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WIND says Public Mobile is not unlimited
New entrant Public Mobile launched their wireless network today, offering a flat rate $40 unlimited talk and text plan. They offer the following devices for those located in Ontario and Montreal: ZTE C78, Kyocera Tomo, Samsung R312 and the Kyocera G2G0.
It seems that WIND Mobile is first to jump on the train to state how their network is better. They have issued a press release that says “We welcome all new entrants to the market…. as Canadians make new choices about wireless, they should know exactly what they’re buying. While Public made a lot of claims about being “unlimited”…the limits seem pretty clear to us. Unlimited network coverage? Nope. Public does not offer coverage outside their service area, which means no roaming. For example, once you step outside the city of Toronto, your phone won’t work. That doesn’t help when your car breaks down north of the 401. Or west of the 427. Mobile phones are supposed to be mobile. And, their launch coverage is much smaller than predicted.”
Public Mobile spent $53 million during the AWS Spectrum Auction and can reach 19 million people in Ontario and Quebec. Back in April of last year CEO of Public Mobile Alec Krstajic stated that their customers will be the working class, the value conscious segment, “I think first and foremost we are going to be the cellphone company for people who really feel that today there isn’t really a choice for them.”
What do you think about the price plans and the Public Mobile offering?
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40 comments for “WIND says Public Mobile is not unlimited”
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I’m not a WIND fanboy, but it seems to me that Public Mobile’s goal is to set up shop, get bought out and make lots of money while doing so. I don’t believe they’re serious long term option for consumers.
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in response to Public mobile being unlimited…it is I have been with them since Sept 2010 and the have never charged me a penny more than the 40$ a month! In addition their customer service is STELLAR.. I should know I used to work for TELUS…
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Their site isn’t exactly clear. It states that their current $40 offer is a limited time ‘pre-launch’ offer.
It also states, “If at any time before your phone is set up, you feel this offer isn’t for you, simply return your phone and original packaging to the store to get all your money back.” I’m sorry but am I missing something? If my phone isn’t set up yet then why wouldn’t I get that option to return the phone. Moreover, how could I get a phone if it isn’t set up yet.
Maybe I’m missing something but what are they trying to say.
If a site is already vague then I don’t know what kinds of tricks they will be pulling after they complete their launch.
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their coverage map is MUCH smaller than they originally had on their website, that’s for sure.
public mobile has been talking a lot of smack about wind for the past couple of months, it’s time public starts feeling the burn.
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No coverage north of Steeles until 2011. FAIL
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I have 2 iPhones with Rogers,I need more and better couverage.Wind/Public don’t cut it.Telus/Bell when they have Canada wide HSPA couverage.Still lacking Northern Ontario/Manitoba/Saskatchewan.
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why would we want a $40 “unlimited” package that has no data, goes with no good phones, and cannot be used outside of toronto?!?!?
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Has Wind heard the one about people living in glass houses throwing stones? While it’s true PM won’t help you much when you’re outside Toronto, it’s more than a bit precious for Wind to make snide remarks about not be able to complete calls when north of the 401 or west of the 427. The time and effort might be spent better on improving the network.
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I understand that wind is for people who don’t want to spend a lot of money, who don’t want to pay for a phone with all the frills because they can’t afford it. However, I thought the whole pointof the auction was to get what the states get or europe gets. So far I think public missed the point.
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WIND IS RIGHT!!
You are actually paying more for Public Mobile, if you get the $40 Unlimited plan (Limited Canada Wide)+ $5 for voicemail
WIND has the Always Shout Plan for $45 which includes Unlimited Canada Wide Min + voicemail/ Plus u can use the phone almost anywhere in the world
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sorry take out wind and put in public mobile, first sentence
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I’m kinda agreeing with everyone who’s saying WIND shouldn’t be one to talk here… After all, while they have a roaming agreement with Rogers to be able to use their towers when their customers head outside the Home Zones, it’s not exactly convenient (and can sometimes be costly!) to those customers who frequently travel outside the home zones.
