cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Now that both Lucky and Chatr have unlimited data, when do you think Public will get this?

savvy
Great Citizen / Super Citoyen

As it was Telus initially said "no" to unlimited data for a few days when Rogers and Bell brought it out...Then they did finally cave and follow suit. Now all 3 have bumped up their unlimited data options to 512kbps overage, which is plenty to run Spotify/Deezer on High setting.

 

Chatr had unlimited data for a while at 64kbps (which is often just low enough to not run Deezer fluidly on low) and now Lucky Mobile has followed suit but upped the offering to 128kbps, which is good enough to maintain sufficient speed for fluid audio. Currently all but the $15 Lucky (voice) plan has the unlimited data.

 

So it's a slow-moving iceberg, but now that the main 2 competitors have it, when do you think reluctant-old Telus will let PM follow suit? It's becoming difficult to be a loyal holdout.

170 REPLIES 170

maheshboloor
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle

@Korth Considering everything PM is a better choice for most ppl. But some ppl like me who go over thier data, lucky might be a better choice. Also I don't have any rewards apart from the 2$ auto pay. So I am not really losing too much by porting over. If you have lots of rewards, then it's not worth porting out. The day PM introduces unlimited throttled data, I will be the first to port back..lol.


@maheshboloor wrote:

I already bought 2 lucky mobile sims for 1$ each from ebay. Will be porting over as soon as I get it.

No doubt PM could attract or retain more customers by offering "unlimited" data. But even without it they still offer something (Rewards) which Lucky and other competitors lack.

 

Lucky might be the better choice for you, assuming you can make heavy enough use of slow data for it to be worthwhile. Kinda seems like a small niche but I'm sure many people could still squeeze comfortably into it. 

But I'll be sticking with PM... my PM Rewards consistently add up to monthly $$ discount/savings... much more real value to me than "unlimited" slow data I'd rarely even use. It seems to me that people who want/need more data would usually be better off buying bigger data plans and data add-ons. (And PM's data add-ons are awful value while Lucky's data add-ons are best value available on the tier, if that helps sell Lucky, although both their prices still seem to underscore my argument of just upgrading to bigger data plans, which seems to shift the value advantage back to PM Rewards.) 

maheshboloor
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle

@r1lee I already bought 2 lucky mobile sims for 1$ each from ebay. Will be porting over as soon as I get it.

r1lee
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

Then PM will lose my parents as customers, come january and I'm sure others as well. Especially for individuals that barely go over the amount per month and that all they do is the messenging apps and posting on Facebook, maybe the odd occasion of Google maps. 

 

 

popping
Retired Oracle / Oracle Retraité

Parents like the idea of no overage for the kids' phone plan.  Every month payment will be the same and no surprises.

maheshboloor
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle

@computergeek541 My thoughts exactly. Don't think PM will do it atleast in the near future. 


@smp99 wrote:

@greenr wrote:

4.5 GB's is plenty for me!


And that's the thing.

 

I think PM could offer Unlimited throttled but most would not get there. I know I have never run out, I am on the $40 plan as well. I have suggested before, only offer unlimited to $40 plans and over. Maybe offer it at 256 or 512kbps. That could be the trade off to shut out the lower cost plans. The number that would dip into extra data would be limited and you may actually bump people up from the $25 plan with the lure of unlimited. 

 

 


People like the idea idea of not being cut of no matter how much data is used. Customers of cell phone carriers have long been willing to pay for more minutes or data that they'll use to prevent going over and because of the fear of the high costs of overages. I know that there are no overages at Public Mobile, but "unlimited" sells.

smp99
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

@greenr wrote:

4.5 GB's is plenty for me!


And that's the thing.

 

I think PM could offer Unlimited throttled but most would not get there. I know I have never run out, I am on the $40 plan as well. I have suggested before, only offer unlimited to $40 plans and over. Maybe offer it at 256 or 512kbps. That could be the trade off to shut out the lower cost plans. The number that would dip into extra data would be limited and you may actually bump people up from the $25 plan with the lure of unlimited. 

 

 

greenr
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

4.5 GB's is plenty for me!

maheshboloor
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle

@darlicious I looked up FAQ s and it says premium short code mesages might be charged. Regular shot code messages like from facebook, twitter are not charged. I havnt signed up for any short code messages nor do I get any such advertised messages so I am not too worried. Picture messaging is included in the Plan at no cost and so is voicemail.

