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Asher2 · ‎03-13-2021

There isn’t much information to give. But sometime in February some people who live in Manitoba received a message about voice quality in Winnipeg and Brandon being worsened due to certain Hz bands changing.

There was a post created about it and Catherine_T (retired) made a reply stating that they’re looking to enable VoLTE. That was great and all but there hasn’t been an update on it and its soon to be March 16th so i do not know if its still happening.

Anyone have any info or updates on it?

computergeek541 · ‎03-16-2021

@sheytoon wrote:
@darlicious my source is a Telus engineer, but they're not directly working on this project.

Public Mobile has stated that there are no immediate plans to implement VoLTE. There is a differentce between the postpaid and prepaid systems that currently prevents this.

sheytoon · ‎03-15-2021

@darlicious my source is a Telus engineer, but they're not directly working on this project.

gpixel · ‎03-15-2021

@sheytoon if that is the case and it will run independently, then PM's LTE shouldn't make a difference, hopefully... we'll have to wait and find out.

darlicious · ‎03-15-2021

@sheytoon

Because the source on our end was Catherine? Or do you have a separate source?

sheytoon · ‎03-15-2021

@gpixel VoLTE is a guaranteed bit rate (GBR) service, typically reserving 40-80 kbps per call. It's independent from PM's non-GBR data service, which has an Aggregate Maximum Bit Rate (AMBR) value of 3008 kbps.

I've heard some rumours that Telus is working on enabling VoLTE for PM because of this fiasco. It won't be ready for tomorrow, but we will see. I'm not 100% confident in the source of the info.

LoreckAvery · ‎03-15-2021

No idea if this will help you, but I have forced my iPhone into 3G as I was having calling issues intermittently. This definitely fixed them

I hope you get your answer to your problem.

computergeek541 · ‎03-15-2021

@gpixel wrote:
if lucky and chatr don't move to province wide. I don't think pm can lift this "limited time offer". they will be giving up a lot of business to lucky and chatr if they do.

I don't have numbers but I would argue that they already are. Public Mobile is all about the rewards. Unfortunately, new customers don't immediately benefit from most of those. As Public Mobile has no call centre, some customers desiring prepaid plans end up going with Chatr or Lucky. Plan-wise, I see little reason for new customers to choose Public Mobile over those two. Without that avenue of customer service, Public Mobile's plans need to be signficantly better across the entire spectrum offered plans, but they're not.

gpixel · ‎03-14-2021

if lucky and chatr don't move to province wide. I don't think pm can lift this "limited time offer". they will be giving up a lot of business to lucky and chatr if they do.

there's a good chance this province wide change is going to be a flop. I think the big 3 are already considering...

this new change seems to benefit the 2nd tiers (prepaid vs prepaid) I'm wondering if they're trying to slow down the movement.

the previous prepaid was

$30/250mb

$35/1gb

$45/2.5gb

$50/5gb

$65/7.5gb

Korth · ‎03-14-2021

... [Virgin] are basically the same as koodo. but they are promoting $5 off for 6 months on there prepaid Canada wide

Then it kinda seems obvious the "Limited time offer" at PM will span the same 6 months.

Unless they interrupt it with another promo.

gpixel · ‎03-14-2021

@softech not too much.. they are basically the same as koodo. but they are promoting $5 off for 6 months on their prepaid Canada wide

softech · ‎03-14-2021

@gpixel ..how about Virgin? what is new with Virgin lately?

mimmo · ‎03-13-2021

My understanding is that the telus brands (postpaid vs prepaid) use two separate backend systems (apple vs android, vhs vs beta etc...).

Telus is implementing (investing) VoLTE on postpaid, and not on prepaid this is why VoLTE is only available for postpaid customers, until telus starts investing on prepaid VoLTE, probably not for a very long time..

gpixel · ‎03-13-2021

@Korth I'm always on LTE. so I'm able to observe how inconsistent the LTE connection is. I don't think volte would work well

Korth · ‎03-13-2021

@gpixel wrote:
... the hard truth is PM cannot launch volte on a 3mb throttle. the LTE signal is so inconsistent that it would be a failure...

