[Price Change]: $70 for 15GB, now $60/mo.

[J_PM]

Hi Community, 

We have some exciting news to announce today. Effective November 12, 2021 the $70 15GB plan will now be priced at $60, a $10 reduction!

At Public Mobile, we are constantly looking for ways that we can make our services more valuable for our customers.  All of our plans include: Call Display, Voicemail and Conference Calling.

What does this mean for you? 

Existing customers can change their rate plan to the following:

• $60 per 30 days
• 15 GB at 3G speed (per 30 days)
• 500MB BONUS data when you sign up for AutoPay (per 30 days)
• Unlimited Canada-wide Talk and U.S minutes
• Unlimited International Text

Important things to know: 

• Bonus data will expire if account becomes inactive or the rate plan is changed
• Previous promotions that have been applied to the account that have been indicated as ‘non-stackable’ will be removed when you switch to this plan. To see if a promotion you currently have applied to your account is ‘non-stackable’ please check the terms of that specific promotion. 

How to get this offer: 

1. Log in on Self Serve
2. Go to “Plan and Add-ons”
3. Select “Change Plan”
4. Select the ready-made plan “$60 for 15GB + 500MB AutoPay Bonus”. You will have the option of changing your plan immediately or upon the next renewal date.

To learn more about Public Mobile plans, click here.

- The Public Mobile Team

[darlicious]

@dicecube 

It also means for 2 years you don't have the flexibility to change your plan based on need. If another lockdown occurs you will have to continue to pay for a higher priced data plan than you need.

[Korth]

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@softech wrote:

No contract, right?  you can leave after 2 years when the higher price kicks in , right??

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A two year commitment - with an obligation to complete the term and penalties for quitting early - sounds exactly like a contract to me.

[softech]

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@dicecube wrote:

Virgin Mobile is offering $45 for 17gb of 4g LTE for 2 years and it will be $55 after that.

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No contract, right?  you can leave after 2 years when the higher price kicks in , right??

[gpixel]

@dicecube 

and then add $5 every year after that. it's still a good deal. if I weren't taking advantage of rewards. I could see one switching. for me personally I like being able to lower my bill rather than having a big data plan. if I were to switch to the $60/15.5gb plan it would cost me around $18/15.5gb because of the rewards I've accumulated. I also have the ability to make that plan to $0/15.5gb. I know this isn't common, but for me there isn't any provider that compares anymore...

[Lehaha]

That’s right 

[dicecube]

Virgin Mobile is offering $45 for 17gb of 4g LTE for 2 years and it will be $55 after that.

[Pawprints1986]

Nice to see for those who need alot of data. Koodo has post paid 15gb for 70 and faster speed. I guess depending how fast you need it to be, koodo could still be the better option for some.

In my case,  reception at home (ground floor of building, next to another building) maybe combined with weather, kills my speed at times more than the actual 3g speed itself. It'd be silly to even ask for lte speed or volte, when I need to keep my phone in wcdma only in order to have a more reliable signal. It'd be nice to see more towers installed, or even strengthened towers for people like my area, especially for when they kill wcdma in a few years 😕

Sorry, bit of a tangent lol

[Korth]

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@softech wrote:

agree with @Korth .. PM has been followers within the tier 3.  When both Lucky and Chatr offer better deal, then PM will move on the same day.

On the other hand, Lucky and Chatr also have big brothers to follow so they won't easily move as well.. Given that mobile price did not move up since pandemic,  in fact it is moving down, there is really not much room for the Tier 3 little brothers. I guess we won't see significant changes, both prices and features, until they finally turn off the 3G network

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Lucky's big brother is Bell. Telus and Bell each dominate certain parts of Canada but lack any presence elsewhere; their network sharing agreement gives their customers access to "the nation's largest network". Many Telus/Koodo/Public subscribers actually rely almost exclusively on Bell's equipment, with nary a Telus tower in their province. Bell's network upgrades have recently begun discarding legacy (3G) support in some areas - this is problematic for Telus because they can't control what Bell does in Bell's turf but they also can't continue providing 3G calling for Telus/Koodo/Public subscribers in the "upgraded" areas.

Bell probably doesn't care much about third-tier Telus customers. Not their problem.

