cancel
Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Dot-mobile. Possible competition for PM.

BearFBI
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

So before switching to PM was even a thought i was waiting so long for the new Tiny Telecom Dot-mobile to Bring affordable wireless in canada. For years and years canada has had terrible prices for wireless service. I was always jealous of the U.S and Europe's wireless. This is where Freedom Mobile was supposed to come in. Well the problem with freedom is that they offer zoned plans and most of their towers are only in Toronto and apparently their network is garbage. Dot-mobile is supposed to fix this. They operate like PM with all online support and their plans are supposed to look like this, so you start with a base 10$ Unlimited Canada and US talk and Text and buy your data up from there. With Data on Tap what you buy is yours. There aren’t any artificial restrictions on where or when you can use it you can even use it in the US without extra charge. You can Automatically refill your data with their app when it’s low or do it on demand when your budget allows. This is one thing i wish PM had is Rollover data. Whatever data you Buy is yours for as long as you top up the base 10$ There are basically no plans and you can set your maximum data spending limit for the month. You start with 10$ and buy the data you need. I am estimating the data to be 5$ per GB. They are offering E-sim and they are trying to Tap into ride sharing or food delivery services to send a sim card to your door in less than 15 minutes. They are trying to partner with all the big 3 carriers Telus, Rogers, And Bell to get Canada wide coverage. NO ZONES. All they operate is their cloud core. They are offering modern payment methods like Apple pay and Google Pay. Now lets talk about PM. I think this would be a major competitor to PM possibly making PM lower their prices to not loose their customers. If PM got rid of their data plans and started with base talk and text plans and made data ad-dons cheaper that would be amazing. If Dot-mobile's Data on tap app would offer 5$ per GB then that blows away PM's 15$ for 1GB ad-don at the moment. I am currently on the 25$ plan and its amazing. I get 1GB of data and unlimited Talk/Text. With Dot-mobile for 25$ you would get 10$ (Base) +3GB Data (15$) =25$. Now that's a better plan. The only problem i have is leaving PM. I would not want to leave PM. I am planning on getting my family and friends on it too and it would be hard to switch to Dot-mobile. I think that PM is going to have to lower their prices because of competition Or switch to Talk and Text plans only with way cheaper data ad-dons. 

If anyone is interested this is their website.

https://dotmobile.app/

They are planned to launch in Fall of 2020 but i don't think that will happen until 2021. Also their plan could completely fail because the big 3 might not offer them cheap enough prices. They are already registered as a NVMO but no agreements were made yet for pricing. What are your opinions? 

23 REPLIES 23

brettster99
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

I know about them and have actually signed up on there email list to get updates on what they are doing. I’m hoping it does really well because if it does then that means more competition and lower prices or better plans. But now with Covid-19 they will haft to push back launching and if it doesn’t do well then it would be a flop.

 

 

Naepalm
Mayor / Maire

@BearFBI wrote:

So before switching to PM was even a thought i was waiting so long for the new Tiny Telecom Dot-mobile to Bring affordable wireless in canada. For years and years canada has had terrible prices for wireless service. I was always jealous of the U.S and Europe's wireless. This is where Freedom Mobile was supposed to come in. Well the problem with freedom is that they offer zoned plans and most of their towers are only in Toronto and apparently their network is garbage. Dot-mobile is supposed to fix this. They operate like PM with all online support and their plans are supposed to look like this, so you start with a base 10$ Unlimited Canada and US talk and Text and buy your data up from there. With Data on Tap what you buy is yours. There aren’t any artificial restrictions on where or when you can use it you can even use it in the US without extra charge. You can Automatically refill your data with their app when it’s low or do it on demand when your budget allows. This is one thing i wish PM had is Rollover data. Whatever data you Buy is yours for as long as you top up the base 10$ There are basically no plans and you can set your maximum data spending limit for the month. You start with 10$ and buy the data you need. I am estimating the data to be 5$ per GB. They are offering E-sim and they are trying to Tap into ride sharing or food delivery services to send a sim card to your door in less than 15 minutes. They are trying to partner with all the big 3 carriers Telus, Rogers, And Bell to get Canada wide coverage. NO ZONES. All they operate is their cloud core. They are offering modern payment methods like Apple pay and Google Pay. Now lets talk about PM. I think this would be a major competitor to PM possibly making PM lower their prices to not loose their customers. If PM got rid of their data plans and started with base talk and text plans and made data ad-dons cheaper that would be amazing. If Dot-mobile's Data on tap app would offer 5$ per GB then that blows away PM's 15$ for 1GB ad-don at the moment. I am currently on the 25$ plan and its amazing. I get 1GB of data and unlimited Talk/Text. With Dot-mobile for 25$ you would get 10$ (Base) +3GB Data (15$) =25$. Now that's a better plan. The only problem i have is leaving PM. I would not want to leave PM. I am planning on getting my family and friends on it too and it would be hard to switch to Dot-mobile. I think that PM is going to have to lower their prices because of competition Or switch to Talk and Text plans only with way cheaper data ad-dons. 

