We’ve had a couple of people ask about 911 fees. The $40/month that you pay for unlimited talk and text doesn’t have additional fees like a System Access Fee, or a 911 fee. Public Mobile has integrated 911 access into our network, so you will be able to call 911 if you ever need help in an emergency.
Archive for the ‘Questions & answers’ Category
Featured Question of the week: Do you have 911 fees like the other carriers?
Tags: 911, 911 fees, fees, Q & A, question | Posted in Questions & answers | 1 Comment »
The Perfect Plan
Everyone has a phone for a different reason- some for work, some for social, some for both- some receive more calls, some do the dialing, while others are busy texting. Whatever the reason, your needs aren’t necessarily matching what you’re paying for. We want to know what YOUR ideal plan is.
Tags: cell, orange line, public mobile, the perfect plan | Posted in Questions & answers | 7 Comments »
Total Cell Phone Satisfaction
Being satisfied with your cell phone plan isn’t such a crazy notion is it? Then why is it that so many of us aren’t? Would you be surprised to learn that the majority of the people we talked to said they aren’t entirely happy with what they’re being offered- some are even anticipating the end of their contracts. We spoke to a few Montrealers to find out why they’re unhappy. The more we know, the better Public Mobile can be.
Tags: cell, orange line, public mobile, satisfaction, video | Posted in Questions & answers | 1 Comment »
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 | 11 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 | 15 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 | 6 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 | 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 | 31 Comments »
