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How to make a new plan?

jeav
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

Hello!
How to make a plan for someone who only wants to text message.
I'd like to see a 5 dollar monthly plan for someone who only uses text message and no data.
Is this possible?

I think it would be a great service to provide.

18 REPLIES 18

AE_Collector
Mayor / Maire

@jeav wrote:

Hello!
How to make a plan for someone who only wants to text message.
I'd like to see a 5 dollar monthly plan for someone who only uses text message and no data.
Is this possible?

I think it would be a great service to provide.


@jeav 

LOL, Public Mobile isn’t in the “Great Service” business! Many regulars here will confirm that. But really, all cell providers are in business to make some money and collecting $5/month from a customer doesn’t cover expenses so it isn’t going to happen any time soon.

 

AE_Collector

pkaraa
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

I agree for something to keep the account active if going out of country for long time. 

Like parking only insurance option. 

There is an option of renewing after 85 days on inactivity but if that window is missed, your number+account+rewards are gone. 

Luddite
Oracle
Oracle

@jeav  If you are still searching, Fongo has a data only $10/month cellular service (300 meg) that includes unlimited texting in Canada. https://shop.fongowireless.com/

Tried it for a month a while ago and it's was fine; runs on Rogers.


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


@darlicious wrote:

@jeav 

If your friend is in bc or Alberta and is a Shaw subscriber or has a good friend or relative willing to sign them up under their Shaw plan they have a free unlimited call/text plan w/$10 per 1GB plan that uses the freedom network. Otherwise the $15 plan from pm is the best value plan in Canada eventually getting lowered to $8 per month with no effort rewards.


@darlicious   Hard to know how long those free plans with Shaw Mobile will last once Rogers gets the approval for the buyout of Shaw.

@jeav 

If your friend is in bc or Alberta and is a Shaw subscriber or has a good friend or relative willing to sign them up under their Shaw plan they have a free unlimited call/text plan w/$10 per 1GB plan that uses the freedom network. Otherwise the $15 plan from pm is the best value plan in Canada eventually getting lowered to $8 per month with no effort rewards.


@Triguy wrote:

There used to be a $10 plan but it was replaced with the $15 plan about two years ago.

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Announcements/UPDATED-10-ready-made-plan-staying-for-...


The $10 offers 50 outgoing texts - at 160 characters. So, considering that there is no texting add-on, that might fall short of the op's requirements, depending on the main usage. (incoming text's are unlimited, so it could work if the number is mainly used for 2FA) It's all hypothetical, of course, since one would need to find someone who would give up their $10 plan.

Triguy
Mayor / Maire

There used to be a $10 plan but it was replaced with the $15 plan about two years ago.

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Announcements/UPDATED-10-ready-made-plan-staying-for-...

fujiyama
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

Maybe if enough people switch to using a foreign data plan plus VOIP number/dual sim setup that they start hurting, they will lower prices lol. But yeah, it's not likely that we'll get a $5 plan as explained by others already.


@juanpablo03 wrote:

I think it is possible, Canada has one of the most expensive mobile plans in America. I know the service is pretty decent, but there should be more affordable plans. it´s up to the big company to make that, Actually, if more competitors appear in the scenario. prices will drop.


History would disagree with you... Public Mobile started out as an independent small carrier and hopes were high that they, with other new players would shake up the market and bring the prices down. A few years down the road they got bought and integrated as the the third tier provider in the Telus universe. 

 

The big three have made sure that there will be no real competition in Canada. No MVNOs on the horizon (go back and see what happened to dot.com earlier this year), and no viable access for US carriers that want to come north

Even over at SpeakOut the unlimited texting plan is $10. Plus there you could still use the talk feature on a pay-as-you-go basis. Not so here - if you don't pay for a feature beforehand you can't use it. So that $99 ($8.25/month) Freedom plan would be a better deal as long as their coverage works for you.

 

Not sure what the motivation is for the request. If it's mainly for getting short codes for 2FA, keep in mind that not all data based texting apps are compatible with all 2FA variations.

 

 

 

Edited to add the monthly pricing. Remember plans here are 30days.

juanpablo03
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

I think it is possible, Canada has one of the most expensive mobile plans in America. I know the service is pretty decent, but there should be more affordable plans. it´s up to the big company to make that, Actually, if more competitors appear in the scenario. prices will drop.

dabr
Mayor / Maire

@jeav wrote:

Hello!
How to make a plan for someone who only wants to text message.
I'd like to see a 5 dollar monthly plan for someone who only uses text message and no data.
Is this possible?

I think it would be a great service to provide.


@jeav   The problem is that we all probably have a different wish list for what plans/price points should be offered.    IMO $5 for unlimited texting is not really a fair price from PM's perspective, perhaps $10 plan for unlimited texting might make more sense.  Then again, for $5 more the $15 plan already offers that plus some talk/data as well.

 

BTW Freedom Mobile offer $99/year plan with unlimited talk/text which works out to just over $8/month.  Of course their coverage may not always be available in certain places.  I used to be with them a few years ago and the coverage was adequate for my needs, however, I'm a light user but I do remember hearing firsthand from others who experienced dead zones.  They've made a lot improvements since then so that may no longer apply. 

softech
Oracle
Oracle

@jeav wrote:

Hello!
How to make a plan for someone who only wants to text message.
I'd like to see a 5 dollar monthly plan for someone who only uses text message and no data.
Is this possible?

I think it would be a great service to provide.


 

No one would make a $5 plan these days.  How can they make money out of it  LoL

 

Yes, free solution would be TextNow, it's great.. as long as you have Wifi it will work


@Anonymous wrote:

 @jeav : It's been a standing suggestion for many years. They used to have a build your own plan but they removed it. I would also be interested in a purely a la carte method without bundling discounts like the plan builder used to do. I've also mentioned this idea of a base $5 just to exist as an account. Then add the features you'd like in the same way add-ons work currently. ie. buy a bucket of a feature once and consume it over time.

But no it's not possible at the moment.

The voip apps mentioned also work as long as you're on wifi somewhere. No cellular service needed at all even. Seems TextNow is popular around here. And Fongo.


I can also vouch for the free TextNow app. Using wifi, you can call and text most any number in Canada or US. These days, there's wifi in a lot of places like library, cafes, motels, Wallyworld even has free wifi. Sometimes you just have to ask for their wifi password.

Anonymous
Not applicable

 @jeav : It's been a standing suggestion for many years. They used to have a build your own plan but they removed it. I would also be interested in a purely a la carte method without bundling discounts like the plan builder used to do. I've also mentioned this idea of a base $5 just to exist as an account. Then add the features you'd like in the same way add-ons work currently. ie. buy a bucket of a feature once and consume it over time.

But no it's not possible at the moment.

The voip apps mentioned also work as long as you're on wifi somewhere. No cellular service needed at all even. Seems TextNow is popular around here. And Fongo.

Triguy
Mayor / Maire

The least expensive plan is $15 with unlimited texting/MMS.

https://www.publicmobile.ca/en/on/plans#plans-start.

They could reduce their plan costs by signing up for autopay $2 and referrals $1/referral.

 

Another option would be to use Wi-Fi apps like Textnow.

Yummy
Mayor / Maire

You cannot customize PM's plans. Plans are predetermined in advance and new clients can only pick what the best works for them.

The cheapest plan is $15 with unlimited SMS (in/out) and unlimited incoming calls plus some data and 100 outgoing minutes. Plan cost becomes $13 with autopay.

 

If somebody needs only text and is most of the time within WiFi range maybe apps like TextNow (free) will work.

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