I'm going to Cuba in a month, and i want to be able to text my family. Is there a way to do this?

[olenalezhanska]

I'll be going on vacation at the end of March. Is there a way to send texts to my family from my phone while I am there? Money is no issue, I will pay whatever it takes, even if its like 5$ per text

[johnguenther]

when we are away from Canada or in Canada we use whatsup

[Anonymous]

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@chickenhawk wrote:

I don't understand all the logistics ,but I am sure it is doable.

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Here's how I understand the logistics.

Take cell phone with PM SIM to the US. The cell phone is always looking for a tower/network. (thus battery drain when unsuccessful) If there is any reception then a network on a tower says to the phone yeah I see you but you're not welcome here. AT&T eventually pipes up with yeah I got ya. Come into our foyer. Oh..you want to send out a text...yeah no you haven't paid for the privilege. You go and buy an add-on. Now when you want to send that text AT&T says yeah come on in there you go.

This is the same with T-Mobile.

Carriers make agreements with other carriers to allow their customers to operate on the others' networks. Telus and Bell have a blanket agreement country-wide. Public Mobile has made these agreements with AT&T and T-Mobile. That's it. Take that phone to the UK and any network on any tower will see your phone trying to connect and say you're not welcome here

That's how I understand it.

[mimmo]

@chickenhawk pm is a 3rd tier provider and with that comes limitations on features. If it had all the features of Koodo or Telus then what would be the point?  That being said  Telus or Koodo charge $12/day it's rediuculous.  Who knows what pm will offer in future. But for now I don't see roaming changing much in the future.

[chickenhawk]

I did say with other carriers for the premium price. I am not complaining about price here. What I am saying is PM would not be going backwards by allowing service in Cuba or other countries . Obviously people on here want that to be available so why is it so hard to do? I don't understand all the logistics ,but I am sure it is doable.

[darlicious]

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@CannonFodder wrote:

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@chickenhawk wrote:

We do pay premium prices most of the time for these services with other carriers so it obviously works for their business models so it should work for PM's model also?

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But we don't pay premium prices here. You don't go to a dollar store expecting to find (real) Rolex watches.

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Well, yes, actually, YES, I do!!! Strange, though, I haven't found any yet..... 😉 

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Maybe not the dollar store but the thrift store ....yes I have a closet full of designer (mostly vintage) clothes for under $20 each (my max budget). Pretty sure were getting premium coverage, network accessibility and throttled LTE on the cheap.

[CannonFodder]

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@Anonymous wrote:

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@chickenhawk wrote:

We do pay premium prices most of the time for these services with other carriers so it obviously works for their business models so it should work for PM's model also?

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But we don't pay premium prices here. You don't go to a dollar store expecting to find (real) Rolex watches.

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Well, yes, actually, YES, I do!!! Strange, though, I haven't found any yet..... 😉 

[computergeek541]

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@chickenhawk wrote:

isn't it all about choice? we want a choice of services with the options we need most. Most people travel outside of country for vacation or work  etc. we need or want our phones to be useful wherever we go. We do pay premium prices most of the time for these services with other carriers so it obviously works for their business models so it should work for PM's model also?

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It doesn't work for Public Mobile's business model or they would have made the change by now. That doesn't meant that they won't ever re-evaluate this.

Public Mobile is a no frills cellular brand. For people who want all features and the most possible options, Telus would rather have you as a Telus Mobility or Koodo Mobile customer.  In addition, Public Mobile doesn't have pay-per-use charges, so there's no chance of accident using up an account credit balance, a feature that most customers do seem to appreciate. Since you're saying price isn't an issue and you would pay whatever it costs to use service in Cuba, Telus knows this, especially cosnidering how expensive roaming in Cuba can be. When a customer is admittedly willing to pay a high price, I can't see the budget brand offering the feature.  

[Anonymous]

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@chickenhawk wrote:

We do pay premium prices most of the time for these services with other carriers so it obviously works for their business models so it should work for PM's model also?

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But we don't pay premium prices here. You don't go to a dollar store expecting to find (real) Rolex watches.

[gblackma]

@chickenhawk, @Jb456 mentioned the TextNow app and using it over WiFi. Since it will also have a Canadian number, you can forward your PM number to it. It's not a perfect solution, but its free and has voicemail.

Here is a link on how to obtain a local SIM in Cuba https://www.finder.com/ca/best-prepaid-sim-card-cuba

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@chickenhawk wrote:

isn't it all about choice? we want a choice of services with the options we need most. Most people travel outside of country for vacation or work  etc. we need or want our phones to be useful wherever we go. We do pay premium prices most of the time for these services with other carriers so it obviously works for their business models so it should work for PM's model also?

