Public Mobile: Review of Call Quality and Network Stability

[kamp_krusty]

Alright, while I asked on this forum and half a dozen other forums, not a single darn person could give me any first-hand feedback on Public's network stability. So I bit the bullet and signed up with them without any user feedback. At only $15/month, it's not a heavy commitment.

For those wondering (at least those in Toronto):

The network is quite stable. I have had my phone for about 2 weeks and have used it at all of the different places I'd ever travel to within the city. I get 4 or 5 bars at most places outdoors, and average 2 to 4 bars depending on where I am in my condo (5th floor). My condo, however, is floor-to-ceiling window around most of the perimeter, so there isn't a bevy of concrete in my way.

When I leave my suite and am in the hall on the way to the elevator (all concrete around me), I get poor reception, but it still works. It could be my building and/or my area. I say that because in the elevator at my condo, no service at all, but in the elevator at an office building I was at recently, it was perfect (I was on a call. It was 5 bars on the ground floor, 5 bars during the ride up, and 5 bars when I got off the elevator).

I have had about 25 conversations of varying length at various locations. I heard the other person perfectly fine, as did they me. A few times early on there were a few seconds where neither of us could hear each other, then it came back. It was very rare anyway. After 3 days or so, that stopped happening altogether (weird lol...)

While the reception at some places is weak compared to the "big 3" incumbents, it is still acceptable. All I care about is call stability, and its fine that regard. The number of bars really doesn't matter if it works. There have been a few dropped calls, but they were rare and I was indoors.

If curious, I went with the ZTE C70. It's a nice little device, no frills but thats exactly what was needed. I was going to select the Samsung R312 flip phone, but the Corporate store rep was honest and told me that it was soon to be discontinued, and recommended the C70 as a more popular model that had rarely been returned (same price too). The store rep was indeed telling the truth, as only a week after I got my phone, the Samsung R312 is no longer on their website.

P.S. The call centre rep I spoke to highly recommended I go to a corporate store. Their website tells you what type of store each location is: corporate store, authorized dealer, or retail partner. I had zero issues at the store/kiosk, so sounds like a safe bet.

[muskoka]

Thanks for your time on doing this review.

[SIMCITY]

Yes, Public mobile is good for people that just need a low cost plan and voice plan. They have their place in the market. I know they have data, but Public's main idea is their voice. They also have some coverage in Markham.

Public is not for me, but I think they have their place in the discount market.

[aph0ticzone]

Thanks for this review.

[cloneman]

Hi,

I know nothing about the CDMA world. I'm wondering if public mobile "does it right" in terms of voice quality. I heard some Providers "route voice over 1X" or something of the stort, which leads to major Carriers like Verizon sounding better than regional carriers like MetroPCS.

I'm just going from memory. Anyone have any insight on this?