Working for a new company is exciting for everyone involved. We filmed our Montreal team talking about the experience they’ve had so far.
Working for a new company
Tags: montreal, new company, team, working | Posted in Behind the scenes | Write a comment »
Thinking Twice?
Have you ever had to think twice before sending a text message? Have you ever not answered a call from a friend or family member because it was the middle of the day? Have you ever been irritated by a telemarketer chewing through your prepaid minutes? So have we. Which is why Public Mobile lets everyone talk without worrying what day and time it is, or if you’re running out of minutes. We asked a few people around Montreal these questions if they have had to think twice before dialling and here’s what they had to say.
Tags: call, metro, montreal, orange, orange line, pubic mobile, text message | Posted in General | 1 Comment »
Public Mobile stores update
A number of our stores are close to being completed. We visited some of them the other day and took some pictures to give you a quick peek inside. We’re really excited as we get closer to launch and can’t wait to greet you at the door.
Tags: montreal, stores, toronto | Posted in Behind the scenes | 10 Comments »
What we know for sure – Public Mobile in French
We’re very proud of the team we’ve assembled and we want to introduce you to as many of them as possible. Back in November you met a handful of the Public Mobile team when we posted a clip featuring our Toronto employees talking about ‘one thing’ they wanted you to know about Public Mobile and the service we want to provide. Here’s a small glimpse at our Montreal group of friends and employees talking about what makes Public Mobile special.
Tags: employees, montreal, one thing, toronto | Posted in Behind the scenes | Write a comment »
Alek in the office – Part 2
As we’ve mentioned, our plan was to launch Public Mobile at the end of 2009. It’s taken a little longer than we originally anticipated, but we’d never want to launch a network that didn’t meet our standards. We’ve also been listening to get an even better understanding of the kind of provider you’ve been waiting for. We’re doing some testing and overall tweaking to ensure that you will have the best service that we can provide. The launch date is now scheduled for the first half of 2010 and we’re working hard to deliver a service you’ll be happy with.
Wondering what we’ve been up to? Below, Alek talks about what goes into building a cell phone company from the ground up.
Tags: Alek, at work, building a network, challenge, from the ground up, fun | Posted in Behind the scenes | 2 Comments »
Did the government make new rules?
Alek appeared on the CBC Business show ‘The Lang & O’Leary Exchange’ to explain why Public Mobile wants the Federal Court of Canada to review the government’s decision to approve Globalive’s ownership structure.
In the interview Alek explains that Public Mobile is not looking to stop Globalive from operating, he simply wants the same rights when it comes to raising outside capital. This will provide benefits to consumers, allowing networks to expand faster and more competition in Canada.
Here’s the interview.
Tags: Alek, alek on cbc, cbc interview, challenge, crtc, federal court ruling, foreign capital, investment, The Lang & O’Leary Exchange | Posted in Latest news | 2 Comments »
Public Mobile Wants to Meet You!
Public Mobile is looking to add people to our team! We’re hitting the market soon, if you’re as enthusiastic as we are about what we’re building, then we’d love to meet you.
Tags: come join the fun, employment, hard-working sociable people needed, public mobile is hiring, team | Posted in Latest news | Write a comment »
Is Canada for Sale? Interview with Alek on Canada’s Foreign Ownership Rules
“What we’re hoping is that the federal court will say in fact this is a change in the law” – Alek Krstajic
On FOX Business Network, Public Mobile’s CEO, Alek Krstajic, explains why he is asking the Federal Court to review the Canadian government decision on Globalive. Public Mobile supports competition and would like to see all wireless companies receive the same access to foreign capital.
Tags: Alek, alek on fox, crtc, federal court ruling, foreign capital, fox interview, investment | Posted in Latest news | 10 Comments »
Happy Holidays!
Public Mobile would like to wish you a very merry holiday season and a happy new year. Over the next week, we’ll be with family and friends and in and out of the office so won’t be posting anything on the blog. But we’ll be back in the New Year and we look forward to hearing from you!
Tags: festive, holidays, that time of the year, woohoo | Posted in General | 4 Comments »
When will Public Mobile launch?
Our original plan was to launch service in late 2009/early 2010. It now looks like we’ll be offering service in the first half of 2010. Last summer’s city strike in Toronto held up the permitting process for building our DAS (distributed antenna system) network. We want to make sure our customers have access to the best possible network technology available. So, rather than building 200 large towers, we’ll be using approximately 1,200 DAS nodes. The benefit to our customers is high quality reception and the ability for the network to handle a high volume of calls at the same time.
Tags: 1200 nodes, das, first half of 2010, launch date, network building | Posted in Questions & answers | 4 Comments »
Answers to frequently asked questions
We have been getting a whole lot of questions from you and we want to try to address as many as we can. Below is a list of FAQs that we have gathered over the last little while, along with our answers. We love hearing from all of you and really appreciate your interest in unlimited talk with Public Mobile.
Q: Will your plan include long distance coverage?
