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4G 4 GB $40 Province-Wide talk VS 3G 4.5 GB $40 Canada-Wide talk.

Adrian03
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

 

Hi there,

 

I would like some advices regarding my current plan (12 GB x 3 months $40 Province-Wide) to switch to (4.5 GB x months 3G download speed Canada-Wide). Promotion end July 9th.

 

I know that LTE or 4G is the best current signal, but my doubt is this 3G download speed will affect only the internet speed or could it affect my strong signal (I never lost a call or text) that I have such as going in elevators, parking, basement, etc? I had this issues with Freedom before.

 

Thank you for your cooperation.

 

Adrian

 

 

22 REPLIES 22

Tirzin
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

I haven't been doing autopay (probably because if I have to make a deliberate payment every three months it helps me keep track of things), but I do have some loyalty and rewards and some for referring someone else -- so that would account for the taxes.  Thanks!

Tirzin
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

   Thanks, Sheytoon. Yes, it must be the rewards that counter the taxes, which would be why I thought it was must a flat rate $120.

   I was tempted to switch to get the Canada-wide calling, but the unthrottled 4G and the guaranteed locked in price seem like good reasons to stay put.

@Tirzin  You can alway check your download speed to really determine your data speed, but you will be wasting some data for sure.  I do not recommend testing data speed too often.  Still likley 4G

 

Are you on autopay?  Every plan needs to pay taxes.  Your plan cost should be $120 + taxes.  If you live in Alberta, 5% tax would be $126.  With autopay of $6 credit every three months, you will be paying $120 exactly.  Check your payment summary and it should show more details.  

 

For you, basically same cost.  Canada wide calling verus provincial.  Extra 0.5 GB of 3G data versus Lte data. 

@Tirzin, I'm on the same grandfathered plan.

 

1. Old plan is 4G speed (unthrottled LTE)

2. New plan is 30 days only (not monthly or 90 days)

3. This would be my biggest reason to keep the old plan. The new one is subject to change. In my opinion the grandfathered plan will not be changed in the future.

 

Taxes are always extra. Perhaps you have some discounts applied that reduce the price and then it comes out to $120 after tax. It would be no different on the new plan.

 

In my opinion I would never switch because of reason 3.

Tirzin
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

Thanks, Dunkman, for the insight. I did check my plan details, but it just says 12GB, not whether it is 3G or 4G.

 

Another thought is that $120 plan just costs me exactly that each time; however, I noticed that it says "taxes extra" or "does not include taxes" or something like that for the new plan, so it could be an extra $6.00 for the equivalent three month time period. Not that $2.00 a month is huge, especially with the Canada-wide talk, but it's maybe worth a mention.

@Tirzin

1.  Probably 4G if it was an older promo.  The recent promos have been mostly 3G.  Can you check your self-service account and check your plan details?

2.  The present promo is only month to month from my understanding.

3.  The price is guaranteed, but Public Mobile does reserve the right to increaese in future.  But, with the early year backlash increase of the popular 4G plan and subsequent withdrawal of increase, likely no increase in the near future, but who knows.  

Tirzin
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

So I am currently on the earlier promo plan of Three Months for $120 for 12 GB of data and unlimited province-wide talk.

Obviously I am tempted to switch to the new $40 for 4.5 GB and Canada-wide talk. However I have a couple of questions.

1. Does anyone know if the plan I am currently on is 4G or 3G?

2. Can the new plan, like a number of others, be taken in 3 month periods or month-by-month only?

3. The $120 for 3 month plan is quaranteed against price increases for as long you one stays with the plan. Does the same go for the new plan?

Lots of questions, but all key items, I think. Thanks to anyone who can a shed a little more light on this for me.

@reidt, you're right. It's called circuit-switched fallback (CSFB). Public Mobile currently doesn't support Voice over LTE (VoLTE).

srlawren
Retired Oracle / Oracle Retraité

@reidt that's more-or-less correct.  It's important to remember too that what Public Mobile calls "3G"-speed data plans are stil delivered over LTE, just artificially limited to what they consider to be a "3G-like" speed [in fact, it's actually quite a bit slower than is possible on an actual 3G data connection, but that's another story].  


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reidt
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

I was told by a cell technician that the voice for cellular calls, all use the 3G network.   Even if you are locked on a 4G network when call comes in (or out) your phone will be switched automatiically to the 3G network without you even knowing or having to do anything.   The 4G is only used for data transmissions, so in short switching from 4G to 3G will have no effect on your cellular service.

cltrecartin
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

I personally have never seen any difference when it comes to call quality/drops when it comes to 3G versus other frequencies. Some areas are bound to have dead spots. Where the frequency is a physical signal, sometimes it can get lost in basements, warehouses, etc. Think of it as a radio. The farther away you are, and the thicker the walls in between, the weaker will signal will become.

 

The difference on network data speeds, though, is entirely more noticeable. 3G certainly makes streaming possible (and even enjoyable), but it isn't as blazing fast as LTE/4G.