"VoLTE has up to three times more voice and data capacity than older 3G UMTS ... It uses less bandwidth because VoLTE's packet headers are smaller ..."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voice_over_LTE

I might be wrong ... but I doubt the "3G" throttle applies to "Vo3G" talk, so why would it restrict VoLTE talk?

gpixel · ‎03-13-2021

or bad news...

with the direction Koodo and Virgin are moving towards. i wouldn't be surprised if they decommission the third tier brand along with 3g.

Koodo prepaid is competing in the $40 and lower price range now. for $5-7 more dollars you're essentially paying for full speed LTE. PM is still better overall add-ons, rewards etc. but, Koodo can easily make changes to their program.

hTideGnow · ‎03-13-2021

Really doubt they will enable VoLTE for now, unless there is a solid plan for Telus to retire their 3G network. I suspect at least 2 more years before we see good news for PM

will13am · ‎03-13-2021

@Asher2 , Telus is going live with their own network in parts of Manitoba imminently. The roll out of VoLTE even at the sister brands is somewhat spotty (device dependent). I would not count on it happening universally any time soon. That said what is happening in Manitoba is not likely to result in anything noticeable at the end user level.

Luddite · ‎03-13-2021

@Asher2 If you are now having service issues, I suggest you assume they are permanent. The only potential "help" I've seen suggested is a discounted VoLTE compatible phone if you migrate to Telus.
Since Telus and Bell share towers, 3G phone service will only be available on Rogers/fFido/Chatr.
No idea if you have local competitive offering to consider.
Fongo now has data only cellular service that you could combine with their free calling app; 2 gig is about $20. They accept PayPal and run on the Rogers network. https://shop.fongowireless.com
No good choices I'm afraid. 😩

At least there's no contract to worry about if you need to leave.

>>> ALERT: I am not a CSA. Je ne suis pas un Agent du soutien à la clientèle.

computergeek541 · ‎03-13-2021

@Asher2 wrote:
I’ve already checked the latest posts there. Nothing really i need to know, basically just want to know if VoLTE still happening

Sorry, but it isn't going to happen any time in the near future. Customers also can't count on when and if the feature is enabled it being either a free or paid feature.

Korth · ‎03-13-2021

VoLTE is hyped a lot, it's a marketing prize, a commodity, a premium luxury reserved for high-end phones and plans. They can keep on selling it at restrictive prices with restrictive conditions because people keep on buying it at restrictive prices with restrictive conditions.

So I think you can bet that if/when Public Mobile finally gets around to offering VoLTE service they'll make a really big happy excited announcement about it.

gpixel · ‎03-13-2021

@Asher2 the hard truth is PM cannot launch volte on a 3mb throttle. the LTE signal is so inconsistent that it would be a failure... best option if you would like to stay with pm is a cellphone booster that supports band 2. amazon is selling one for $165 w/ $20 coupon. look for lintratek band 2 and 5.

first thing to do is observe your call quality after March 16. if it has worsened, you can purchase the booster and test it out if it improves your signal. if not, return it and consider either moving to lucky mobile, chatr or a 2nd tier provider. I wouldn't waste time on the Telus brand, volte isn't going to help much

HALIMACS · ‎03-13-2021

I suspect there's no reason you couldn't ask for an update, @Asher2

Send a request to the moderators to request one.

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Asher2 · ‎03-13-2021

I’ve already checked the latest posts there. Nothing really i need to know, basically just want to know if VoLTE still happening

HALIMACS · ‎03-13-2021

@Asher2

Here's the initial thread if you want to peruse it for latest posts:

Solved: Text From PM About Changes To Manitoba Prepaid Net... - Community (publicmobile.ca)