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[chickenhawk]

isn't it all about choice? we want a choice of services with the options we need most. Most people travel outside of country for vacation or work  etc. we need or want our phones to be useful wherever we go. We do pay premium prices most of the time for these services with other carriers so it obviously works for their business models so it should work for PM's model also?

[chickenhawk]

Wish they would make it possible soon....

[chickenhawk]

will be trying a sim card from there to see what happens.

[Jb456]

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@chickenhawk wrote:

I go every year and recently switched from Bell. The phone would switch over to Cuban service I guess you could say automatically. I only used it to text to friends in cuba and canada and had no trouble. May be same with PM? Will see in April.

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@chickenhawk 

Public Mobile will not work in Cuba. 

Take a look at textnow app. You'll get a Canadian number near your area and you can text and call back to Canada/USA for free over wifi. People can call and text you and even leave you a voicemail if your not online.

[darlicious]

@chickenhawk  Public mobile will not work in Cuba. It only has US roaming add ons. You would have to get a local or international SIM to get service in Cuba. Or use a calling or texting app on WiFi.

[chickenhawk]

I go every year and recently switched from Bell. The phone would switch over to Cuban service I guess you could say automatically. I only used it to text to friends in cuba and canada and had no trouble. May be same with PM? Will see in April.

[CET_GUY27]

olenalezhanska,

This may not solve your issue, but if your accommodations have Wi-Fi, you might want to consider using your phone on Wi-Fi and using email or a data based messaging service like WhatsApp, BBM or FaceTime.

Should Wi-Fi not be an option, hop on Google and research Sim cards that will allow texting from Cuba to Canada (ensure you have an unlocked phone that runs on the correct network system). You might be able to order something before you go or it looks like there may be rental options once you are there.

Barring these choices, maybe leave the phone at home/in your suitcase and enjoy your vacation (unless you absolutely need to keep on touch with someone).

Safe travels!

[makkahn28]

I must at least point out this: Services are offered, as long as customers are there.

But, When customers don't ask or inquire about such services and features, then how does a Carrier know what the consumer is asking? If PPL just want data, then PM should dump their call services and focus on data. If PPL want basic services, PM should dump everything except talk, since texting and data aren't basic. That's how I see it. 

[makkahn28]

Smartphones need as much spectrum, flexibility, roamability, and such. Just feels like our phones aren't Smart enough

[makkahn28]

Well, we do live in a tech-savyy smartphone world

[makkahn28]

My apologies, I meant the 21st century

[Martin]

makkhan28,

Why do you use the present tense when you say that we live in the 22nd century?

[makkahn28]

Also, PM isn't it's own Co. Telus is the Daddy of it all. I'm certain that they'll lean heavily in this direction eventually

[makkahn28]

W/O, how does a carrier stay in business long-term? We live in the 22 century, and technology can only move forward, not 1000 steps back.

[makkahn28]

It's a fact, plus, if PM kept Txting Canada wide only and such, PPL wouldn't stay with PM in the Long-term. At times, there has to be logic, flexibility, common sense, and innovation

[makkahn28]

Besides, there are a couple of prepaid carriers that do serve out these services. So, if they can, PM should be able to. If network was not flexible, PPL wouldn't waste their time by joining a carrier that only caters in house. 

[makkahn28]

Actually, They haven't ruled it out entirely. They still have their options open. I'm not saying that it can be enacted by june. If it takes a yr to roll out, then so be it. 

[Martin]

makkahn28,

Even if PM wanted to implement roaming, even though it has repeatedly said that roaming is off-the-table, it could not be implemented by any time in June. PM is a large company, with shareholders as their first priority. Shareholders like stability, and reversing course by implementing roaming by sometime in March is not indicative of stability.

[makkahn28]

True, BUT, if PPL do make enough requests, and the timing is ripe, and such, PM would take this into account. It all depends on the client, so the client has to make the business sense

[Martin]

Hello,

Though Public Mobile does not enable roaming, the next best solution is to buy a SIM card from a kiosk at the airport in Havana. Due to politics, it's possible that no such outlet exists. If I were in your situation, I would use Google to determine if such an outlet exists at the airport. If so, determine if the SIM card would allow you to text Canada. ETECSA is a carrier in Cuba. I would start my research with that company

Good luck!

[makkahn28]

Currently, Roaming isn't available at the moment. But, If Plenty of PPL ask, and conditions are ripe, Public Mobile will take this into heavy consideration. Let's make it happen