At the same time, though, it’s a wee bit of a relief to see that the incumbents aren’t the only ones giving grief about coverage of the newcomers…
that said, I still won’t be switching any time soon. Not because I’m a fan of being gouged, but simply because I’m outside the service zones of the new guys far too often. Heck, if I’d decided to switch to WIND, I definitely would not be saving money. Maybe Skype will finally come to the Blackberry and I can consider dropping my unlimited US calling option on Telus… maybe…
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They are full of shocking surprises and they for sure really kidding us!
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Seriously, Wind is in no position to talk. They must not have PR people because this is one of their dumbest moves yet.
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and they couldn’t partner with a roaming partner what a shamee
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People who are reading these blogs are not customers of PM.
There is still about 40% of consumers in canada dont have a cell phone all togehter, let alone use anything other than public transportation which doesnt bring them anywhere close to outside the calling zone that will be there at lauch.
Also, there is no chance any of them know the diffrence with gsm or cdma…
Am I wrong??
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I think it is clear that they are either going to go under or get bought out by another company. Who launches a CDMA network that doesn’t even have DATA?! Like WTF?! I don’t know what they are smoking, but I do a lot of travelling out of the country like to the French Polynesia, and there is no CDMA network for me to roam on there!!!! Same with most of the rest of the world! They must have planned to be bought out, either that or they are retarded…
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People keep talking about how expensive Wind is if you roam outside a “home” zone. Don’t forget, a Wind “home” zone is anywhere Wind has coverage. That can be in any city, not just yours. Plus, when you do roam, it’s 25cents/minute, even in the US. Robelus is a minimum of 35cents/minute in Canada and their “home” zone, or local calling area is vastly smaller. As well, at least with TELUS, roaming in the US is a crazy $1.45/minute!!
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I actually agree with WIND. Atleast they have the option to ROAM, sure its costly.. but you have the ability to do so.
And in regards to people saying WIND shouldn’t comment. Where were you when WIND was just launching up and Public Mobile were bitching at the CRTC and Tony Clement about WIND being foreign and should not be allowed on Canadian soil like they were some kind of traitors.
Take your dead CDMA technology along with your attitude and shove it PM. You should have atleast signed a roaming agreement with Bell/Telus to roam on their soon to be obsolete CDMA network
Kyocera… really ? you picked Kyocera ?
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no 3G no coverage = FAIL
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Why am I back on this? It seems like some readers just can’t understand there might be a market for people who don’t travel regularly to French Polynesia, or even the USA. PM doesn’t have a roaming agreement because it decided not to seek one. It doesn’t offer data because it decided the cost of setting up the service wouldn’t be repaid by its customers, i.e. they wouldn’t use it or want it.
I have no idea whether this is a viable business strategy, although some savy investors appear to think it is. They don’t post regularly on MobileSyrup, maybe because they are too busy managing their portfolios.
It did surprise me that PM didn’t try to undercut Wind on service price. Maybe the strategy is to get the customer by offering a cheaper handset and match the month to month price. PM is also setting up stores where its potential customers live, not the Holt Renfrew Centre.
Wind’s roaming agreement with Rogers is a strong draw, as is the promise of US roaming at regular prices. From my reading of Wind forums, the US part of that is still a promise (have yet to read of anyone who was able to complete a call from the USA) and even in Canada, successful roaming is matter of luck. It is anything but reliable.
Now we have to wait to see is PM is any more reliable than Wind but I don’t expect a lot of PM users to be chatting on the ‘net.
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I moved to Toronto from New York in Sept of 09. I decided right away I wasn’t going to have a cell phone at all, because there was nothing available in Canada even remotely similar to the plan I had in New York. For $50 I had unlimited txting and calling in North America as long as I stayed in NYC. Perfect!
Where was this in Canada?
Not to be found.
