How is coverage in York Region Area and the GTA

[Itsmynumber]

I don't use my phone much or consistently.  If their network is not strong or stable I would not know.  It would be horrible if I cannot make a phone call out when I make a call for the first time ever, if ever.  Similarly, it would not be funny, if people cannot get in touch with me when they call.  No one really calls me either because they know I don't like talking on the phone.  I am trying public mobile because it's cheaper and offers a little more.

Does anyone know if their network is strong and stable in the York Region and Greater Toronto Area.  I don't want to have text message not going through and not being able to make or receive calls.

I know that their website and promotion say I should be able to receive calls anywhere in Canada. I was attracted to the unlimited incoming anywhere in Canada but are they able to deliver the services they are promoting?

I tend to miss calls and am not one to sit around all day waiting for someone to call me.

I am still waiting for my existing number to be transferred to this provider.  I think there may be a hold up because I already prepaid for the entire month with my current/soon to be former provider.  I have lots of left over minutes I haven't used.  I was saving them because you never know how long you might have to wait listening to wait time music sometimes.

Sorry about the ramble.  Does anyone know if coverage is good in the York Region and Greater Toronto Area?  How well is coverage in Ontario.

It's hard to browse the forum on my cell phone.  Is there a thread somewhere with a map showing good coverage and bad coverage area in Canada?

If their coverage is not good then this was all for nothing.

[ShaTR]

I'll pass but thanks. I'm just saying it's basically the same as Rogers in this area. My family leaves lte on, they have the same experience. It's not broken, don't need to fix it. 

[GinYVR]

@ShaTR You should check out the cell phone tower maps for your particular area. Obviously if you are closer to one, the better your reception will be. The problem with keeping in 3G mode is the band frequencies might be different than LTE.. so you will have variance in penetration of signal especially low frequency ones when you are in door. Also note because PM's LTE is throttled, the power variance between LTE and 3G should be smaller.. than say flagship brands like Rogers or Telus.

[Itsmynumber]

The coverage is decent. So far, I've been using my minutes to check voicemail.  I answer incoming calls when I notice them.  No drop call. I hung up on my friend a few times.  Call back works.

[ShaTR]

FWIW, i've had PM for a few months now. Coming from Rogers, who i was with since they were Cantel AT&T. My experience thus far;

1. Penetration is better at my community center gym, which is in a basement at bathurst and rutherford. Not fast by any means, but a bit better than i had with Rogers.

2. Dead/weak spots near my house seem to be the same spots (one street in specific), but not maybe marginally better. Might get 1 bar at least, so guess its better than nothing. I suspect the local rogers and bellus towers are in the same general location.

3. During busy hours in busy locations, data is faster than on rogers. So bellus towers seem less conjested or maybe just have more capacity. 

4. overall i see more full signal compared to when i had rogers.

Discalimer: I have always put my phone (oneplus one) on 3g to save data and battery life, but i'm going to assume the above applies to LTE as well.

ps. This is my experience mostly between Woodbridge, Thornhill and Rexdale areas (home, community center and work).

[duffer900]

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@Itsmynumber wrote:

OK well. I ported my number over.  I hold onto my phone when I go out but I don't really want to answer my phone when I am out and about.

When I do want to talk, I really don't know who to call.  A bunch of ignorers.

At least I know I am paying a little less and was promised to have a little more service that I probably won't use.

Thanks for all your support!

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Welcome to Public Mobile. I think you will find the coverage is great.

I hope the ignorers start to answer your calls 🙂

[Itsmynumber]

OK well. I ported my number over.  I hold onto my phone when I go out but I don't really want to answer my phone when I am out and about.

When I do want to talk, I really don't know who to call.  A bunch of ignorers.

At least I know I am paying a little less and was promised to have a little more service that I probably won't use.

Thanks for all your support!

[Roger3]

I regularly go to YR and have grate reception at all times.

[ChallengerOwner]

Hey I live in Toronto and so far the service isnt too bad. I have a friend who also lives in Toronto and they travel alot to a few of the outer cities and they say they have some decent coverage as well. Cities/places they go to: wasaga, blue mountain, Cornwall, Hamilton and some other random places and they say they have no dropped calls and no problems. 

Hope that helps.  

[will13am]

There is only 2.5 cellular networks in this country.  I give a generous 0.5 for the Freedom network which is really only regional and not country wide.  In the GTA, the Bellus network which this service runs on is arguably better than the Rogers network.  There will always be local performance variations.

[dna2016]

Hi @Itsmynumber and welcome to PM.  Regarding the PM network in general, it is owned by one of the big 3 companies in all of Canada, Telus, so they use the Telus network/towers.  Which means their service is pretty much top notch, probably 2nd to none.  So I don't think you'll have anything to worry about. 

So far I've never had a dropped call, I pretty much get 3 bars or more in signal strength everywhere I've gone and I am all over the GTA. 

[missorange]

I am in GTA area, and with PM for half year, I can say that the signal is good. 

[geopublic]

@Itsmynumber  Coverage in YR and the GTA is very good. If your previous provider was Telus, Koodo, Bell, Virgin or Lucky it would be the same coverage because they all share the same network.

If your previous provider was Rogers, Fido, Speakout or Chatr then that would be on the Rogers network.

In my experience both networks provide good coverage in this area so I dont see any issues 

My recommendation when activating would be to use a temp PM number before porting. This way you get to test drive the Network before deciding. If you are happy you can then setup the port via your account online.

Hope this helps.

[Juiceton12345]

I just had a quick look at the coverage map and Ontario looks to be WELL covered. Try zooming into your specific location and see what it shows. https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/on/coverage

I live in a pretty rural area and i have no problem whatsoever. I'd go as far as to say i didn't even notice anything about the transition from my previous phone service provider to public mobile. Im getting the same service and quality for way less.

From the looks of it, you should be fine.

[Triguy]

Here is  an article about network sharing  with all the details:

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Discussions/Network-sharing-explained/td-p/129092

Here's a good map of the providers.

https://www.ertyu.org/steven_nikkel/cancellsites.html

[mojorising]

It's much much better than Freedom Mobile!

[computergeek541]

@Itsmynumber, no carrier can guarantee coverage everwhere, but what I can tell you that coverage is provided by Telus, with, in theory, only a slight difference in voice signal area due to the fact that Public Mobile does not support phone calls over the LTE network.  Beisdes, this isn't Freedom Mobile we're talking about. 

[MandyJ]

As written on the coverage maps page,

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Public Mobile is on Canada’s largest mobile network. That means from coast to coast you won’t be able to escape your grandmother’s calls. Or your mother’s. Or your great-uncle’s.

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I'm a new customer myself, so I can't really speak to the reliability, but according to the coverage map, Southern Ontario is looking pretty solidly covered. 🙂

Edit: Link to the coverage map if you want to take a look for yourself: https://www.publicmobile.ca/coverage

[Anonymous]

 @Itsmynumber 

Bottom of this page for a link to the Coverage Maps.

Public Mobile is owned by Telus and run on Telus infrastructure. Telus and Bell have agreements to run their customers on the others' infrastructure.