If anyone is interested this is their website.

https://dotmobile.app/

They are planned to launch in Fall of 2020 but i don't think that will happen until 2021. Also their plan could completely fail because the big 3 might not offer them cheap enough prices. They are already registered as a NVMO but no agreements were made yet for pricing. What are your opinions? 


interesting here is an article from a year ago talking about them needing to secure 10'000 consumers. They are still at 7500 a year later. I hadn't heard of them but will keep my eye out. Would PM follow through to stay competitive I don't know? Have the big 3 stepped their service up and lower the cost of mobile, no. 

 

Dotmobile The new kid on the block

Anonymous
Not applicable

And Lucky sucks!! 🙂

 @wetcoaster : always on the ball. Rock n roll. 🙂

 


@BearFBI wrote:

I looked at Lucky's data ad-dons and man oh man. It goes to show you how the original 30$ for 1GB was overpriced. Even the 1GB for 15$ at the moment. in my opinion a gig should be 5$ or at least 8$

Annotation 2020-04-13 181658.jpg


In your comparison you have conveniently not mentioned the differences between Public Mobile's data add-ons and Lucky's data add-on, IMHO you are comparing apples and oranges:

 

Screenshot_2020-04-13-Data-Add-Ons-Cell-Phone-Plans-Lucky-Mobile.jpg

 

- Lucky has quite the list of plans that you can't add the data add-on to. Public Mobile allows you to add a data add-on to any of their base plans.

 

- Lucky's data add-on is per month, any unused portion doesn't roll over to the next billing cycle. Public Mobile's data add-on is yours until used up, whether that is two days or two years.

 

So, hypothetically, if I needed an additional 200MB/30days of full speed ("3G") data on top of my, say, $25 plan with Lucky, and I'd opt to do that with an add-on, that's $15/30days more, or $40 in total.

Doing the same with Public Mobile, the 1GB data add-on lasts 5months, bringing the monthly add-on cost to ($30 / 5 = ) $6 ($3, if you buy a promo add-on right now), or a total $31/30days. Now throw in the rewards.

 

Yes, of course, as mentioned by several other wise folks, if you use add-on data as a regular measure to increase your plan data you probably should upgrade your plan.

On the other hand, I have still a bit less 100MB left on a 1GB data add-on that I bought in January 2018 (my data gifts are still untouched), So, averaged out, I used about 35MB add-on data per 30days at about $1.11 per payment cycle, which has been clearly eclipsed by the rewards applied towards my overall phone bill.

Yes, Public Mobile's normal price is still $30/GB, but if used as intended the cost will spread out over several months. Whereas with Lucky it's reoccuring every payment cycle with a data reset, whether you've used the full 2GB in the previous cycle or not.

 

(All this does not take into consideration Lucky's throttled after the limit data... However, I don't think that that data is of much use, say for WhatsApp video calls or a Zoom meeting, which is where my PM data add-on has kicked in in the past.)