But they certainly don't want to lose their own third-tier customers. So if they continue upgrading away from 3G they'll have to give Lucky subscribers access to VoLTE - at no extra charge - at least within the affected calling areas. If/when they do this, Public (and Chatr) will quickly do the same. Maybe the "network sharing" agreement will be expanded to include a "VoLTE sharing" agreement.

[softech]

agree with @Korth .. PM has been followers within the tier 3.  When both Lucky and Chatr offer better deal, then PM will move on the same day.

On the other hand, Lucky and Chatr also have big brothers to follow so they won't easily move as well.. Given that mobile price did not move up since pandemic,  in fact it is moving down, there is really not much room for the Tier 3 little brothers. I guess we won't see significant changes, both prices and features, until they finally turn off the 3G network

[ameliorate]

seems a good deal wait for black friday

[Korth]

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@computergeek541 wrote:

I think that whar.customers really want to see is the elimination of the "3g" plans.

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@will13am wrote:

This is definitely a step in the right direction.  Upping the speed cap should be the next priority.  It is not a big deal for customers with 1GB plans.  If big gig plans such as this one is in focus, then it pretty rough trying to use this much data at snails pace.

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Subscribers who are willing to pay more for more data are also willing to pay more for faster data.

The build-your-own-plan calculator used to offer this sort of versatility. It seems clear that PM didn't really want it around and will not want to bring it back. But I do think it's time for PM to seriously consider offering some "LTE Speed" options for those who want to buy them.

I also think PM should fully support VoLTE calling before they lose more customers to the inevitable network upgrades which are gradually eliminating 3G call compatibility.

But then ... suddenly PM plans would be comparable to Koodo plans and Telus plans. So I doubt these things will happen until they are prompted by Lucky.

[darlicious]

@gpixel 

They want to keep their customers paying a premium for all that glitters..cheap, thrifty, cost conscience, on a budget customers won't pay for the bling so you keep them with the minimum service to meet their basic needs.

Then you offer more for those customers who want the frills but by circumstance don't qualify for them at the top end shop so you give them almost what they want for the same price but poorer quality 3G calling vs voLTE or throttled vs unthrottled 4G LTE data.

This is why I highly doubt we will ever see the return of the $60 US/Canada plan and for 2019 that was one heck of a deal! The average 8 to 10gb plan at that time w/o unlimited calling was $66. At $60 w/unlimited US/Canada calling/texting and 2gb of US roaming data this was groundbreaking in the mobile industry for Canada. You would be lucky to have that plan at Telus and then they would charge you $10 a day to use it in the US (currently capped at $180.)

https://www.whistleout.ca/CellPhones/Guides/canada-phone-plan-pricing

The Big Three could literally see the cash flow going out the door as their customers started to learn that they could be on the same network with the same coverage as they migrated south for winter or travelled for business losing $120 to $180 per month per customer that found the greener grass was still in their wallets at the end of the day. 8 hours notice on Rememberance Day 2 years ago and that plan was dead in the water.

When I go grocery shopping and a striploin steak is $1 more per pound than hot dogs I'm having steak for dinner. But if all I am offered is hot dogs because the steak is twice the price then I am forced into having hot dogs.....or I spend the money on the steak and use points and coupons and price matching and ride my bike to the store to get the baked potato, sour cream, mushrooms and onions and salad for practically free so I'm not eating hot dogs for dinner. But most people aren't as resourceful as I am so they settle for a dogs dinner.😃

[softech]

I always say.. if you are paying $40 and above, PM might not be a place for you.  The plan is not as competitive with the postpaid one.  Yes, postpaid is different, but these days, many prepaid plans no longer have a contract, and they have no surprise billing, too.  So, there is really not much reason why you don't check those plan if you are paying $40 and above.. and if you need A LOT of data

[gpixel]

@Meow 

yes if people have wifi at home the most one needs is 4-6gb. unless you watch a lot of videos on the road. 

I agree, plans $50+ should be full lte plans. they are paying top dollar anyways. this would entice customers to upgrade just on the full speed alone

[Meow]

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@softech wrote:

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just to be clear, I don't have the $70 plan myself, neither the 2GBBonus

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No, thanks. Way to expensive for my pocket. And what can you actually do with those 2GB? Looking at my WiFi usage, just daily browsing news, gas reporting, checking on weather, no games, no videos, no soc.networking, it takes >4GB month.

[cbx4evr]

Ya eliminating 3G would be great but probably wouldn't;t come with a price reduction.

[LeePublic]

Hopefully there would be improvements to all the plans soon!

