PM Popularity

[jamsham]

Why is PM not as popular or well known as other small-time service providers like koodo virgin and whatnot? Do they not do any advertising? I would think with these prices and offers many people would buy these plans for their kids or themselves if they need frugal plans. Very odd to me that it isn't super popular.

[ty_89]

The first time I heard of PM is when London Drugs did a full page Ad in the news paper and that they had a $10 limited time plan so I Checked there website and decided to go to London Drugs They had a Little info booth there with the plans there that I didnt ever see and places like Walmart 

[torontokris]

PM is not for those who go to the mall looking to buy a phone from a retail store.  No stores mean less well known. Nor for the person who need voice phone support etc. 

Also I find people still thinking that PM is bad reception (a generalization from the days of their own network etc).

PM is for those who search out a deal (like rfders) those willing to forgo some support, get their own phone.

[will13am]

---

@Jarvar wrote:

@poppingI completely agree. I made a change request last night and I was contacted by a moderator this morning to make sure everything was in order. It's the first time I required assistance after getting activated in a kiosk. It took some time. On the other hand, my spouses mobile which I just ported over didn't have Canada wide calling, so I put in a request when I got home from activating it in the boutique today. I am still waiting on the request to be complete. It can be a lengthier process than calling in. However, I noticed that Koodo's call in Centre had regular working hours as well, not 24/7 or else I could be mistaken.

The other thing I am concerned about is the coverage. I have read some people mention they lost recepting while driving through the Manitoba corridor as well as in Northern Ontario. We are planning to take a road trip out East and comparing the coverage maps of Public Mobile and Koodo shows a slight edge to the higher tier carriers, but only slightly. 

I'll have to wait and see how much coverage there is out there. It's not a business trip so reception isn't vital, although it would be good to be able to access Google Maps and other GPS mapping services while there or making, checking and finding reservations or points of interest while out there.

I am trying to remind myself not to automatically pay more out of fear that there will be poor coverage out there. If the reception is lacking, then I will figure it out then rather than just paying more up front. I used to think that Rogers was supposed to get the best coverage even though most of the time I was in a major metropolitan so it most likely didn't make that big of a difference. I'll have to wait and see how Public Mobile stacks up to some of the others. It seems to be holding up well so far though.

---

You probably read about my posts on coverage across northern Ontario over to Manitoba.  Nobody has good coverage in northern Ontario.  Dead spots are to be expected up in God's country.  That said, Rogers/Tbaytel is the best of the rest.

With respect to Manitoba, prior to Bell purchasing MTS, Telus coverage in Manitoba was non existent.  Now that the MTS  network has been blended into the Bellus network, there is no brand that offers better coverage. 

[GreatCanadian]

Yes I used to use roam mobility as well. Now I find they've gotten more expensive than just buying an unlimited local sim.

As for maps, I'm a bit of a map freak but nowadays I just use Google Maps for travel. 

GC 

[Jarvar]

@GreatCanadian Thank you for the reminder to download my maps ahead of time. I do have LTE Lite Data with PM, but it's been a while since we've gone on a real road trip longer than a day.

It reminds of when we were driving back from Florida a few years ago. I think I had a Roam Mobility SIM at the time and we lost service through a large stretch of mountainous landscapes in Pennsylvania, the GPS program WAZe at the time still showed the map, but wouldn't update if I made a stop along the way. I think Roam Mobility was partnered with T-Mobile to provide service in the U.S.

[srlawren]

Been seeing PM ads in various SkyTrain stations (mostly on the monitors on the Expo line) in the greater Vancouver area recently.  I've also seen a few print ads [edit: posters/billboards] but for the life of me I can't remember where exactly now.  

[GreatCanadian]

@Jarvar sorry, can't help with those provinces. I was wondering if you were traveling to Newfoundland as I could advise you on that. Don't forget you can download your maps ahead of time and use your GPS 

GC 

[Jarvar]

@GreatCanadian Maybe all the way out to PEI. looks like they have coverage out there. I don't think I will make it out to Newfoundland though. Any experience with reception and cellular coverage through Eastern Quebec, New Brunswick and PEI? Map shows most service is along the major roads and city centres. Main place that looks concerning is the stretch of highway on the 1 and 2 between Edmunston and Grand Falls or Caswell in New Brunswick. The pass on the 108 looks barren, but the major roads going down to Fredricton and Moncton look well covered.

