Any response to Freedom or Koodo adding lots more data to their plans?

[ghelper]

Recently, Freedom has very good deals with lots of data like $35 11GB. Even Koodo is adding 5GB per month for its customers for free in response. This makes PM plans much more expensive since $35 only gives 2.5GB at 3G and not shock-free data too. No amount of monthly rewards can compare for $35 11GB and it is not competitive to loyal customers. 

[computergeek541]

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@JLakerson wrote:

@ghelper 

I've been with both Freedom & Koodo before and I can say that the Freedom network is quite terrible.

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Freedom has actually filled in quite a few of the network gaps, but yeah, it's still pretty bad. They would rather have people believe that the network problems were mainly with indoor and underground coverage, and while that is true, they had/still have many places in major cities (Toronto) that still do not have any outdoor coverage.

[JLakerson]

@ghelper 

I've been with both Freedom & Koodo before and I can say that the Freedom network is quite terrible. They had a good amount of data for a super cheap price which is why I had signed up with them in the first place. But, I did not stay with them for long as I constantly had issues with incoming calls, outgoing calls, incoming text messages, outgoing text messages, and accessing data. I was living in a fairly busy city too. They may have really cheap plans, but you really get what you pay for...

Koodo on the otherhand is great. The only reason why I switched to PM is because PM has better offers for someone who doesn't need a lot of data. I was paying $40 with Koodo for the same thing as I'm getting now and my bill is currently $28 with autopay. Koodo & PM operate under the Telus network, so they aren't each other's competition per se.

[Korth]

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@computergeek541 wrote:

Yes, because Public Mobile will copy almost anything that Lucky Mobile does

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Public Mobile still hasn't copied Lucky's "Unlimited" data. Indeed, PM is now the only Telus/Bell/Rogers/Shaw brand which doesn't support an unlimited data.

Unlimited 128/64kbps would be useful for some niche things (including emergencies, low-bandwidth communication modes, accessing PM Self-Serve to buy more data, chatting with Simon).

But it's too slow and frustrating and basically useless for most apps, websites, social media, gaming, and streaming.

It does have high value as a marketing instrument, though - people who believe slow "Unlimited" data has value will choose Lucky instead of choosing PM.

[SomeFriend]

@AE_Collector I’d be already quite happy if it was bumped to 10mbps, or even 5mbps.  You can already stream 1080p YouTube with 5mbps (barely, but perfectly workable).

Public Mobile isn’t good for high data usage.  I currently get my $10 and $15 lines at no cost but I would definitely port out the second they get rid of referral rewards...  or maybe even sooner if the other carriers start reducing prices on plans with less data at less cost.  I’d like to have more data to be honest, but I wouldn’t do it with Public Mobile.

[will13am]

My favorite saying about getting this service for what it is and not what you wish it to be applies here.  Why bother grovelling for a "price match" if a competing brand is already offering a deal?  Change comes with customers fleeing like rats on a sinking ship.  That said, we are not here for big gig plans.  We like the rewards and low overall monthly fees.  

[Korth]

@ghelper 

Read the fine print. At the Freedom Mobile site. Not at a useless parrot site like mobilesyrup.

Freedom Mobile:

$35 per month, Unlimited Canada-Wide Talk, Unlimited Global Text, and 1GB of Data. (Actually $40 per month unless you have a valid Digital Discount Code, submit a valid credit card to setup Auto Pay, BYOD, and activate in-store only, "Conditions Apply".)

Plus 10GB Bonus Data, a one-time signup bonus.

It's brazenly advertised as "11GB" but the real name of the plan is "Freedom 1GB".

Public Mobile:

$35 per 30-days, Unlimited Canada-Wide Talk, Unlimited International Text, and 2GB of "3G" Data. ($33 per 30-days and 2.5GB of "3G" Data with AutoPay option enabled.)

So PM comes out ahead after 180 days (or after 150 days with AutoPay), at least 1GB (or 1.5GB) more data every month (except sometimes February, lol) than this Freedom counterpart. And PM costs less with AutoPay or other Rewards. And PM has a nation-wide network which actually spans nation-wide, you can access your Data anywhere without worrying about "zones". And PM never applies any fees or charges for all the incidental account-oriented and service-oriented things Freedom will happily nickle-and-dime away.

(Don't forget that Freedom charges a $30 activation fee on all new lines and $20 for their SIM card. Compared vs PM $10 SIM card. You could even use this $50 price difference to buy 3.2GB worth of PM Data add-ons, allowing PM's plan to provide more total data at lower total cost after just 90 days.)