I know of no London Drug locations anywhere near me.  Sounds like I might like to find one.

lstokes
Great Citizen / Super Citoyen

We technically don't launch until the 11th but all the stores can do everything already. I'm definitely biased but I usually find better customer service there as opposed to Walmart or Best Buy. So if you live on the West, it's a better choice for sure.

 

Liam

Ah...i did not know distribution had expanded.  Would love to have a complete and updated list!

 

Right now, I only have access to Wal-mart who I refuse to shop at, and WoW Mobile who wouldn’t sell me a Koodo phone outright, without activating a new plan....

 

Hard to find good place to shop.


@lstokes wrote:

Hi there,

 

@stonechucker, Thanks for the heads up. I wasn't sure if Public made some plans not available to current customers. My company, London Drugs, just started selling Public so it's helpful to have any/all in

 

Cheers,

 

Liam


Yes, London Drugs and Koodo Authorised Dealers are the new retail partners in addition to Walmart/Wow/K-mobile. We were told this a few days ago. I am not sure if they will make an official announcement regarding this. 

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lstokes
Great Citizen / Super Citoyen

Hi there,

 

@stonechucker, Thanks for the heads up. I wasn't sure if Public made some plans not available to current customers. My company, London Drugs, just started selling Public so it's helpful to have any/all in

 

Cheers,

 

Liam

@lstokes, um...careful there.  I’m not sure how long you’ve been here.

 

The first Promo, the Fall 2016, $120 For 90 days Province talk, global txt, and 12 GB data was very good.  That promo, those who missed it, were waiting a long time for it to come back.  When it did comeback, it wasn’t now availablee to current customers.  There were ways around it, however, it cost you either your current phone number, or a hassle to port to the required carrier, then port back in with a new account here, losing any rewards you previously had.

 

Ive scheduled a change to the new plan and it’s to happen on Sept 7.  I’m not fully decided if I want to change to 30 day payments (is easier, but I’m switching to a slow plan with extra calling ability).  But at the same time, my average usage is about 2,5 a month, but pne month.  So, tough call.

 

Im also seeing issues where I may or may not be missing rewards since my future dated plan has been setup.

 

Anyway..once a plan is no longer offered, and you switch to another plan, you can no longer switch back to what you used to have.  So plan changes are a tricky thing when you’ve got a really good promo.

lstokes
Great Citizen / Super Citoyen

Hi there,

 

Thats a very good point about the 90 day vs 30 day data flexibility. I don't believe there is currently as good of a value at 90 days right now unfortunately. Worst comes to worse, you can switch at a back to school or Chistmas deal.

 

Cheers,

 

Liam


@lstokes wrote:

Hi there,

 

I would essentially boil it down to if you call long distance or not. If you do, then the switch makes sense. The data speed won't effect the reception. Now if you need more data, there is a 5.5GB 3G for $45. So personally, I would make the switch. I have family around the country.

 

Cheers,

 

Liam


+1 on the Canada wide calling vs province wide calling.  The other thing to consider is the typical monthly data usage and whether the flexibility of having 12 gigs to use over 90 days is comparable to 4.5 gigs over 30 days.  Over the year and a half that I have been on the 2016 fall promo, my average usage has been about 3 gigs per 30 days, peak usage was 5.5 gigs.  My average usage was low enough that the 5.5 gig peak had no material effect on that particular 90 day cycle.  This demonstrates the flexibility of the fall promo plan.  Of course, the analogy falls apart if usage was closer to 4 gigs per 30 days.  Long story short, in my case, I don't believe the extra 500 megs is enough to make me switch.  If the offer was 5-6 gigs over 30 days, perhaps that would get me out of my chair.  Maybe a good back to school or boxing week offer with this amount of data is in the cards. 

lstokes
Great Citizen / Super Citoyen

Hi there,

 

I would essentially boil it down to if you call long distance or not. If you do, then the switch makes sense. The data speed won't effect the reception. Now if you need more data, there is a 5.5GB 3G for $45. So personally, I would make the switch. I have family around the country.

 

Cheers,

 

Liam

ShawnC13
Oracle
Oracle

@Adrian03 wrote:

 

Hi there,

 

I would like some advices regarding my current plan (12 GB x 3 months $40 Province-Wide) to switch to (4.5 GB x months 3G download speed Canada-Wide). Promotion end July 9th.

 

I know that LTE or 4G is the best current signal, but my doubt is this 3G download speed will affect only the internet speed or could it affect my strong signal (I never lost a call or text) that I have such as going in elevators, parking, basement, etc? I had this issues with Freedom before.

 

Thank you for your cooperation.

 

Adrian

 

 


The "internet/data" speed of your plan won't affect your reception.  You will still be connected to the same network for calling and data just at a throttled speed.  Consider if you had talk and text only and no data that doesn't affect your reception either.

 


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kav2001c
Mayor / Maire

Public 3G plans will never have the issues associated with Freedom plans

Apples (speeds) & Oranges (network)


Your Public signal will be just as strong on either plan

The main issue as to value is whether you make alot of long distance calls or you need higher bandwidth to do things like stream video

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