Anonymous
Not applicable

 @BearFBI 

As the first replier in this thread is known to say...take this service for what it is...not what you wish it to be. (or phrasing to that effect)

BearFBI
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

@Anonymous Yeah their 10$ Plan was great but I would need at least a gig a month. So having a 10$ plan with the 15$ Addon for a gig is not worth it. The 25$, plan is the best for my case. But it would be nice if add-ons were alittle cheaper or at least offer 2GB like Lucky for 15$. And rewards are the only thing that would keep me with PM. Either way I'm saying that as cheap as PM is, their data addons could be a little better Because some months I might just use more data than others. Again that's what dotmobile is supposed to fix. But PM already has that just on a way more expensive scale per GB addon. Also when I look on my payment history. It charges me like this. 10$ for the unlimited talk and text. And 15$ For 1G of 3G data on the 25$ Month plan.

20200413_212948.jpg

Now that seems a lot like Dot. Their 10$ Base plan and data add-ons on top of that. So technically PM's 25$ plan could offer more data. Lucky charges 15$ for 2 GB.  Even PM's 10$ plan could offer unlimited all. That's literally how they show it in my bill. But like 15$ for 1GB 3G that could be easily 2 GB compared to what dot might offer. 

 

Anonymous
Not applicable

 @BearFBI 

And I ask because, while I understand the plan is no longer available, I'm on the $10 plan here.

Limited minutes is solved by any of the calling add-ons.

Limited texts is solved by using TextNow with wifi available practically everywhere..

No data in the plan means I get full LTE 4G data for any data add-ons. I picked up 2 of the $15 1gb add-ons on special for these days.

I've been here over a year (< 2) = $1 per term.

I have autopay enabled = $2 per term

I have a few refer a friends = some

I do way more than what's good for me here = varies.

 

So I have free service. And it's Telus. Can Dot match that?

Yeah...vapourware.

BearFBI
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

@Anonymous No I'm talking about Dotmobile. they plan to not offer plans. Everyone starts with the 10$ base plan and ads on data. Their app is supposed to have something called data on tap. Where you tap and get 1 GB of data. They plan to make data by the GB cheaper than any other provider now. My guess would be 8$ Per GB and it doesn't expire as long as you topup your base monthly plan. I am talking about when this happens what would PM do? It would almost be better to offer talk and text plans and buy data add-ons on top of that. All they would have to do it make the data add-ons cheaper. But Dotmobile or not. PM needs to lower their Data add-on price. At the moment dot is talking about having a referral system like PM Mabry even extra data for a auto topup feature. I can't say much about rewards because they are only in alpha stage 

CRTC rules a decade ago were different. Back then it would've been illegal for the Big Three to absorb independent MNOs/MVNOs like PM, Mobilicity, Chatr, and Wind. CRTC ruled have changed a few times, they've even amended Wireless Code in ways which removed some Big Three (Four) advantages.

 

Maybe they'll change again. But I'm seriously of the opinion that Canadian operators will do all they can to keep charging Canadian prices for artificially scarce services which couldn't truly compete in an open free market.

Anonymous
Not applicable

 @BearFBI 

Will Dot offer one or more of the rewards this place has?

 

Reading the thread, you kept mentioning the total cost of add-on data...is that assuming you would use it all in one plan term? Then absolutely go up in plan with more data. But the beauty of add-ons is that they stay on until consumed. I'm just about to finally consume the Christmas gift data. (albeit a lot less use these days)

BearFBI
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

@Korth Dotmobile has already completed its registration with the CRTC as a proposed full Mobile Virtual Network Operator. So they might actually be able to start one up. They already have a cloud core and they keep moving forward. That does make sense though because the US carriers would already have opened shop here in canada. But look at PM they started off as a NVMO and then they just got bought by telus. The same might happen to Dot-Mobile but i don't know by who? Freedom? 


CRTC does not allow foreign entry to Canadian market. Nor do they allow the Big Three (Four) to startup more MVNO brands. And the Big Three (lobbying through CWTA) have always opposed the idea of more competitors, they've got a nice nation-wide oligarchy/cartel which hlis quite stable and unthreatened. The last thing they want is Verizon or AT&T or T-Mobile setting up shop with unlimited CAN&USA talk plans which include big data at cheap prices.

 

Ambitious politicals might promise disruptive innovation, but such a thing certainly ain't gonna happen while Canada has other pressing concerns to deal with.

 

This dot-mobile thing is probably just a "placeholder" foot-in-the-door thing. Which won't amount to anything because the door has three big fat padlocks on it.

