't be smarter to go with the 30 day, unlimited Canada-wide (so no worries about number of minutes), unlimited global texting (so no worries about how many texts you send) and 500MB of 3G-speed data all for $30 per 30 days.  I'm thinking it offers a lot more value and removes having to worry about how many minutes and texts you've used.  A buck a day for what in 2018 really is a vital communication tool is pretty good, I'd say.  


Depends on your usage. $15 buys 400 minutes and that could last my mom a year.

srlawren
Retired Oracle / Oracle Retraité

@wetcoaster wrote:

@Bubba wrote:

Nice idea

 

But

50 minutes.?????   Seriously

Talk about Squeezing a Stone!

 



At $0.20 (assuming you use up the full allotment), the minute price is less than at classic emergency pay-as-you-go prepaid providers like SpeakOut ($0.30/min).

 

If this one doesn't fit your / your relative's needs on a regular basis (supplementing with a LD add-on as mentioned by @srlawren) you can always go for a plan with unlimited province wide minutes. The $20 for provincial talk only or $25 for provincial talk & global text only are still very competitive. (Prices before auto-pay rewards.)

 

For texts you could always add a data add-on an use a messaging app where it makes sense (between family members, for example?).


@wetcoaster you know what, by the time a person starts buying long distance add-ons and data add-ons (which tend to be very expensive compared to plan data), I'm wondering if for many it wouldn't be smarter to go with the 30 day, unlimited Canada-wide (so no worries about number of minutes), unlimited global texting (so no worries about how many texts you send) and 500MB of 3G-speed data all for $30 per 30 days.  I'm thinking it offers a lot more value and removes having to worry about how many minutes and texts you've used.  A buck a day for what in 2018 really is a vital communication tool is pretty good, I'd say.  


>>> ALERT: I am not a moderator. For account or activation assistance, please click here.


@Bubba wrote:

Nice idea

 

But

50 minutes.?????   Seriously

Talk about Squeezing a Stone!

 



At $0.20 (assuming you use up the full allotment), the minute price is less than at classic emergency pay-as-you-go prepaid providers like SpeakOut ($0.30/min).

 

If this one doesn't fit your / your relative's needs on a regular basis (supplementing with a LD add-on as mentioned by @srlawren) you can always go for a plan with unlimited province wide minutes. The $20 for provincial talk only or $25 for provincial talk & global text only are still very competitive. (Prices before auto-pay rewards.)

 

For texts you could always add a data add-on an use a messaging app where it makes sense (between family members, for example?).

srlawren
Retired Oracle / Oracle Retraité

@Bubba I'm not sure if you saw or not, but you can actually purchase the long distance add-on(s) for supplemental airtime on this plan.  [Note: this is contrary to any other plan at Public Mobile, where the long distance add-ons can only be used for long distance calls, and cannot substitute for having at least province-wide unlimited talk in your plan.  But this $10 plan is special in this regard.]

 

You can purchase either 200 mins for $8 or 400 mins for $15.  So, depending on needs, this might be an affordable way to extend minutes in the plans.  The add-on minutes stay on your account until used up.  So say for example the senior ran out of their 50 mins about 3 weeks into their 30 days, and purchased a 200 min add-on.  Let's say they use up 40 mins of that during the last week of their cycle, and then they start their next 30 days.  On day 1 of the next 30 days, they start using their 50 plan minutes again.  If those get used up during that cycle, they would start drawing from their (200 - 40 = ) 160 remaining add-on mins, and so on.  Hopefully this makes sense.

 

Unfortuantely there is no similar way to extend past the 50 outbound SMS limit at this time.


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Bubba
Great Citizen / Super Citoyen

Nice idea

 

But

50 minutes.?????   Seriously

Talk about Squeezing a Stone!

 

I would get this for my mother, for when she is out of the house as an emergency phone, but seriously 50  minutes?

She would probably end up using that in one day at a subway station, waiting and getting updates from my sister  to show up when they are meeting to go somwhere...who is always late.

 

This would be good for older seniors, but the talk time is way too little.

Have 2 plans one with just voice

and another with text and voice

Need Help? Let's chat.