[GreatCanadian]

---

@Jarvar wrote:

We are planning to take a road trip out East..... 

---

Where out east in particular? 

GC 

[Jarvar]

@SD08 I don't go on the public transit in the GTA much lately nor do I have a cable subscription. However, the name Public Mobile doesn't seem altogether foreign to me. I don't know where I heard of it before. Nonetheless, just before joining Public Mobile I asked some friends if anyone had ever heard or had any dealings with them. The only one who replied was a friend whose mother was using Public Mobile in Montreal. Apparently she's been using it for years now and doesn't require a data plan and doesn't know how to use the texting feature. I don't know how she would've heard about it since the sign up and setup seems to be less featured compared to some other carriers. Maybe she signed up when they used to have telephone support or it's a known low cost provider amongst certain circles and gets passed around by word of mouth. A couple of their other family members use it as well with their Canada wide free calling. It seems like people are arriving at Public Mobile through different and some unlikely routes.

[Jarvar]

@popping Even if that's the technical details about coverage. I have difficulty discerning a clear difference between Koodo's coverage map and Public Mobile's posted on their wesbite. I can tell in some areas there might be a little more coverage to the Koodo map, but only ever so slightly. Anyways I hope their service is sufficient. Only testing it will show how it performs over time in different locations and situations.

[Effort]

I saw one advertisement on the side of public transit once. Other than that, I don't recall seeing any other ad. I do use an adblocker so I don't see them online. The only reason I'm here now is because someone posted a deal on redflagdeals.

[SD08]

---

@ShawnC13 wrote:

---

@SD08 wrote:

---

@ShawnC13 wrote:

---

---

... PM does not advertise very much ...

---

@ShawnC13

Just FYI, I would say this used to be true until recently.  In the last few months, I've seen Public Mobile ads pop up in many places, including web banners with my email provider and some other websites I visited (can't recall exactly which ones at the moment), print ads in local papers, and also plastered all over the Toronto transit system (subway walls, sides of buses, bus shelters. etc.).  I don't know if they do TV ads though, since I've cut my cable subscription years ago.  It's getting to the point where I hardly go through a day without seeing some PM ad somewhere.

---

Those adds showing up in your email and websites is targeted and probably because you have been to this site.  Here in Victoria there is no advertisement but I guess the London Drugs flyer last week had it in it.  I still wouldn't say it is a heavily marketed main stream advertiser.  When Koodo launched it was all over the TV.  Never seen a PM ad

---

Yeah, not a mainstream advertiser, but they've certainly made a concerted push in recent months at least in the GTA.  Even the targeted web banners only started appearing this year, though I've been on the PM site since 2016.  In the Toronto market at least, it feels like a switch was thrown and the ads started coming frequently.  I'm just saying, they are advertising substantially more now than they used to, even if it's still not with as big a budget as the other carriers. 

[popping]

---

@ShawnC13 wrote:

---

@popping wrote:

@Jarvar

Agree about the remote area without service.  That is the different between PM and Koodo.  Koodo have free roaming within Canada as long as your phone can get Rogers network signal.

---

Not sure where this is coming from or what it is about but this is %100 wrong.  There is no difference between Koodo and PM as they are the same network and work off of the Telus/Bell network not Rogers.

ETA Read that it was Free Roaming he was talking about with Koodo

---

Before i activate my PM plan, I asked whether Telus/Koodo extended coverage is included with PM or not.  I was told no. 

The extended coverage is a free roaming in Canada feature for Telus/Koodo subscribers - NOT for PM subscribers.

[ShawnC13]

---

@popping wrote:

@Jarvar

Agree about the remote area without service.  That is the different between PM and Koodo.  Koodo have free roaming within Canada as long as your phone can get Rogers network signal.

---

Not sure where this is coming from or what it is about but this is %100 wrong.  There is no difference between Koodo and PM as they are the same network and work off of the Telus/Bell network not Rogers.

ETA Read that it was Free Roaming he was talking about with Koodo

[ShawnC13]

---

@SD08 wrote:

---

@ShawnC13 wrote:

---

---

... PM does not advertise very much ...

---

@ShawnC13

Just FYI, I would say this used to be true until recently.  In the last few months, I've seen Public Mobile ads pop up in many places, including web banners with my email provider and some other websites I visited (can't recall exactly which ones at the moment), print ads in local papers, and also plastered all over the Toronto transit system (subway walls, sides of buses, bus shelters. etc.).  I don't know if they do TV ads though, since I've cut my cable subscription years ago.  It's getting to the point where I hardly go through a day without seeing some PM ad somewhere.

