I’m talking about a span from mid-2025 through mid-2026 — not rumors or speculation, but actual announcements, plan change threads, and service updates posted by staff.
Data amounts getting smaller. Rewards not stretching as far. A few service hiccups here and there. And then there’s that Fast Switch thing that keeps popping up — the tool that lets you migrate to Koodo in a few minutes.
Public Mobile is a Telus-owned flanker brand, so none of this is happening in a vacuum.
Key Takeaways
The $35 plan dropped from 80GB to 30GB at the same price — the largest data cut across Public Mobile’s lineup
Rewards earnings rate was cut from 5% to 2%, and the annual anniversary bonus went from $10 to $5 — more than halved on both counts
The Fast Switch migration tool to Koodo postpaid was expanded to physical SIM customers, timed alongside the plan and rewards cuts
Table of Contents
Plan changes — less data, same price
The change is what happened to the plan lineup. In March 2026, Public Mobile quietly restructured several plans. The headline cut is the $35 plan that used to give you 80GB. It’s now 30GB. Same monthly price, less than half the data.
That’s not an outlier. Here’s the full rundown of what changed and what stayed put.
Which plans changed
Across the mid-range plans, data was reduced and new $60/100GB and $70/150GB tiers were added.
- $35/month: was 80GB, now 30GB — a 50GB cut
- $40/month: was 100GB, now 60GB
- $50/month: was 150GB, now 80GB
- $60/month: was 150GB, now 100GB
- New $60/100GB and $70/150GB tiers were added
On top of the data cuts, Public Mobile also removed the included international minutes from several of these plans. So not only are you getting less data, you’re also losing calling features you might have relied on.
Which plans stayed the same
Not everything got cut. The low-end plans — the ones aimed at light users or backup lines, were left untouched:
- $20/500MB
- $23/2GB
- $26/5GB
- $30/15GB
All of these are 4G Canada-wide plans, and they didn’t change in price or data. If you’re on one of these, you probably didn’t notice anything different. But that’s cold comfort if you were on a mid-tier plan that lost 50GB or more.
Competitive context — the Freedom factor
These plan downgrades happened right around the same time Freedom Mobile was offering a $40/250GB deal.
Public Mobile was already a budget option under Telus, but the gap between what they offer and what Freedom offers has widened. Freedom’s $40 plan gives you over four times the data of the $40 plan, at the same price.
Rewards cuts — loyalty devalued
Public Mobile’s rewards program earned you a percentage of your plan cost monthly and an anniversary bonus annually.
That changed in March 2026 too.
Earnings rate cut from 5% to 2%
The earnings rate — the percentage of your plan cost that comes back as rewards, was cut from 5% to 2%. That’s more than a halving. If you were paying $35 a month, you used to earn about $1.75 in rewards per month. Now you’re earning $0.70. It doesn’t sound like a lot until you stack it up over a year: you’re losing roughly $12.60 annually in rewards earnings, before you even get to the anniversary bonus.
Anniversary bonus cut from $10 to $5
The anniversary bonus took a hit. It dropped from $10 per year to $5 per year. So your annual reward from staying loyal — the thing that made the program feel like it actually rewarded loyalty, got cut in half.
For a subscriber who counted on these rewards to bring their effective monthly cost down, the math gets worse fast. A year of reduced earnings plus a halved anniversary bonus means you’re losing around $17–$20 in annual value, depending on your plan. That’s real money when we’re talking about budget phone plans.
Recent service outages and disruptions
The community forum is the official announcement board and a real-time status page. Here’s what’s happened and what’s been resolved, plus an explanation of which carrier does Public Mobile use — including its network arrangement with Telus, the towers it relies on, any deprioritization, and how roaming works.
Activation issues
An issue preventing new activations was marked as resolved as of 10:20 AM EST on the day it was posted — quick turnaround, but if you were trying to activate during that window, you got nothing. Android activations specifically were temporarily unavailable too, fixed by August 1, 2025 at 9:05 AM EST. The thread for that one has 3,400 views and 11 replies, which tells me a decent number of people hit the wall before it got fixed.
Support delays
A ticketing system delay was resolved; tickets are now flowing normally. Tickets are flowing normally again, and support staff noted they were working through the backlog in sequence. A separate ticket submission issue was resolved on October 23, 2025. The ticketing delay thread alone has 845 views — not huge numbers, but enough to suggest it affected a meaningful number of people. Average response times and resolution rates are not publicly shared, but the ticketing delay thread (845 views) suggests occasional backlogs.