A: Yes, we’ll certainly have options available around long distance– whether it is Canada, US or internationally. As we get closer to launch we’ll be sure to communicate the full details of our offer. Right now, we aren`t publicly discussing this information.
Q: Does $40/month include voicemail and call display?
A: We`re thinking of all types of options, including voicemail and call display. However, right now, we aren`t publicly discussing these plans. As we get closer to launch we’ll be sure to communicate the full details of our offer.
Q: Will you have roaming capabilities/US/over seas?
A: Public Mobile’s offer will be $40 flat rate unlimited talk and text. Initially we will not offer roaming but that may be added over time.
Q: I’m looking for a simple data plan along with talk & text.
A: While we are building our network to accommodate data transmission, our initial offer at launch will be an unlimited talk and text plan.
Q: Will you offer more rate plans in the future?
A: At launch, we’ll have our $40 unlimited talk and text plan, and we’re currently looking at more plans to follow.
Q: Definitely no contracts?
A: Definitely no contracts, no credit checks and no surprises.
Q: What will be your primary distribution method?
A: You’ll be able to purchase Public Mobile phones and service through corporate and dealer stores.
Q: Where and when can I purchase this service?
A: As we get closer to launch we’ll be sure to let you know where you can purchase Public Mobile phones and plans.
Q: Will I be able to bring a phone, or will I have to purchase a Public Mobile phone?
A: No, you will not be able to use an old CDMA phone on the Public Mobile network.
Q: Will the Public Mobile phones support other commercially available blocks of spectrum?
A: Our phones are also capable of supporting commercially available PCS (Personal Communications Service) blocks of spectrum, so if you ever need to make a 911 call outside the Public Mobile network footprint, the phone will still place the call.
Q: What regions do your licences cover?
A: Our licence covers southern Ontario and Quebec from Windsor to Quebec City – an area with 19 million Canadians.
Q: Will there be service in places other than Montreal and Toronto?
A: Our initial launch will take place in Montreal and Toronto, with plans for coverage from Quebec City to Windsor in the coming years.
Q: What phone models will you have at launch?
A: We currently have the ZTE C78 up on our website as a phone we’ll offer at launch. We’ll also offer a selection of phones from various manufacturers that we have yet to disclose.
Q: What is G – block spectrum anyway?
A: The spectrum that Public Mobile acquired in the 2008 Spectrum auction conducted by Industry Canada was known as G-Block. The letter is just a way of designating that particular block, and is no different than the A, B, C, D, E or F blocks that were also part of the auction
Q: Why did you go with CDMA technology?
A: GSM and CDMA describe the network technologies that mobile phones work on. Both have proponents that say one is superior to the other. In the case of Public Mobile, we’ll be building our network on CDMA technology because the network is able to handle a greater capacity
Q: Is G band going to work as well as GSM or CDMA?
A: Band (or G-Block) describes a block of spectrum that was auctioned by Industry Canada in 2008, with no difference between G-Band and A, B, C, D, E or F Bands that were also auctioned off. GSM and CDMA describe the network technologies that mobile phones work on. Both have proponents that say one is superior to the other. In the case of Public Mobile, we’ll be building our network on CDMA technology.
Tags: cdma, coverage, distribution, faq, g-block spectrum, licenses, licensing, long distance, mobile, montreal, no contract, offer details, phone support, plan, roaming, technology, toronto, voicemail | Posted in Questions & answers | 7 Comments »
Alek in the office – Part 1
We’ve had some questions recently on where Public Mobile fits in the mobile phone marketplace, and where we see ourselves in the future. We are hard at work building a business for value-conscious customers who are not well served by the current incumbents. We want to build a company that customers, our employees and our investors can be very proud of.
We also asked the question to Alek, and here’s what he had to say on where he sees Public Mobile in 5 years.
Tags: 5 years from now, Alek, at work, cell phone, CEO, future, mobile, public mobile, team | Posted in Behind the scenes | 8 Comments »
Meet Brian
You first met Brian on our rooftop and now it’s time to visit his office.
Tags: at work, Brian, cell phones, history, mobile, public mobile, team | Posted in Behind the scenes | 1 Comment »
A company built for Canada
A look at why the Public Mobile team believes that Canadians are ready for a new kind of mobile phone company.
Tags: built for canada, cell phone, let's do it right, mobile, mobile for everyone, public mobile, team, telco, unlimited with no buts | Posted in Behind the scenes | 13 Comments »
A question from: Canadian_Kool
We received an interesting inquiry and we thought we’d share it with you.
Canadian_Kool: I realize that you have a difficult band of spectrum, but I heard that you were able to use a commercially available CDMA phone on your network. In that case, I would strongly recommend that you allow people to purchase old CDMA phones and load your PRL file onto it and bring their own phones to Public. Is this even technically possible?
Public Mobile: Thanks for your question. The phone we used to make our first phone call on our G Block spectrum was a commercially available phone that had been tuned to support our G Block spectrum. Since then we’ve been talking with a variety of phone manufacturers who will provide us with a selection of phones for launch. Our phones will also be capable of supporting commercially available PCS (Personal Communications Service) blocks of spectrum, so if you ever needed to make a 911 call outside the Public Mobile network footprint, the phone would still place the call.