I lived without a cellphone in Canada until Today when I got myself the PM 6 months unlimited for $25 a month plan after researching the differences between Wind and PM. There is definitely a market for this CHEAPER route, I’m part of it and there are lots of us!
I don’t travel, I am a poor student on a budget, I take the TTC so there is no “getting stuck on the 427″ or what have you. I have tons of friends and family all over Canada and the USA I want to keep in touch with without worrying about the time day or minute cost.
As a bonus The connection seems very clear, the camera is fun and I can even play mp3′s.. for a techno loser like myself (and many others) this is one fancy doohickey I’m really really happy I got.
Just my 0.02
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Wind coverage? It’s spotty at best. It good that Wind has roaming.
What they don’t tell you is that you end up roaming within Wind’s network area because of all of the holes.
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I think that the Canadian Wireless industry can be compared to a bunch of 13 year old school girls. All these companies do is b***h about each other behind each others back, and in the end, Canadian consumers are still left paying ridiculous amounts for their cell phones. Instead of looking at ways to reduce costs for Canadian consumers, they sit in their board rooms and find ways to call out their competitors in hopes of grabbing a bigger market share.
And in all honesty, WIND needs to shut their stupid faces and realize that they are also never going to be a Bell, Telus or Rogers. Just because they got into the market through a back door, doesn’t mean they have a voice in the industry. In the end, one of the big 3 companies will buy WIND, just like they are going to buy Public Mobile when they realize they don’t have a clue what they are doing.
After this is all said and done, Canadians will still be left with huge cell phone bills, there wont be any more competition than there is today, and these wireless executives will have to find more creative ways to act like 13 year old girls.
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PM is for peoples who dont have a cell yet and would like to bring their homephone with them while they go at the grocery store. And dont want to either count their daytime usage or have to go at the convenience store buy a card to recharge, because they dont have a credit card. If you wanna roam in canada or internationnal send them an email they will tell you the same thing they told me: you are not their target customer altough they will be pleased to provide the service if still want to go with (a profit making company afterall)…
Im eager to see how their network will be they are multi access points instead of tower lets see if it pays…
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First of all people need to get the facts straight and stop talking about things that they do not know! PUBLIC MOBILE is going to be a bomb that will create many waves to come. When FIDO started out, where was there coverage, and what about the CITY FIDO plan, you can only use your 2000 minutes in the city… hence the name. WIND mobile is trying to get the BELL, TELUS, and ROGERS clients where PUBLIC MOBILE is aiming for a clientel that dont even own a phone, if the FIDO, KOODOO, SOLO clients start to line up at their doors well better for them. PUBLIC MOBILE is offering service for people who never thought of owning a cell phone because they are scared of the bill that will break their bank. Honestly you guys should educate yourself before writing nonsense.
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FanofPM finally somebody know what theyre talking about.
Its really funny how many people writing on this jus dont get it…PM is not going after those travelling to french polynesia or any polynesia!!!! SO STOP MAKING DUMB COMMENTS!!!
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The readers of mobilesyrup.com seem content to troll and bash Public Mobile. While Public Mobile does not appeal to a smart phone user like me, I rather like their new advertising campaign. Having visiting one of their stores, I found the marketing scheme well laid out and simple. It reminded me of Clearnet in its early days. Truth be told, the plan is attractive and with time their coverage will improve to service a wide-area. If you live in Toronto or Montreal, need a cheap phone and don’t travel much, then this is the service for you!
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PM will do just fine. Wind is in deep trouble.. Orascom the company that owns them is in deep trouble with the EU and is losing its carriers one by one. Wind in Greece, wind Italy is courting offers from vodafone, Algeria slapped them with back taxes.. daily we hear of network issues, people in the home zone with no coverage, and when you can not get a signal you would think you can roam on rogers? nope disabled. In buildings you get no coverage.. oh my the list goes on and on and they have the grapefruits to call PM out? Pm is not pretending to be a national carrier they will cater to a certain market and do well. Besides with wind.. Unlimited is limited.. caps, calls dropped.. ya getting the picture here?
