Ottawa ON - Gatineau PQ

[kav2001c]

This idea has been posted before (even by myself once) but really needs another look

It seems silly that a call originating in Ottawa & terminates in Gatineau is a LOCAL call, yet those on provincial calling plans are unable to do so

A provincial long distance plan SHOULD cover a LOCAL call, regardless of what area code is

Whether Public makes an exception for those living there or lets anyone in ON dial it (after all with a Province wide long distance plan we can then call Gatineau from ANYWHERE in ON)

This issue needs to be resolved; many people make this daily commute and it sounds really weird repeatedly explaining that on a Province wide plan they can dial a city hundreds of kilometres away but can not place a LOCAL call

[srlawren]

@Esq yes I agree, that scenario should get fixed.  It is different than the one to which @RogerI was referring.  The scenario you mention should be a valid call but is not possible due to situations beyond your control.  

[gmd]

Driving on old Highway 17, in L'Orignal ON near Ivaco, the strongest tower is in Pointe-aux-chenes QC. That's where I made my first out-of-province call to Ottawa on PublicMobile, from the Ontario side of the border...

Good thing I had the LD add-on. It was a one minute call.

[SWM]

@gmd provides a perfect example of why this issue needs to be dealt with. As a user, we do not have the ability to select what tower we connect to and as a result, we have cases where we are in our home province and are being charged (if you have an add-on) or are unable to make/recieve a phone call that should be included in our plan.

[MatLax00]

Let me add to that, I just registered my SIM in Gatineau, when I got to chose my phone number I chose the province of Quebec, then I had to chose a city, Gatineau isn't there, Hull isn't either, so I went with OttawaHull (NOTE: I DIDN'T CHANGE THE PROVINCE, I STILL HAVE QUEBEC SELECTED), finished registration, transfered my phone number from Koodo (which is an 819 number), tried calling my mother to confirm that everything works... Nope, they consider that I'm in Ontario because I selected OttawaHull and I've got a province-wide plan! Let me repeat that, there is no "Gatineau" zone, it just doesn't exist!

I also expected the "province-wide" plan to also include the basic "local zones" usually included by every other service providers, as would anyone who lives close to the border with another province, because that's how service providers have worked for decades, may it be on landlines or wireless! There's a local zone and getting a "province-wide" plan has always meant that I could call my friends in 500km away in the same province, but suddenly "province-wide" means "numbers from your own province only" (if you're lucky enough that you can register inside your own province).

Now I'm trying to change my plan (still the same day I registered) to have "Canada-wide" instead and it wants to charge me the whole 3 months instead of the 15$ difference... I already contacted technical support so hopefully they can do something about that, in the meantime I'm unable to receive phone calls from most of the people I know and from work, good thing I'm not on call this week!

[Mary_M]

Hey @MatLax00

Thank you for sharing your experience!

I'm sorry to hear that you've come across a few hiccups after porting your number. If you have not yet received a response from our ecare support, feel free to send us a private message - we'll be more than happy to look into it.

Respectfully,

Mary

[kav2001c]

It is kind of odd that OttawaHull shows up as an ON phone number (despite Hull being in province of Quebec). 

The Mods will help fix for sure (I see Mary already replied) but this is something hopefully Public will fix in the near future.

Just keep sharing this idea, we have the traction now, just need the fix.

Thanks to everyone for supporting! 

[SWM]

So does this mean that Public is going to be looking into this issue since they seem to be aware of it?

[kav2001c]

@SWM nothing is ever official in this forum, we are *asking* Public to consider the option

But if it is something you agree with definately bravo it and share to freinds

[SWM]

@srlawren, I don't think anyone is suggesting everyone on a provincial-wide plan should be automatically compensated to a canada-wide plan. However, I think what most people are saying is that a solution is needed, something like towers close to provincial borders should be whitelisted in case a phone connects to them when you are still physically in your home province or simply include local calling areas in the provincial-wide plan. 

[srlawren]

@SWM that seems like a pretty good possible solution actually.