No, unfortunately you will not be able to use an old CDMA phones on the Public Mobile network.
Tags: cdma, g-block spectrum, pcs, public mobile answers your questions, technology | Posted in Questions & answers | 6 Comments »
A question from: Blade
Here’s another great question from a Public Mobile blog reader that we thought we wanted to share with you.
Blade: I hear a lot of talk of “Talk&Text”, that’s all well and good. But what I want to know is what are your plans for DATA? Will you be providing affordable data plans? Will data be included in your standard $40 plan? Rogers/Fido have forced me to go the last 8 months *dies a little inside* without caller display or voice-mail (my friends all hate me now but… its the principle!) so I’m kinda used to it, but I’d like to know if at least voice-mail is included in your $40 plan.
Public Mobile: Hi Blade – Public Mobile will be launching with our $40 unlimited talk and text plan initially. We are building our network to accommodate data transmission so we can expand our offering to consumers in the future. As far as call display and voicemail, we are keeping the full details of our $40 unlimited talk and text plan from being released currently. Stay tuned as we’ll update our website to give full plan details as we get closer to launch.
Tags: 40$ a month, call display, data, public mobile answers your questions, unlimited talk&text, voicemail | Posted in Questions & answers | 5 Comments »
A Rooftop Tutorial
Meet Brian. He’s been working in this industry for over 20 years and he knows his mobile phone technology. Who better to explain how antennas and mobile phone signals work than him? You’ll also get to check out the view from our rooftop.
Tags: at work, Brian, cell phone, cell site #1, mobile, rooftop, starting from scratch, team, technology, telco, the latest stuff, what 20 years can do to mobile technology | Posted in Behind the scenes | 4 Comments »
A question from: Maxo
(French) Public Mobile blog reader Maxo asked us a question about our bandwidth and it’s a good one. We thought we’d share it (and our answer) with you.
Maxo: Hi, I think that what scares people is the new bandwidth you’re using. There is not one other company in America who uses it and that feeds our skepticism. Have you done conclusive testing and are you not worried about facing unexpected surprises when you launch?
Public Mobile: Hi Maxo. Thanks for your questions. The spectrum that Public Mobile purchased is really no different to the rest of the spectrum that was auctioned last year by Industry Canada. In February this year we demonstrated this at a press conference in Toronto where we made a call over our recently purchased spectrum using mobile phone equipment that is commercially available. Similar spectrum is owned by Sprint in the United States.
We have a great network team here at Public Mobile and they’re working hard to ensure that our launch is problem free. Check back in tomorrow to see a video of Brian, our technical lead, and get a tour of one of our antenna sites.
Tags: bandwidth, network, public mobile answers your questions, skepticism answered, spectrum | Posted in Questions & answers | 4 Comments »
One thing about Public Mobile
We may be biased but we think we have assembled the best team in the business. Not only are they talented and all around terrific individuals but they share in our philosophy. Here’s what they have to say about Public Mobile.
Tags: a company for you, at work, cell phone, interview, mobile, no surprise, one thing, public mobile is coming, team, telco, unlimited, we're on your side | Posted in Behind the scenes | Write a comment »
Alek in the car
Take a ride with Alek, Public Mobile’s CEO, and find out how his childhood helped to shape the company he runs today.
Tags: Alek, at work, cell phone, CEO, interview, mobile, team | Posted in Behind the scenes | 6 Comments »
Hi there
My name’s Alek, and I’m just one of the many people behind Public Mobile. I’m pretty proud to see how far we’ve progressed since we began, but also recognize we’ve got a way to go for our dream of affordable and accessible mobile phone service to come true.
Everyone has something interesting to say, and the right to say it. That’s what inspired us to create Public Mobile – that communication is a right, not a privilege.
We will offer a flat-rate, no-contract, no-nonsense plan that makes it easy for people to plan what they spend, while talking and texting as much as they want.
What all of us here at Public Mobile want most is to be a company that matters to you. We’re working hard to give you something of real value, and know that keeping your business means treating you like a real person. We have set up this blog to allow people to ask the team here at Public Mobile questions, share ideas and tell us what is important to you. We will let you know about what we’re up to, and what we’ve got planned for the future.
So, let’s get this conversation started.
What would you like to talk about today?
Alek
CEO, Public Mobile
Everybody Talk.
Tags: affordable and accessible phones, Alek, hello, this is public mobile, what the future holds for us | Posted in Behind the scenes, Latest news, Questions & answers | 28 Comments »
A quick update
By david | Posted November 13th, 2009
Hey everybody,
Our apologies if some of your comments did not appear on the blog immediately after posting them. We have changed the comments section and your questions and feedback should now immediately appear on the blog. We want to ensure that this blog is an open forum for transparency and truly a medium to answer your questions. Check out the comments section of the blog posts for some answers.
Thanks for your patience!
The Public Mobile team