Do you think Public Mobile will ever transition from 3G speeds to LTE speeds?

[BasesLoadedWalk]

Hey Everyone,

I was just wondering if anyone else thinks that at some point in the future if Public Mobile will transition their speeds from 3G to LTE once the main carriers have mostly moved onto 5G speeds and that becomes the mainstream. I am aware that the 3G speeds now technically are LTE connections with a 3Mbps speed cap. Basically, will Public Mobile just have their speeds 1 generation/tier below the top speed/network tier? When LTE was the top network connection, 3G was just once level below, but now with 5G making it's way to be the norm, the 3G connection is falling to 2 levels below the top.

[BasesLoadedWalk]

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@computergeek541 wrote:We're already seeing 20GB plans with calls and texts for about $45 at other carriers, often as migration/competitive response offers. Public Mobile's plans have been very bad lagging behind for much of the year.  I see Public Mobile customers as mainly signing up because they either don't want to have postpaid service (ie. credit check and overage fees) or because of the Public Mobile rewards.

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I have a main line TELUS line for business, but use the Public Mobile line for personal line. I went with Public Mobile because of the rewards, but as the 1st and 2nd tier carries seem to be getting better deals lately, it's getting close to the tipping point where 3rd tier carries like Public could become obsolete. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if within 1-2 years TELUS and the other carries either discontinue the 3rd tier brands.

[computergeek541]

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@gpixel wrote:

@BasesLoadedWalk at&t is decommissioning HSPA in 2022. I think T-Mobile has already started 2 years ago. I would imagine telus/bell will also do the same thing in a year or two after. 

I'm pretty sure 20gb is going to be the new gold standard. what will public come up with? the 2nd tier looks like they wanna take out the competition (3rd tier)

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We're already seeing 20GB plans with calls and texts for about $45 at other carriers, often as migration/competitive response offers. Public Mobile's plans have been very bad lagging behind for much of the year.  I see Public Mobile customers as mainly signing up because they either don't want to have postpaid service (ie. credit check and overage fees) or because of the Public Mobile rewards.

[gpixel]

@BasesLoadedWalk at&t is decommissioning HSPA in 2022. I think T-Mobile has already started 2 years ago. I would imagine telus/bell will also do the same thing in a year or two after. 

I'm pretty sure 20gb is going to be the new gold standard. what will public come up with? the 2nd tier looks like they wanna take out the competition (3rd tier)

[BasesLoadedWalk]

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@computergeek541 wrote:Even if Public Mobile does eventually allow customers to connect to the 5g network, I fully expect that it will be some type of speed-reduced service. 

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Eventually it will be cost prohibitive of Telus to continue to maintain the HSPA network and it will eventually get decommissioned.  One would think so anyway. I hear that 5G is a cheaper and more efficient network to run anyway, so 1 GB on the HSPA network costs them more than moving 1 GB on 5G. It's in Telus' best interest to transition the networks eventually.

[computergeek541]

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@stevenanto wrote:

I think we are a few years away from that. need to wait until 5g is the new norm and maybe by then we will get bumped but the pricing of plans may also change, still kinda early to tell for now. 

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Even if Public Mobile does eventually allow customers to connect to the 5g network, I fully expect that it will be some type of speed-reduced service. 

[stevenanto]

I think we are a few years away from that. need to wait until 5g is the new norm and maybe by then we will get bumped but the pricing of plans may also change, still kinda early to tell for now. 

[darlicious]

@BasesLoadedWalk 

Luckily if i have that issue i just use my other $10 50/50 account and its full 4G LTE* speed to handle that kind of task. 😉

*I did say eventually I see pm offering this option again.

[BasesLoadedWalk]

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@darlicious wrote:

@BasesLoadedWalk 

Yes but how much faster do you need to download a movie? To your phone? There will always be people that want bigger, faster, shinier and that is their choice to the glee of the bean counters who answer to the shareholders and need to justify to the federal government the high fees.

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I don't know many people who will use up their data bucket to download a movie. I'm even cautious about using any video streaming services on mobile data.

However, the point is that in day to day, regular use, 3Mbps is starting to show it's age...even on just standard websites. A lot of business on today's internet is cloud based, so downloading pdf's, document files, pictures, etc chug along at 3 Mbps.

[darlicious]

@BasesLoadedWalk 

Yes but how much faster do you need to download a movie? To your phone? There will always be people that want bigger, faster, shinier and that is their choice to the glee of the bean counters who answer to the shareholders and need to justify to the federal government the high fees.

[BasesLoadedWalk]

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@darlicious wrote:

@BasesLoadedWalk 

5G is the big three's sucker network no one really needs those speeds

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In 1999 when I got cable internet, I remember people saying the same thing about "who needs 1 Mbps when 128 kpbs ADSL loads websites just fine". (Keep in mind, in the late 90's websites were primarily mostly text based).

[BasesLoadedWalk]

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@MarcGSR wrote:

@Asher2 why do you prefer the 3G network over LTE? You mention latency.

Is 3mbps, that PM offers, not enough while on the go? Light web browsing/reading, podcasts/music streaming, push notifications/email. Reserve your heavy downloading like app updates and HD video viewing for when you're on WiFI at home/work.