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sorry fanofpm, I really don’t think unlimited talk and just plain text on a cdma network that goes nowhere is worth 40 bucks, maybe 30. As Canadians, we are looking for innovation, good prices, something to spice up the market. If you’re going to be a bargain phone company then be it! Seriously thoughm don’t leave your customers with a useless brick phone when they might need it in case of an emergency. Are people supposed to buy two phones?
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hello there.i am an individual who survives from pay cheque to pay cheque,i don’t go out of the city or the country(FRENCH POLYNESIA).I go to work then come back home and go out on occasion,i have been with telus for about 5yrs and use a 45 (UNLIMITED)package which is basically nights and weekends free from 6pm and free incoming calls and free texting.now what if i want to call a busness place during the day on a weekday? i don’t have that option,i am a pay & talk customer because thats all i could afford because telus wants my life history to put me on a contract.i will join PUBLIC MOBILE because they offer the exact things i want in a phone.i have a laptop at home so i could se the internet there,i do not need to use my phone to chat online and do other stupid stuff with.THE WORST part is trying to get hold of a business place like TTC during the week for info when their offices open from 8am to 5pm like most business places.i sometimes need to use a phone booth because you know there is a ‘PLZ HOLD’ policy in canada and thats minutes wasting right there.this public mobile company is for people like me,i can afford 40 bucks,thats all i can afford,thank you.
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Honestly,
I’m ashamed of WIND trying to explain there network is not “unlimited” because the WIND HOME ZONE isn’t unlimited in all areas of the GTA, Ottawa, Calgary Edmonton or future Vancouver. PM is a new company it needs time to mature, WIND should know that because they need time to mature there network as well. Remember how Fido lost signal in many rural areas? Well now its matured to the point of better quality (despite being with rogers) Even T-Mobile in the states used to be laughed at for signal issues, however now that its improving more and more people are signing up. So WIND stop Harping on others and focus on yourself because its just competition.
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Reason’s why Wind won’t last here:
- Blown a Billion$ on marketing, infrastructure, and other expenses for a puny Anglo Cdn market share of 30K customers nationwide.
- Back by Egyptian/ORASCOM, who deals business with North Koreans and backs the iron regime including other unsightly countries who will bail out of Canada because the politicians can’t be bribed like the countries they are in now.
- Intentionally avoiding Quebec market, because Egyptians can’t speak French and losing out 1/3 of Cdn population/business.
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PM and Wind will never be major players. PM will be bought out and Wind will turn out to be another Virgin. They will never compete with the big three
I’m with Rogers and while I can’t stand how they increase the price without notice, they are still cheaper than Wind. I’m paying literally $60/mth for my five anywhere in Canada, unlimited text, talk after 9 with 300 minutes a month during the day (which I never use bc of the myfive)
oh and it’s an iPhone
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I don’t understand why they would match Wind rather than beat them. For people in Toronto it doesn’t make a lot of sense to chose Public over Wind.
There are a lot of people (seniors for example) who have no phone right now and would never use data. I still think the sweet point for Public would have been $30-35 though. I’m sure there is a market for them, I just don’t know if it’s big enough to sustain them. When they only offer one thing what’s to stop Rogers/Bell/Telus from matching (or beating) them for six months just to wipe them out? Offer Ontario/Quebec residents $35/month and a free refurbished CDMA/EDGE phone for the same service on a 1 or 2 year contract.
@RT: They didn’t avoid Quebec, their license just doesn’t cover them. Videotron will provide service ONLY in Quebec, and Shaw only in Western Canada, do you expect them to fail too? Mobilicity is also “avoiding” Quebec, do you expect them to fail?