[LeePublic]

Nice! This plan I always felt it was overpriced by $10-15. $58 after auto-pay for 15.5 GB's is much more reasonable. 

[darlicious]

@J_PM 

Bravo! Or should I say it's about time? Appropriately priced with the $2 per1gb of plan data as you upgrade your plan from the $40 plan to the $50 plan and now to the $60 plan.

I do agree that the loss of the 2GBBONUS promocode bonus recurring plan data does sting a little for those who had that bonus. If we break it down like pm does in our transaction history and just subtract the 30 day plan charge of $10 the price per GB of plan data :

• $15 plan - $20/1gb ($5/250mb)
• $25 plan - $15/1gb (+unlimited calling)
• $35 plan - $8.33/1gb (w/2gb promo=$5/1gb)
• $40 plan - $6/1gb (w/2gb promo=$4.30/1gb)
• $50 plan - $3.80/1gb (w/promo=$3.20/1gb)+US calling
• $60 plan - $3.22/1gb (w/promo=$2.85/1gb)+
• $70 plan - $3.87/1gb (w/promo=$3.42/1gb)+

I guess anyone dropping to the new $60 plan can give their 2 cents worth of feedback per GB that those who activated on the $50 plan with the promocode in the same time period are getting a better deal.

Maybe public mobile would add a 2gb bonus data add on to soothe the sting a little for those who lose their promotional data when they switch to the new $60/15.5gb plan.

[benfatto]

 

[sa7375]

Price drop — always a welcome change — and the one thing without any debate. 😊

[softech]

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@AE_Collector wrote:

Yes @softech , it says right in the fine print above that if you were in a plan with a promo and switch to this new plan you lose that promo. So it is a fair gamble, I would assume the promo will be removed. $10 reduction and winding up with 15.5 rather than 17.5 GB is likely a better rap for most unless really struggling to stay within 17.5 GB. I cant relate though, I stay within my 250 MB most months.

AE_Collector

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yes, I read the fine print  and it does sound like it is.  I still asked asI find it a bit unreasonable. 

2GBBonus is a recent promo.  As Jade said , it is a price reduction. I feel bad for people who lost the promo from trying to take advantage of the price reduction.   There could be people who activated just  a month or a week . 

just to be clear, I don't have the $70 plan myself, neither the 2GBBonus,I just want to clarify on this as I won't be surprise there will be heated posts later on the Community from people who have both and frustrated for losing  the promo  

[AE_Collector]

Good News! A move in the right direction! Now it is where most of us thought it should have been when it was introduced but these things frequently take awhile.

Yes @softech , it says right in the fine print above that if you were in a plan with a promo and switch to this new plan you lose that promo. So it is a gamble, I would assume the promo will be removed. A $10 reduction and winding up with 15.5 GB rather than 17.5 GB is likely a better deal for most unless really struggling to stay within 15.5 GB. I cant relate though, I stay within my 250 MB most months.

Of course it also has this statement which I don’t believe applies since there isn’t any bonus data with this plan other than Autopay. I imagine though that the long running 2GB promo for new customers on a $35 or higher priced plan can still be applied for new customers.

• Bonus data will expire if account becomes inactive or the rate plan is changed

AE_Collector

[Anonymous]

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@computergeek541 wrote:

@J_PM 

Are you aware that the first post reads (at least to me) that the plan includes 16GB of data?

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Nice catch. Yes the third bullet point gives another .5. Remove that and change the second bullet point to mention autopay

[computergeek541]

@J_PM 

Are you aware that the first post reads (at least to me) that the plan includes 16GB of data?

[will13am]

This is definitely a step in the right direction.  Upping the speed cap should be the next priority.  It is not a big deal for customers with 1GB plans.  If big gig plans such as this one is in focus, then it pretty rough trying to use this much data at snails pace.  

[softech]

@J_PM  Can you confirm this:

1. If user activated $70 plan with 2GBBonus,  they now need to complete a  Change Plan to take advantage of the $60 reduced plan.  Does that mean they will lost the 2GBBonus?  Would that be a bit unreasonable ?

2. I understand the fine print is that once plan changed, 2GBBous will be gone.  Is this a hard rule even when customers decide to upgrade their plan?

[Anonymous]

...and VoLTE as time marches on.

With the border open again, I bet a good chunk of uptake would happen if the roaming plan came back.