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As someone already mentioned, even Websites are getting more and more data intensive, so 3Mpbs is starting to show it's age and becoming a bit clunky. I'd be fine if that could be upped to even 10Mbps. There are also times where I'm trying to show people photos from my cloud storage and that takes a while with Public compared to a full LTE connection.

[gpixel]

@MarcGSR I was having issues with losing my LTE connection in and around the house. it would show a good signal 3-4 bars, but have no connection. I've since factory reset my device and it's been better. I've even been seeing LTE+ more often again. I would have to say at pm, HSPA/3g is the more consistent and stable network. 

[darlicious]

@BasesLoadedWalk 

5G is the big three's sucker network no one really needs those speeds ( industry maybe)  its just another keeping up with the jones' or maybe the kardashians marketing tactic. Its their way to justify keeping mobile and internet prices high and the shareholders happy. Telus customers get 5G, koodo gets 4G and pubilc mobile gets what they have....they may offer the choice of 4G LTE throttled and full 4G LTE as some of its customers still have in their grandfathered plans and to keep a larger portion of their customer base. Theres no point in offering bigger and better and more expensive to pm customers when an attractive migration offer does that trick with no additional investment in "infastructure". 

.

How about speculating on when they will fix the autopay bug or the lost/stolen rewards glitch?

[computergeek541]

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@MarcGSR wrote:

@computergeek541 Speeds aside, from your experience, does LTE or 3G offer a more stable network? Or does it depend more on the carrier than the actual network technology?

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Stable network:  LTE, whether that's because of better handling of customer capacity or because of potential 700MHz frequencies

Unfortunatley, for phone calls, the HSPA network must be used, so there's no choice about network when it comes to voice.

[Asher2]

I just prefer it because 3mbps is showing its age. And even if the 3mbps is enough for browsing and stuff like that, switching to 3G isn’t a problem right? It’s still the same but with faster speeds, even if its the same, I would still rather have a faster network rather then a throttled network.

[MarcGSR]

@computergeek541 Speeds aside, from your experience, does LTE or 3G offer a more stable network? Or does it depend more on the carrier than the actual network technology?

[computergeek541]

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@MarcGSR wrote:

@Asher2 why do you prefer the 3G network over LTE? You mention latency.

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The LTE network usually has less of a delay/latency.  It also tends to be more consistent.

[MarcGSR]

@Asher2 why do you prefer the 3G network over LTE? You mention latency.

Is 3mbps, that PM offers, not enough while on the go? Light web browsing/reading, podcasts/music streaming, push notifications/email. Reserve your heavy downloading like app updates and HD video viewing for when you're on WiFI at home/work.

[Asher2]

Yea. I agree, the 3mbps throttle is very bad. Until Public Mobile finds a way to un-throttle the speeds (if they ever do) , I will stay on the 3G network, where I average 20mbps speeds, I probably average 20mbps because I live in the GTA. 

The latency is still a problem but its still better then the LTE.

[gpixel]

I don't think we'll see full LTE speeds, they need to keep costs down... we would probably see a higher throttle + volte.

this 3mb throttle is starting to show it's age. webpage content has increased and is slowing down load times. the inconsistency is becoming quite cumbersome.

[popping]

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@Anonymous wrote:

How is there a solution to a speculating discussion? No one other than the company knows.

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Agree.  There is no solution for this thread until a few years down the road after Telus and Bell decided to turn off the 3G transmitters and repurpose the 3G frequency band(s) for 5G or LTE.  Even then, we may be still on the LTE capped to 3Mbps service.

But if Lucky and/or Chatr offer a better data service, PM will match what ever offered by tier 3 competitors.  We know that PM may not always match all other providers' offer.  No unlimited data at very very slooooow data speed is an example.  YMMV.

[Anonymous]

How is there a solution to a speculating discussion? No one other than the company knows.

[softech]

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@BasesLoadedWalk wrote:

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Or maybe Telus will have the 5G, Koodo the LTE, and Public the 3G. Each has their own network connection level.

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Given PM is now actually using LTE with capped speed.. i anticipate if an "upgrade" ever comes to Public .. it will be on a 5G capped speed as well (haha.. just hope not 5G capped at 3G speed.. LoL) .. it's easier to maintain and most importantly.. it's Cheaper to maintain..

[BasesLoadedWalk]

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@softech wrote:

I think Telus try to make it a solid difference between Koodo and PM.. that would mean Koodo in full 5G before PM will ever "upgrade"

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Or maybe Telus will have the 5G, Koodo the LTE, and Public the 3G. Each has their own network connection level.

[softech]

i would think so  when 5G is finally the standard, then PM will "move up" the ladder.  but that would mean.. another 2 or 3 years, i think

I think Telus try to make it a solid difference between Koodo and PM.. that would mean Koodo in full 5G before PM will ever "upgrade"

However, I also think.. in 2 or 3 years.. maybe Telus (as well as Rogers and Bell) might re-design its 3 tiers game .. they will probably see if PM makes enough money to exist by itself.. maybe the telecom price comes down a bit (CRTC has been trying to make them cut the price a bit as we all know Canadian phone plans are one of the more $$$)  and it makes no more sense to keep this 3 tiers game ??