@Anon 6:45: Your $65/month gets you less than Wind’s $45/month plan, unless there’s a data plan in there that you’re not mentioning. Oh and that iPhone? Assuming you paid $0 for it up front on a 3 year plan (which seems unlikely) the $720 difference over that 3 years would buy you a Nexus One with $100 to spare. That’s not to say that the better Rogers network isn’t worth the cost difference, but saying you pay less seems wrong here.
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sorry Anon 6:45, make that $60 vs $45, meaning after 3 years you only save $540. Still probably enough to cover the cost you paid for the iPhone, and everything would be Canada-wide unlimited all the time.
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What strikes me the most in Public Mobile is that they are trying to get poor people as their customers in order to rip them off. Their $40 plan does not include call display, so it turns into a $45 plan. Wind Mobile’s $35 plan has everything included, so that’s $10 difference. Plus, add lousy phone which cannot be used with any other network and you have just the same rip-off contract than any other big phone company, except for a much worse service. I posted a comment raising these issues at their website so that the people reading their blog could make an informed decision. It got deleted and nobody even bothered to send me any reply. I guess Public Mobile just does not want their future customers to know the truth about the real price of their “unlimited services”. At the same time, I saw lots of negative comments at Wind Mobile website. And those comments are openly discussed and nobody deletes them. So think twice before subscribing to PM as you are not going to know what you are buying until it’s too late. You can easily end up waisting your hard-earned money on some lousy phone and no coverage in your area.
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People bashing mostly PM and a (few Wind), need to seriously get a life. There obviously is a market for their products and if you aren’t for it, shut up and stick with your plans whatever/whoever it is. Like a bunch of spoiled whiners who feel entitled that YOU know better and others don’t.
I’ve yet to read any intelligent proof from people commenting that GSM is better than CDMA. All you tech genius’ out there…PROVE IT. Any takers to my challenge!
On PM: Under privilege clientele don’t care what you think or about the brands of phones. They are just glad to pay $75 from PM for a cell phone as their ONLY phone. Why would you think these people will pay $150 or more?? Roaming forget that – these people don’t travel let alone have a car so going out of their network zones won’t matter to them.
As if you all think the Network Fairy will spring a bunch of coverage towers just for you. PM is building their network and that costs tons of money unlike the bottomless pit coming from the Egyptians. Except that WIND forgot to test out their coverage reliability after they built it in a rush, which has got to be the most brilliant marketing campaign ever about customer retention.
Write and bash each new entrant all you want – it’s to deaf ears as most couldn’t care less about your feeble minded comments.
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For someone such as myself who does not travel and just wants a plain phone with out data etc and no misleading advertising Public mobile is the way to go. 24$ unlimited talk & for 10$ extra you have call display & messages. So for about 39$ per month talk all day and no surprises. I’m 60+ and Rogers played so many tricks on me when I first signed up it was ridiculous. This is how phones used to be when I was a kid, one price for phone and extra for long distance that’s it period and no tricks. Can hardly wait till my Rogers plan runs out. For the same benefits that PM is offering me Rogers charges me 75$ and that’s only if I don’t go over the limit at by the minute calling. I hate paying for 2 minutes when I’ve only spoken for one minute & 1 second. Rogers has sucked it’s last penny out of me and I can hardly wait ” IN YOUR FACE ROGERS ” BELL & THE VIRGIN. I’m on a fixed income and the xtra $$$$$ will buy groceries etc. Jim
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I hope public mobile gets bought out by wind. public has service in montreal, wind does not. maybe wind can enter quebec especially montreal through buyout of public. why not?
I think wind, public and mobilicity should really be owned by a single company and help each other grow rather than compete against each other. they can compete against robellus. the role mobilicity and especially public is playing should really be played only by offerings by Sears, 7/11, President’s Choice and so on.
I do think wind has much broader vision for expansion and long term sustainability. But the idea of competition should be against robellus, who rapes customers with their consent. Stop the plunder by robellus and let’s wish long life for windmop.
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