As an independent CDMA carrier (May 2010 – August 2013) Public Mobile paid $52 million to purchase
Personal Communications Service G Band spectrum during the 2008
Industry Canada Spectrum auction. It was the only company in the world to deploy this spectrum. Other participants in the 2008 Spectrum auction include
Wind Mobile and
Mobilicity purchasing the different
Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) spectrum for their networks in Southern Ontario, while
Vidéotron Mobile purchased AWS to provide service throughout the province of
Quebec. Public Mobile opened stores on March 18, 2010, in Toronto and Montreal. The network was deployed in Toronto on May 26, 2010, and in Montreal on June 25, 2010. Public Mobile added 40,000 new lines throughout Q3 2011, bringing the number of total active subscriptions to 154,000. The UMX Max Android smartphone and a 3G network were launched by Public Mobile on November 22, 2011. The ZTE N762 was launched on December 5, 2011. In December 2011, retail presence for Public Mobile has been expanded to
Walmart Canada and
Zellers stores. Roaming in the
United States on
Sprint Nextel's network was also launched during that month. Rates for this service are the same as Canadian roaming rates. Public Mobile added 45,000 new subscriptions in Q4 2011, finishing the year with 199,000 active customers. During the
Super Bowl season, Public Mobile purchased
Super Bowl advertising airtime in Canada for its "Roam Rage" campaign. In February, Public Mobile also increased its monthly fee for the low-end Unlimited Talk plan by $4/month. On June 6, 2013, Public Mobile announced that Thomvest Seed Capital and Cartesian Capital acquired Public Mobile. Thomvest becomes the controlling shareholder in the company. The commitment of the Thomvest and Cartesian was to fund Public Mobile to a cash flow positive position and participate in the upcoming 700 MHz auction. Public Mobile released its seventh and last
CDMA Android smartphone, the SangFei Elevation, on November 9, 2013. On November 29, 2013, the federal Competition Bureau also approved Telus' offer, saying that "non-incumbents in areas served by Public Mobile would likely continue to 'provide
effective competition'" after the sale. A condition of the sale was that Telus offer Public Mobile's existing plans until at least the end of 2014, which they continued to do under the Public Mobile brand. On March 27, 2014, Public Mobile customers were notified that Public Mobile's existing CDMA network would be sunset by Telus in August 2014, and that customers wishing to continue service would need to buy phones compatible with Telus'
4G network. On September 4, 2014, it was announced that Public Mobile would transition toward being a digital-only "self-serve value brand" under
Telus. In February 2015, Public Mobile reorganized as a "bring your own phone" value brand. The new plans included options to customize different aspects of service (talk,
SMS, and mobile data). Additional discounts were introduced for customer loyalty (per 12 consecutive months, capped at 60 consecutive months), automatic credit (including Visa Debit) payments,
referral marketing and participating on the brand's support forum. In November 2015, Public Mobile announced it would be offering a selection of devices by way of a partnership with
Orchard, a Toronto-based smartphone refurbisher and reseller. The partnership is unprecedented in Canada as most mobile carriers are required to strike deals with hardware manufacturers before they are able to supply their subscribers with devices. In particular, Apple has direct-distribution agreements with all other national carriers with the exception of Wind and Public Mobile. On February 15, 2018, Public Mobile sent a text message to subscribers of their 12 GB for $120 plan that starting on March 20, 2018, the cost of their then lifetime plans were to increase from $40 per month to $50 per month. In the same text message, they offered subscribers the chance to migrate to
Koodo by March 15, 2018 to keep the same pricing. As many subscribers, had pre-authorized payment, referral and loyalty credits, their monthly price was below $40. This, in addition to being told that the price and plan would be valid as long as the customers were active, led to a large online backlash, where many accused Public Mobile's parent company Telus of forcing customers off of pre-paid towards post-paid plans. As a result, many subscribers contacted online media outlets and filed complains with the CCTS (Commission for Complaints for Telecom-Television Services) and made posts on Public Mobile's user forum as well as
Redflagdeals to encourage others to also file complaints. As a result of the online backlash and large number of complaints, on February 16, 2018, subscribers received another text message from Public Mobile that the planned rate increase would be cancelled. In April 2019, Public Mobile expanded distribution to include 9 retail locations in Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia.
2023 Rebrand On May 24, 2023, the online technews site MobileSyrup confirmed that Public Mobile was being rebranded, new 5G plans were added along with a Mobile App and eSIM support. Speeds were still not being increased and it is not known whether it is planned to increase the maximum speeds. Their plans were also updated with new data plans and options. As of now the new rebrand and new plans are operational and available to purchase.
2024 Legacy Rewards Removal On March 6, 2024, Public Mobile posted an announcement on their Community Forum about Upcoming Changes to the old rewards program. Before the change took place, customers received data bonuses of 240 GB if on a $29/month plan or higher. Customers who were on a $28/month and lower plan got either 50 GB or 5 GB. The bonus was automatically added to customers' accounts by March 31st, 2024, and expired in 150 days. ==Network==