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pckku
Great Citizen / Super Citoyen
Status: Brand new

There are different groups of people with different mobile needs. Some are heavy users of data, others are using the voice calls extensively and still there are people who cannot do without text messages. PM now has add-ons for voice calls and data for both casual and heavy users, but none available for test messages. I suggest PM to consider adding two levels of text messages, $5 for 200 and $10 for 500 out-going messages with in-coming ones free, as a new add-on option. Currently it's $15 per month for global unlimited when choosing a plan. It's either you choose the $15 or none. For some people, they don't need that much texting, but only the option of text messaging made available for them to use from time to time. This idea shoud be beneficial to all parties, PM will get additional revenue from the new text messages add-ons, at the same time, your Plan becomes more flexible to meet the needs of those who are casual users of text messages. There should be no negative impact to PM as those who MUST have text messages will not choose the text messages add-on that has a ceiling of 200 or 500, an amount they can use it up in no time. For those casual users of text messages, they will happily pay PM for the $5 or $10, and, eventually they will use up the quota and will top-up in the near future - again and again - guarantee income for PM in the long run. Perhaps those casual users will discover the benefits of texting and get converted to choose the global unlimited plan next payment cycle!  Also, those casual users MUST purchase data option, either in 10-30-90 days plan or data add-on, before they can use text messages add-on. PM will then have revenue from the data add-ons, from those casual users which they may simply stay with the Province-wide plan and purchase nothing else.  Again, good business for PM.

5 Comments
srlawren
Retired Oracle / Oracle Retraité

Hi @pckku,

 

I do wish that PM would offer texting as an add-on, too.  I just thought I would point out a couple of things with your suggestion:

 

1) the voice add ons are only for long distance and don't do anything if you haven't chosen a talk option in your plan;  thus, they only augment your plan's talk functionality, rather than replace it.  This would be in contrast to how the suggested text add-ons would work

 

2) You get additional discounts for choosing additional plan options with PM. For example, adding texting on top of a talk option and a data option is actually FREE on all 30 and 90 day plans, due to increased discount that offsets the texting cost.


Example 1:
90 day, province-wide talk, no text, 3GB data = $111

90 day, province-wide talk, Global Text, 3GB data = $111

 

Example 2:

90 day, Canada-wide talk, no text, 6GB data = $135

90 day, Canada-wide talk, Global Text, 6GB data = $135

 

You will notice this is the case for all 90 day plans when adding text on top of any talk and any data option, since the pick 2 discount is $15/90 days and increases to $60/90 days for pick 3, which completely covers the $45 for the texting option.  

 

Example 3:

30 day, Canada-wide talk, no text, 1GB data = $47

30 day, Canada-wide talk, Global text, 1GB data = $47

 

Example 4:

30 day, Province-wide talk, no text, 4GB data = $75

30 day, Province-wide talk, Global text, 4GB data = $75

 

Once again, the discount goes up from $5/30 days to $20/30 days when you add text on top of talk and data, making text free!

 

Food for thought?

pckku
Great Citizen / Super Citoyen

Hi @srlawren, I agree with what you said.  No doubt texting becomes free especially when you choose Talk, Global text and Data.  This is the point I want to point out: PM does not get any revenue if a casual user only wants Talk and little or no data and texting.  He/she will likely stay with the $76 per 90 days plan or roughly $25.33 per 30 days. The casual user probably will not take the other two options to minimize the costs. As you pointed, the casual user still looking at a minimum of $111 for 90 days, if he wants texting and data,  That's still $12 roughly (($111-76)/3) more than the just Talk option. By offering the text add-on, the casual user might want to pick the texting AND 1GB data, as he/she knows these data and number of messages can roll over to future cycles until they are exhausted. There are many retired persons who want reliable services but not heavy users of Talk, Data and Texting.  This change will be attractive to those group.

srlawren
Retired Oracle / Oracle Retraité

Hi @pckku, thanks for the further clarification.  I see your points, and agree that not everyone needs all the services, and some people are on tight budgets, and that more choice is better than less (to a point). 

 

Every company has to sit down and set their direction and strategy, and what customer segment(s) they wish to attract and target.  Public Mobile have seemingly decided to target the medium target market with their current plan offerings.  Folks that ideally need a mix of services, and a medium amount of data--between approx 1 and 2 GB per month, with an outlier plan around 4GB.  They are more than happy to offer up services to folks outside of those target markets, should those customers decide that an existing plan option might work okay for them. 

 

I think PM has, without so much as specifically stating it, kind of drawn a line in the sand with their texting offerings.  Either you want it, and it will cost you, depdning on your other plan options, between zero and $15 per month, or you don't want it, and it will cost you nothing.  They don't appear to be interested in accomdoating a middle ground at this point in time.  This is just my opinion, but I believe it because they feel their current offerings offer a great amount of value to the average consumer, and the way they can do that is by focusing on the plans and add-ons that provide an overall healthy portfolio that works for PM as well as for their target market.

 

The long and short of all the above rambling is that, although I don't think it's a bad idea to offer up texting add-ons, I don't think you are likely to see this adopted any time soon.  I'm just trying to manage expectations, because I think PM has painted a pretty clear picture of their texting felings with the recently overhauled plans. 

pckku
Great Citizen / Super Citoyen

Thank you, @srlawren.  Let's hope PM will make the plans more flexible for their customers.

Azopp
Good Citizen / Bon Citoyen

hi all!

 

I would REALLY like some texting would be done as an addon! Or at least some par-per-use option.

 

I'm a new customer and I decided my plan would not include text messaging, because I text very rarely. And I thought I would be still able to send/receive text messages and pay per use. But now I found out I would have no texting at all, neither incoming nor outgoing.

Maybe I would never need a single message to be sent, but I'd like to be able to receive ones.

 

I was thinking about moving all my family to PM, but this only option of extra $30 for Global texting is too much.

P.S. I have 90 days Unlimited Talk Plan atm.

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