BearFBI
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

@srlawren My 25$ PM Plan covers my needs perfectly but im just shooting out my opinion about a few things that could be changed. Like if Data ad-dons are useless why offer them. So far i have no complaints but in the future new NVMO'S could possibly offer cheaper and more straightforward ways of using data. Im hoping PM follows too.

srlawren
Retired Oracle / Oracle Retraité

@BearFBI @gpixel the community generally recommends you pick a plan with enough data included to cover your typical usage patterns most months, as plan data is always cheaper than add-on (or overage at post-paid provider) data.  If you need more data on most months than you can get at a plan here, you would be better served by shopping around the other providers and looking for a plan that will cover your needs.


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

BearFBI
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

I looked at Lucky's data ad-dons and man oh man. It goes to show you how the original 30$ for 1GB was overpriced. Even the 1GB for 15$ at the moment. in my opinion a gig should be 5$ or at least 8$

Annotation 2020-04-13 181658.jpg

BearFBI
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

@gpixel I dont think it works like that. But another thing is the 30$ for 1 GB of 4G lte. Thats too overpriced. Everything elese is pretty good. Like the 40$ plans and 50$ the 25$ is the best in the market but it could be cheaper. Even the 35$ why would i pay an extra 10$ for 500MB of data. I wish PM still had their Idea Lab. Im not complaining because no body elese offers 1GB of data for 25$ a month other than lucky but they at least have to update their addon pricing to fit with their plans so it dosent look overpriced. This is where a provider with no plans and only ad-dons would be more simple.

@ShawnC13  that's disappointing... I guess that means no cheaper data add-ons in the near future.


@gpixel wrote:

this is interesting. PMs data add-on is for 4g internet if I'm not mistaken, hense being more expensive. what if PM would offer a 3g data add-on as a cheaper alternative. I wonder if that is something they might consider. if this were to come into fruition, or even now, just give it to us now! lol


@gpixel the data add-ons are at whatever speed your plan is.  So if you have an LTE lite _throttled 3G" speed that is what you will get.  If you have a plan without data and buy the add-on you will get full speed LTE. Or if your current plan is a grandfathered LTE plan that is what you get.

 


I am happy to help, but I am not a Customer Support Agent please do not include any personal info in a message to me. Click HERE to create a trouble ticket through SIMon the Chatbot *

this is interesting. PMs data add-on is for 4g internet if I'm not mistaken, hense being more expensive. what if PM would offer a 3g data add-on as a cheaper alternative. I wonder if that is something they might consider. if this were to come into fruition, or even now, just give it to us now! lol

The big 3 have a way of messing up competition.  The home internet has been opened up for a number of years now.  However, I pay less at the retail level from the primary provider than resellers pay at the wholesale level for access to the final mile.  

BearFBI
Deputy Mayor / Adjoint au Maire

@will13am Yeah. Their vision is great. But they haven't even made any agreements yet. I don't think its going to go well. The big 3 are going to charge them loads and their "affordable wireless" would not be so affordable anymore. And if they do succeed then i hope PM follows. Its Technically possible on a business standpoint. Right now 1 GB of data is 15$ I am on a 25$ plan. if im going to pay 15$ for a gig i might as well upgrade to the 40$ Plan giving me 4 Extra gigs for the same cost. So that goes to show you how 5$ for 1GB ad-don is perfectly possible. And it would only make it much easier if PM started with Talk and text plans and you buy your data ad-dons. Thats literally all they have to do to basically turn into dot-mobile. I really love PM and i am not planning on switching because PM is more developed and probably more reliable. but if they succeed and PM dosent follow then im going to feel a little sad because i could be getting a better price for what i have. But either way im not switching PM would do something or make a big Promo to keep people. Also i really dont have high hopes for them because i think they closed their alpha stage of their app. COVID is going to make all of this harder for them too.

will13am
Oracle
Oracle

@BearFBI , dot is pretty much vaporware at this point.  How about this for optimism.  If dot is credible/becomes a force to reckon with, Public Mobile might be forced to compete and we get the benefits of competition without going anywhere.  

Need Help? Let's chat.