And don't forget that PM recently gave (almost) everybody a free 5GB Data add-on (along with a free 1000-minutes Canada-Wide Talk add-on) as a response.

https://www.freedommobile.ca/en-CA/bring-your-own-phone?planSku=Freedom%201GB

[AE_Collector]

As everyone gets less expensive or offers more data for same price, PM cant help but Come out looking like less of a bargain. A 25% savings on a $50 plan looks much more appealing than a 25% savings on a $25 plan for example.

PM needs a bit of a Block Buster upgrade soon. One day it will likely be to 4G but not any time soon. But they could bump to a 10, 15 or 25 Mb cap instead of 3 Mb. They could add some data across the board but they just finished re-aligning all the plans to 1, 2, 4 & 8 Gb which slightly lowered the $35 and $40 plan values. Maybe adding “Unlimited Slower than Molasses” Data like their competition has done?

Hoping for some Big Black Friday Deals for sure this year.... last year turned out well all in all.

AE_Collector 

[computergeek541]

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@NDesai wrote:

Anyone remember those days when they used to battle with Freedom? It did not end well, but it was fun to see both going at each other. Since then, PM shifted to 3G only carrier and consider themselves as a pure 3G carrier. It looks like they like to keep things stable and as-is. They no longer get involved in the market as often as they used to by offering some good promotions unlike the $x off for x months offers which are not so attractive. If they really want to grow, they have to offer interesting promotions. So far, it does not look like they will do anytime soon 😞 unless Lucky Mobile chimes in.

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Yes, because Public Mobile will copy almost anything that Lucky Mobile does

[computergeek541]

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@AE_Collector wrote:

Not completely true that “No amount of rewards can compare to$35 for 11 Gb of data”. My plan is free because of rewards. But, yeah I don't have 11 Gb of data but I don't pay $35.

AE_Collector

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You're completely right that free is the best price, but when it comes to refer-a-friend rewards, giving the new customer a $10 credit and the referring customer $1 per 30 days costs Public Mobile next to nothing. Public Mobile really doesn't care if they give you or anyone else 50 different $1 refer-a-friend credits totaling $50 or if it's given to 50 different customers at $1 each. Don't even get me started on the number of lost referrals in recent months, espcially from sign ups from a 6x$10 disocunt from earlier in the year (most of those referrals are gone on one account).  Public Mobile has been in a rut when it comes to the price plans being offered and I'm sure Public is well aware that I've recently been calling them out on that.

[NDesai]

Anyone remember those days when they used to battle with Freedom? It did not end well, but it was fun to see both going at each other. Since then, PM shifted to 3G only carrier and consider themselves as a pure 3G carrier. It looks like they like to keep things stable and as-is. They no longer get involved in the market as often as they used to by offering some good promotions unlike the $x off for x months offers which are not so attractive. If they really want to grow, they have to offer interesting promotions. So far, it does not look like they will do anytime soon 😞 unless Lucky Mobile chimes in.

[Dunkman]

@ghelper 

Public mobile competes against Lucky mobile/Chatr - tier 3 companies.  Rarely competes against Freedom mobile.  If you need more data with your plans (>5 GB/month), Public mobile likely will not meet your needs.  

In my opinion, it seems that Public mobile has not been as attractive with their offerings and promotions the last while. Other companies like Shaw mobile, Zoom and Freedom have been offering more competitive deals.  

[AE_Collector]

Not completely true that “No amount of rewards can compare to $35 for 11 Gb of data”. My plan is free because of rewards. But, yeah I don't have 11 Gb of data but I don't pay $35.

PM has definitely become more competitive over the last two years I have been here. I started with $30 for 1/2 Gb that eventually became $25 for 1 Gb. But yeah, PM has been losing ground lately with some of the other promotions and plans happening out there. I think PM will continue to improve but they tend to wait until special promotions finally become the actual regular price instead of jumping up and down in price for a couple of years Before hand.

AE_Collector

[computergeek541]

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@ghelper wrote:

Recently, Freedom has very good deals with lots of data like $35 11GB. Even Koodo is adding 5GB per month for its customers for free in response. This makes PM plans much more expensive since $35 only gives 2.5GB at 3G and not shock-free data too. No amount of monthly rewards can compare for $35 11GB and it is not competitive to loyal customers. 

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Public Mobile reacted to Shaw Mobile, but only in the western part of Canada by giving away free data to some customers.

Other than that, I would say that Public Mobile has been going in reverse. They had a $30 plan but put it back up to $35. At that $35 price point, they adding another 0.5GB, but decreased the amount of data included in the more popular $40 plan.

[JoyLuck]

@ghelper 

Have you seen the reviews on Freedom? PM does not have to compete with Koodo since they are both owned by Telus.

https://ca.trustpilot.com/review/www.freedommobile.ca