Public Mobile: A Canadian Mobile Provider Worth Switching To

So, it's been awhile. Lately, I've been wanting to do a little writeup on Public Mobile (PM), a mobile service provider I switched to within the last year. I've had a good chance to try out the service so I feel I've been able to form my impressions about the service. Here goes!

A good place to start might be what (PM) is not:

* They are not a contract service provider.

* They do not subsidize phones (and thus absorb those costs in the plans).

* They do not offer appealing plans and rewards to just new customers.

* They do not bill you after-the-fact for what you use (data, minutes, etc.)

* They do not have call centers for customer support. 

* They do not use a network with limited coverage in Canada. They do not use the concept of "zones".

Some of the above may not appeal to everyone. In short, PM is not for those who rely on the service provider for when things go wrong or for getting the latest and greatest phones. As a provider, they are no frills, but this brings certain advantages to the customer that I'll cover. 

What I really like about this provider is that they empower their customers with extra savings and the ability to make the service what they need it to be, for example, if their usage patterns change. Probably the most important thing: they're not a provider who bilks loyal customers, nor a provider that does hidden fees.

Appealing Plans (Ready Made or Build Your Own) And Simple Add Ons

One of the main advantages of PM is the variety of plans they offer to both new and existing customers. If you're on Plan A and you decide you want to change to B, you can do so with ease right from your account -- even if plan B is a promotion plan. I did just that over the months as I found my usage patterns or budget changed. It's total flexibility -- no dealing with a customer service provider in a retention department to try to get a good deal.

At the time of writing, they offer a $15 plan with 100 Canada-wide minutes, unlimited incoming calling, and unlimited international texting. Need data? You get 250 mb bonus data for adding your credit card and setting it up for auto pay (I'd strongly recommend this). A further benefit: you get $2 off per 30 days, just for adding your card. That makes the plan $13/30 days. I'm not sure that any other provider offers something this competitive.

That's on the low end. They also offer higher-priced plans with more data and general coverage. Probably one of the more unique offerings is the $60/30 day plan that offers 8 gigs of data but also 2 gigs of US roaming data. Perfect for people who commute back and forth between Canada and the US frequently! You can also build your own plan to make it even more tailor made to your needs, but the preset plans in my experience offer a great variety and a lot of value off the bat.

I should also commend their add on system. Whether talk, text, or data (in Canada or US roaming), you can get coverage that complements your plan and the add on doesn't expire until you use it up -- not after a month, not after a year; only when you use it all up.

I added the 500 min Canada wide add-on for $5. Typically my plan covers my phone calls and I get a lot of incoming calls at work, but if I dip below my 100 min, I have the 500 min add on as a backup that just kicks in automatically. The same thing can be done with data -- think of the add ons as a kind of "overdraft protection" for your plan. I can't compare to other providers, but PM makes add ons really simple and the system is a good one.

No Frills Leading to Extra Rewards

PM is definitely a no frills provider -- you won't get the latest iPhone or anything from them. You have to bring your own device, whether unlocked from a different provider or a phone you purchased new or used. There's also no customer support hotline that you can call when issues occur (though there is an excellent community forum and a moderator team that you can use a variety of issues and I'll get into that later). That's not everyone's cup of tea.

But if that all didn't scare you off, read on! With no phone subsidies and no call center, there's a lot of extra room for savings. I already covered the cheap plans -- those on their own are great. But there's more ways to save with Public Mobile:

* Set up autopay (add a credit card to account) - $2 off every 30 days
* Stay with PM - For each year, $1 taken off your plan per 30 days
* Refer friends/family - They get $10 off for signing up, you get $1 off every 30 days
* Contribute to the PM community - Provide help in the forums. Get up to $20 off!

That's a lot of extra ways to save. The easiest one off the bat is autopay. It's a no brainer, in my books. And on the $1 off per year point: when have you ever heard of a company that rewards you for loyalty? 

Great Tower Coverage - The Same as Telus/Koodo!

Even though Public Mobile is a "David" amongst all the "Goliath" carriers, they're technically a subset of Telus. Telus, in my opinion, is rather expensive, but they have great tower coverage. Of course, with the pricier plans, you get other benefits like phone subsidization, call center support, etc. PM is much cheaper but no phones or call centers. That said, it's on the exact same network! That's what really sold me on switching over to them. Some of the other small carriers don't have great network coverage yet, so even if their plans are appealing, they're not much good if you have to worry about whether you're in a home or away zone or if you hit a dead zone and can't use any data.

With PM, there's no home/away zones. Most of the plans include Canada-wide calling. I live in Ontario, but if I'm in BC, I can make/receive calls without worrying about long distance. For a no frills carrier, their coverage across Canada is second to none. They even have US roaming add ons and a plan that includes Canada/US coverage (as mentioned earlier).

Pay for What You Use

No more second-guessing whether you go over your usage allotment, because with PM, you're on a prepaid service provider. That means you pay up front (so, for a $25 plan, you pay the $25 + tax and whatever the plan includes is what you use). No surprising data overage charges at the end of the month. If you have 500 mb data for 30 days, that's what you get. The downside is that if you run out, you're cut off until the plan renews. But you can always have add-ons, as well, as backup coverage, should you ever run over. But again, those are paid for up front. It's different than most carrier plans (postpaid -- ie. billed for the total after your usage is calculated), but I feel that prepaid just "makes sense" and it certainly has made it easier for me to track usage. No more surprise bills and what you pay is what you get -- it's not as big of an adjustment as you might think!

Is Public Mobile Right for You?

I'd say it's right for just about everyone! But I'd still recommend that you make sure you're comfortable with the following:

* Bringing your own phone and replacing it yourself if something goes wrong. (Preferably unlocked, but Telus/Koodo phones as-is should work -- it's all on the same network!)

* Understanding there's no tech support line and being willing to ask for technical help on forums and contacting moderators for more extended troubleshooting (it can take up to 72 hours for them to respond, but I've had nothing but good experiences)

* Understanding that you're charged based on number of days, so either 30, 60, or 90 depending on the plan you pick or build. This did not take me a long time to adjust to but it's different than most carriers where you have a set billing period.

* Prepaying for service up front (rather than paying after the fact when you receive the bill). Again, not difficult to adjust to, IMO, but it's slightly different than most providers unless you're on a prepaid service.

Referral Code If You're Ready to Sign Up!

I cannot recommend these guys enough and I encourage you to sign up if you're looking for a new cell provider and you've had enough of the "big three" or any other company you've been with.  If you are going to sign up, I'd appreciate it if you could sign up through my referral code so we can both save!

The referral code is E833JN. Go ahead and sign up here and start saving now! https://activate.publicmobile.ca/?raf=E833JN