@maheshboloor  I hope it all works out for you. I went to the website to compare plans and they are very similar. I only mentioned the possible fees as they were described by lucky mobile and what could incur additional charges and are not included  in their plans such as the short codes and picture messaging.

maheshboloor
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle

@darlicious As far as i see, there is only the sim cost and the plan you choose. I am gonna start with the 25$/1 GB plan and see how it goes. I only had the autopay 2$ reward, so technically I will be losing 2$ and gaining unlimited throttled data. Everything else seems to be exactly same like PM; Unlimited Incoming Calls & Texts from Canadian, US & International numbers, call display, voicemail, call waiting and 3-way calling. I am hearing that Bell and Telus network are almost identical as far as overage is concerned. I live in the GTA, so i dont forsee any coverage issues. Will test drive it for a month or two and see if it works well for me. I can always comeback to PM anytime i want.

@maheshboloor @MitchRuns  Please report back to us on your experience with the unlimited data at 128kbps. Tell us if you are charged for one time fees, picture message, short code and within Canada roaming charges. We would also like to know when they consider you have used more than the allowable amount of unlimited data. Do you think you will miss your autopay rewards? And any other rewards you may lose like loyalty and refer a friend?

maheshboloor
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle

@MitchRuns Me too. I heard Dollarama has 4$ Lucky Mobile sims. I will probably grab one this wekeend. My cycle ends next month on the 20th, so will port out on the 19th dec.

MitchRuns
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

Still no word from PM on this. It's probably never going to happen at this point. I'm switching after my plan runs out because I want that unlimited data. 

jor123
Town Hero / Héro de la Ville

@THEnewfie wrote:

@jor123  ..it was just that I needed 2 numbers anyways. So I figured I'd try both out. I'll probably switch 100% to all PM numbers and data if they ever bust out on that unlimited data like the competition. When the playing field is leveled in such a way, PM will be the clear winner for my situation. 


Yeah I agree.. I want to stay with PM but I've been considering a switch to Lucky for the unlimited throttled data. Fido/Chatr isn't much of an option in St. John's and Eastlink pricing is just as bad or worse so it's really between Lucky and PM. 

srlawren
Retired Oracle / Oracle Retraité

@totalUser wrote:

One thing to consider maybe is to forward the calls when unreachable to either TextNow or fongo number. Fongo is well behaved in this matter as it lets you shut it off when you don't need it, so it's on only when you turn it on, while others are always restarting in background


@totalUser thanks for the suggestion!  To be honest, I rarely ever use the Fido SIM, it's mostly for a handful of areas where I have no reception on the Telus network, and for the occasional hotspot usage where I don't want to eat up my main plan data. 


>>> ALERT: I am not a moderator. For account or activation assistance, please click here.


@srlawren wrote:

@THEnewfie wrote:

I've settled on the 2 sim solution. I've got a phone that takes 2 sims.. and I have a plan with both lucky and public mobile. Its definitely working great for me. Less than 50$ a month and I've got TWO numbers on 2 different networks (so I can't complain about Telus vs Bell lol).. and unlimited data usage to boot.. I don't see any problems with that 😎🤷


@THEnewfie nothing wrong with it at all.  I also rock dual SIMs, using a Fido tablet plan in my second SIM to augment my data as needed.  There is one annoying thing about this that won't bother everyone but does bother me: most dual-SIM phones are Dual-Standby Dual-SIM (DSDS).  This means that only one can be active for data at a time.  So let's say in your scenario you've run out of PM data and switched your active data SIM to the Lucky slot.  If you get a call on your PM SIM, your phone is without data for the duration.  Again this won't bother everyone, but the main person that calls me is my significant other, and more often than not there's something I need to look up while we're talking (I take 99% of my calls either over bluetooth or speakerphone, so my phone is free to use while talking) and I'm stymied by having my Fido SIM as active for data but the call came in via my primary SIM.  Kind of annoying.  First world problems!


Hi @srlawren 

One thing to consider maybe is to forward the calls when unreachable to either TextNow or fongo number. Fongo is well behaved in this matter as it lets you shut it off when you don't need it, so it's on only when you turn it on, while others are always restarting in background

THEnewfie
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

@jor123  ..it was just that I needed 2 numbers anyways. So I figured I'd try both out. I'll probably switch 100% to all PM numbers and data if they ever bust out on that unlimited data like the competition. When the playing field is leveled in such a way, PM will be the clear winner for my situation. 

jor123
Town Hero / Héro de la Ville

@THEnewfie wrote:

No problem .. it may be sacrilegious to say such things in these parts... May even sound dumb to some folks.. But I've settled on the 2 sim solution. I've got a phone that takes 2 sims.. and I have a plan with both lucky and public mobile. Its definitely working great for me. Less than 50$ a month and I've got TWO numbers on 2 different networks (so I can't complain about Telus vs Bell lol).. and unlimited data usage to boot.. I don't see any problems with that 😎🤷


Why not switch completely to a plan with Lucky?i don't see the benefit of paying for two to get the benefit of unlimited data with the second.

srlawren
Retired Oracle / Oracle Retraité

@THEnewfie wrote:

