As a Telus Mobility MVNO (October 2013 – present)
On October 23, 2013, Industry Canada approved an offer by Telus to acquire Public Mobile and its spectrum for an undisclosed amount. Following the closure of the deal, Public Mobile's customers were migrated to Telus' network. Unlike its failed attempt to acquire Mobilicity, Telus was legally able to acquire Public Mobile because the Personal Communications Service G band was not subject to restrictions present for AWS spectrum owners, allowing the PCS spectrum to be bought by an incumbent carrier.[11] Public Mobile released its seventh and last CDMA Android smartphone, the SangFei Elevation, on November 9, 2013.[12] 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.[13] 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.[14] On September 4, 2014, it was announced that Public Mobile would transition toward being a digital-only "self-serve value brand" under Telus.[15] 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.[16]
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.[17] 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.[18]
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.[19] 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[20] as well as Redflagdeals[21] 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.[22]
