Three months with Public Mobile: Glad I switched

I made the switch to Public Mobile back in early December 2024, and so far, I’ve been quite pleased with the service.

Public Mobile is owned by Telus and runs on the Vancouver-based national telecom’s wireless network. While Public is technically in the same tier as Rogers’ Chatr and Bell’s Lucky Mobile, one thing that stands out about Public is that it offers 5G data speeds while others only offer 4G.

That was what initially drew me to Public Mobile. The 5G data, coupled with the value pricing, made it a top contender for me during Black Friday when I was on the hunt for a new wireless provider.

Why I left Koodo

Prior to Public Mobile, I was with another Telus flanker brand, Koodo. I wasn’t dissatisfied with Koodo’s service, especially since I was still rocking one of the provider’s 5G plans from before it stopped offering 5G.

I also had a Koodo perk that boosted 5G data speed from the default 250Mbps speed cap to 500Mbps. While that technically meant my Koodo data was faster than my Public Mobile data, I haven’t noticed much of a difference in real-world use. I’m also not sure I ever hit the 500Mbps cap when I was with Koodo.

Anyway, I ultimately decided to leave Koodo because it hiked prices in October 2024. I wasn’t particularly pleased that my bill went up by $5/mo, especially when I knew there were better offers on the way. So when Black Friday deals arrived, I assessed my options and decided on Public Mobile. I signed up for Public’s $35/50GB 5G plan with Canada/U.S./Mexico roaming built-in. (At the time of writing, Public had the same plan but with 60GB of data available.)

Since making the switch to Public at the start of December 2024, I’ve been more than satisfied with my service, especially since I’m saving almost $20/mo compared to what I was paying before. Phone call quality has been great, though I don’t often place calls.

Public’s 5G data worked well in Ontario

Further, data speeds have been excellent. Most of the time, I found I was getting over 150Mbps and often I hit (and sometimes slightly exceeded) the 250Mbps speed cap. While 250Mbps might not sound great — especially when many people have 1Gbps home internet — I find that it’s more than fast enough for the things I actually do on my phone.

It’s rare that I download huge files while on the go, and I rarely use data to stream video, perhaps a holdover from the days when carriers offered small data buckets at higher prices. Instead, most of my data use is split between streaming music or podcasts, browsing social media, using Google Maps navigation, and hot-spotting my laptop so I can work on the GO train. All of these activities worked well, and I haven’t had any issues yet.

The majority of my data use was concentrated where I live in Hamilton, Ont., as well as along my commute to and while at the MobileSyrup office in Toronto. In the past, I’ve noticed signal issues while riding the train with other providers, like Rogers-owned Fido. With Public, my connection was strong, stable and usable all the way from Hamilton to Toronto and back.

Additionally, Public Mobile worked well for me when I got out of urban Ontario. On trips to visit family near Newmarket and Orillia, I also didn’t have any significant issues, though, in some instances, my data speeds weren’t as good as at home. Still, it was more than usable.

Unfortunately, I haven’t ventured outside of Canada yet this year. I typically go on a couple work trips to the U.S. each year, so next time I’m abroad, I’ll test out the roaming features and write about that experience. Without testing, though, I can highlight the benefits of built-in roaming: big savings. Koodo charges $14/day for U.S. roaming, and with my work trips lasting on average three to five days, that’s $42 to $70 saved.

RCS problems

While I generally had a really good few months with Public, not everything was perfect. I only had one significant issue — Rich Communication Services (RCS). RCS, for those unfamiliar with the term, is Google’s replacement for the SMS and MMS texting standards. It also recently expanded to iPhones with iOS 18.

After switching to Public Mobile, my RCS chats became significantly less reliable, and I’ve had multiple incidents where I didn’t receive texts, or messages I sent didn’t go through. However, I’m not sure whether to blame my problems on Public, Koodo, Telus, Google, or Apple.

This issue primarily happened between my wife and me — she uses an iPhone with Koodo and I use a Pixel. Back when I was on Koodo, we didn’t have any issues with RCS, the problems started after I moved to Public. Right after the switch, there were a few days where my RCS was totally broken, but after some Googling, I was able to fix it by clearing data in the Messages app.

Despite that fix, I still have intermittent problems with RCS and I haven’t been able to figure out whether it’s an issue with Public, whether something broke when I switched from Koodo, if there’s an implementation issue somewhere in Telus’ network, if it’s a problem with Apple’s integration, or if it’s Google’s fault.

Nothing is perfect

While that was the only real problem I had, there are a couple of other caveats worth highlighting that might impact Public’s suitability for some people.

First, Public Mobile doesn’t sell phones, so if you’re looking to get a new phone from a carrier, Public won’t be a great fit for you. (That said, I’d strongly recommend comparing the cost of an outright phone purchase with a Public plan to the cost of financing the same phone from a carrier. There’s a chance it’ll be cheaper to buy it outright and get a cheap plan from Public.)

Next up, Public Mobile has limited customer support options compared to other providers. It’s largely set up as a self-serve model using the Public Mobile app. Koodo doesn’t have an app to compare with, but Public’s app is very comparable to Koodo’s self-serve web portal. The Public app lets me manage and change my plan and add-ons, view my usage, payment history, make changes to my account, view my rewards and more. Speaking of rewards, Public has a points program, which is nice, though many long-time Public customers were frustrated by recent changes to the rewards program. Customers earn points through referrals and by paying their bill, and can spend points on bill credits, add-ons and more.

If you do need help, customers are directed to use Public’s support documents and community forums to sort out issues. Beyond that, Public offers a customer service chat option and the ability to submit service tickets. The limited support options might be a big turn-off for some customers, so it’s worth flagging it.

This also means that switching to Public Mobile can be totally done online from the comfort of your home, for good or ill. I already wrote about my experience switching to Public, which was generally smooth but with a few hiccups.

Overall, my experience with Public Mobile has been quite positive so far. It’s not a perfect carrier — does such a thing even exist in Canada? — but it does offer better value plans than most other providers. If you’re fine with some of the trade-offs, like slower 5G speeds or limited customer support, then Public is a fantastic option and will likely save you some money in the long run. I’d recommend Public to any value-focused Canadians looking for 5G plans with built-in roaming and who already have a smartphone they want to keep using.