I've settled on the 2 sim solution. I've got a phone that takes 2 sims.. and I have a plan with both lucky and public mobile. Its definitely working great for me. Less than 50$ a month and I've got TWO numbers on 2 different networks (so I can't complain about Telus vs Bell lol).. and unlimited data usage to boot.. I don't see any problems with that 😎🤷


@THEnewfie nothing wrong with it at all.  I also rock dual SIMs, using a Fido tablet plan in my second SIM to augment my data as needed.  There is one annoying thing about this that won't bother everyone but does bother me: most dual-SIM phones are Dual-Standby Dual-SIM (DSDS).  This means that only one can be active for data at a time.  So let's say in your scenario you've run out of PM data and switched your active data SIM to the Lucky slot.  If you get a call on your PM SIM, your phone is without data for the duration.  Again this won't bother everyone, but the main person that calls me is my significant other, and more often than not there's something I need to look up while we're talking (I take 99% of my calls either over bluetooth or speakerphone, so my phone is free to use while talking) and I'm stymied by having my Fido SIM as active for data but the call came in via my primary SIM.  Kind of annoying.  First world problems!


>>> ALERT: I am not a moderator. For account or activation assistance, please click here.

THEnewfie
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

No problem .. it may be sacrilegious to say such things in these parts... May even sound dumb to some folks.. But I've settled on the 2 sim solution. I've got a phone that takes 2 sims.. and I have a plan with both lucky and public mobile. Its definitely working great for me. Less than 50$ a month and I've got TWO numbers on 2 different networks (so I can't complain about Telus vs Bell lol).. and unlimited data usage to boot.. I don't see any problems with that 😎🤷

maheshboloor
Model Citizen / Citoyen Modèle

@THEnewfie Thank you. Seems like the exact thing I need. I would not try watchin youtube or browsing instagram and Facebook with tht speed. But will more than suffice for chatting on whatsapp and checking emails. Hope Lucky has some good deals for black friday. I honestly don't see PM even considering adding this feature. Ah well.

THEnewfie
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

I can confirm that Lucky Mobile does indeed have unlimited data.. I currently have service with BOTH Lucky and Public mobile. I have all my allotted data used up..and I'm still online 24/7😎 it is most definitely that slow 128kb/s connection that you may have seen others speak of in the forum. It can get you by on YouTube if you're willing to watch in 144p lol. Its more than enough for messaging apps or email or even browsing these public mobile forums however 👍Screenshot_2019-11-07-14-30-59-1.png

 

smp99
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire
My tests show that upload speed is definitely throttled. Ping and jitter are quite good though. It's slow but it keeps moving, does not disconnect or timeout

Korth
Mayor / Maire

@savvy wrote:

@Knockali wrote:

Web browsing is also extremely slow especially if there are images involved.  Only a text only browser will work properly.  


Try "Opera Mini" in "Turbo Mode", set it to High or higher - web browsing won't be bad in most cases. Just remember not to auto-clear your cache so that the images from frequently visited sites won't be a problem.


Brave is lightweight, too. Especially if you set runtime options to block ads, block scripts, use image placeholders, etc. The blocks are never 100% foolproof but they're still pretty good - loading fewer page objects (and blocking much of the extra two-way web traffic layered onto them) helps increase speed and helps use less data. 

savvy
Great Citizen / Super Citoyen

@Knockali wrote:

Web browsing is also extremely slow especially if there are images involved.  Only a text only browser will work properly.  


Try "Opera Mini" in "Turbo Mode", set it to High or higher - web browsing won't be bad in most cases. Just remember not to auto-clear your cache so that the images from frequently visited sites won't be a problem.

srlawren
Retired Oracle / Oracle Retraité

@Knockali wrote:

I have been testing lucky's $15 data plan for 2 months.

 


@Knockali thanks for sharing this with us, it's very helpful!  I would expect basically exactly the experience you outlined (other than not realizing that upload speeds are not throttled by Lucky).  


>>> ALERT: I am not a moderator. For account or activation assistance, please click here.

r1lee
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

That is great to know as it's perfect for people like my parents. 

Knockali
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

I have been testing lucky's $15 data plan for 2 months.  My experience has been mostly positive.  Some apps like Spotify and google maps work just fine at 128 kbs since those apps download a lot of data in advance when I am on wifi. 

YouTube is totally no go.  You could stream it at 144p but it's not what u expect in 2019.  However, In desperate situations it might work for some people.  

Web browsing is also extremely slow especially if there are images involved.  Only a text only browser will work properly.  

uploading pics to google photos is a breeze since upload speed isn't throttled.  I also see this in whatsapp video call and FaceTime video,  video upload quality is much bettter than video coming in.  

 

Audio calls made via FaceTime or whatsapp are clear both ways.  Lucky offers a free wifi calling app which only works on wifi.  I got a different local number for this app. 

 

Need Help? Let's chat.