---

Those adds showing up in your email and websites is targeted and probably because you have been to this site.  Here in Victoria there is no advertisement but I guess the London Drugs flyer last week had it in it.  I still wouldn't say it is a heavily marketed main stream advertiser.  When Koodo launched it was all over the TV.  Never seen a PM ad

[SD08]

---

@ShawnC13 wrote:

---

---

... PM does not advertise very much ...

---

@ShawnC13

Just FYI, I would say this used to be true until recently.  In the last few months, I've seen Public Mobile ads pop up in many places, including web banners with my email provider and some other websites I visited (can't recall exactly which ones at the moment), print ads in local papers, and also plastered all over the Toronto transit system (subway walls, sides of buses, bus shelters. etc.).  I don't know if they do TV ads though, since I've cut my cable subscription years ago.  It's getting to the point where I hardly go through a day without seeing some PM ad somewhere.

[mynamejc]

+1 to other posts. PM isn't friendly to all people since you have to be okay with the fact that you need to do pretty much all support yourself. You need to wait for mods to reply to issues and make posts on the internet whereas bigger brands can just call in and get instant support. But I think that is a win for the younger crowd who are more technical and doesn't mind doing their own support since they end up saving!

[popping]

@Jarvar

Agree about the remote area without service.  That is the different between PM and Koodo.  Koodo have free roaming within Canada as long as your phone can get Rogers network signal.

[ShawnC13]

---

@jamsham wrote:

Why is PM not as popular or well known as other small-time service providers like koodo virgin and whatnot? Do they not do any advertising? I would think with these prices and offers many people would buy these plans for their kids or themselves if they need frugal plans. Very odd to me that it isn't super popular.

---

I would not consider Koodo and Virgin small time providers and I have never heard of whatnot.  PM does not advertise very much and many people still prefer a service they can call into or go into a store.  As well many people still need that new phone every two years and can only do it by going through the big carriers and paying for it over 2 years.

[Jarvar]

@popping I completely agree. I made a change request last night and I was contacted by a moderator this morning to make sure everything was in order. It's the first time I required assistance after getting activated in a kiosk. It took some time. On the other hand, my spouses mobile which I just ported over didn't have Canada wide calling, so I put in a request when I got home from activating it in the boutique today. I am still waiting on the request to be complete. It can be a lengthier process than calling in. However, I noticed that Koodo's call in Centre had regular working hours as well, not 24/7 or else I could be mistaken.

The other thing I am concerned about is the coverage. I have read some people mention they lost recepting while driving through the Manitoba corridor as well as in Northern Ontario. We are planning to take a road trip out East and comparing the coverage maps of Public Mobile and Koodo shows a slight edge to the higher tier carriers, but only slightly. 

I'll have to wait and see how much coverage there is out there. It's not a business trip so reception isn't vital, although it would be good to be able to access Google Maps and other GPS mapping services while there or making, checking and finding reservations or points of interest while out there.

I am trying to remind myself not to automatically pay more out of fear that there will be poor coverage out there. If the reception is lacking, then I will figure it out then rather than just paying more up front. I used to think that Rogers was supposed to get the best coverage even though most of the time I was in a major metropolitan so it most likely didn't make that big of a difference. I'll have to wait and see how Public Mobile stacks up to some of the others. It seems to be holding up well so far though.

[Jarvar]

I think Public Mobile is one of those carriers who I heard of before but other than having the name mentioned I do not know much about. The other brands seem to be pushed a lot more than Public anyways. When I was speaking to a worker at WoW Mobile today, she said the most popular economically priced carrier they sold was Koodo. Now I don't know if that's because that's who they get their commissions from the most or it has the most options out of the different carriers with a good price. Honestly though, I was considering Koodo Mobile myself before I stumbling upon Public Mobile. 

Perhaps the people who find Public are people who are already interested and know what they want, while those who are unsure probably get swayed by what they see around or hear about the most.

[popping]

PM does not have call center.  When you have problem with your service, you may need to wait a feww days without a phone. Therefore, PM is not for you if you use your phone for business.

On the other hand, PM plan is great for kids.  There is no chance of overage because PM plans are prepaid paln.