Messaging issues
RCS messaging activation issue was resolved as of 9/24/25. If you’re on an Android phone and use RCS for proper group chats and read receipts, you’d have felt this one. The thread has 6,800 views and 24 replies.
Number transfers
The Number Transfer & Account Activation troubleshooting guide suggests resubmitting the transfer request as the first fix. That thread has 23,000 views and 172 replies,. Number porting is one of those things that should be smooth but often isn’t, and the volume on that thread suggests Public Mobile still has work to do here.
Operational disruptions
The Canada Post strike that started September 25 hit SIM card deliveries hard. Orders to PO Boxes and Rural Route addresses simply can’t be delivered right now. The thread has 8,800 views and 21 replies — a lot of people affected. On top of that, some retail locations have stopped selling Public Mobile vouchers, which is another indicator that the brand’s physical footprint is shrinking, adding to the growing list of Public Mobile downsides and disadvantages.
New features and app updates
Public Mobile rolled out eSIM activation, biometric authentication, and app notifications alongside the service changes.
eSIM activation
eSIM activation is now available through the Public Mobile app. No more waiting for a physical SIM to arrive in the mail. You download the app, follow the prompts, and you’re activated. The thread about this has 67,903 views and 120 replies — people are interested and asking a lot of questions, often after reading a detailed Public Mobile review to check for hidden fees or network performance before making the switch. It’s a change for anyone who doesn’t want to deal with a physical SIM card, and it makes switching to Public Mobile faster.
Biometric authentication
Face ID and fingerprint login started on October 16, 2025. The thread has 21,222 views and 37 replies. It’s a security upgrade — you’re not typing your account password on mobile data anymore. Given that Public Mobile is app-first for account management, this was overdue.
App notifications
App notifications added to the Public Mobile app help users stay up to date on exclusive offers, account updates, and new features. The thread has 2,127 views — less attention than the bigger features, but it’s an indicator that Public Mobile is building out the app as the primary customer touchpoint. They want you in the app, getting their messages.
The Refer-a-Friend bonus program started September 17, 2025: referrers earn a $10 bonus credit when the referred friend subscribes to a plan starting from $35/month.
Switching to Koodo — the Fast Switch option
This is the piece that makes the plan cuts and rewards reductions make more strategic sense. Fast Switch expanded to physical SIM customers switching from Public Mobile to Koodo postpaid, with migration completed in a few minutes.
What Fast Switch is
Fast Switch expanded to physical SIM customers switching from Public Mobile to Koodo postpaid. You initiate the switch, and your number transfers over to a Koodo postpaid eSIM. It requires a compatible device, but the process itself takes a few minutes from start to finish.
What you gain on Koodo
Switching from Public Mobile to Koodo postpaid offers additional features. Koodo is a higher-tier flanker brand — it sits between the budget prepaid experience and Telus’s full postpaid offerings. You get better support options, more plan flexibility, and features that Public Mobile simply doesn’t offer.
The strategic picture
Look at the timing. The plan cuts happened in March 2026. The rewards cuts happened in March 2026. Fast Switch expansion to physical SIM customers happened in this same window. That’s not random.
The value gap between Public Mobile and Koodo is narrowing, and Telus has made it trivially easy to move up.
Community and support — the human side
The forum is powered by Khoros, with regulars, recognition programs, and emotional depth.
Top Contributors program
The Top Contributors monthly recognition program ran from June 2025 to June 2026. Monthly posts by staff members Andu_S and Silvio_M (Customer Support Agents) include images and community engagement metrics.
Kudos leaderboard
The forum has a Kudos leaderboard tracking top users by Bravos count. The current top names: Dunkman (4 Bravos), computergeek541 (3), Chalupa_Batman (3), slusagm (2), Clapper (2), HALIMACS (2), BKNS27 (2), and Yummy (1).
The computergeek541 memorial
computergeek541 passed away suddenly on April 29, 2026. They had been an active community member for about ten years — a decade of helping strangers with their phone plans. The remembrance thread has 3,998 views and 12 replies.
New user resources
The “New to Public Mobile? Start here.” guide posted by DR_PM (Public Mobile staff) provides resources for new members. It has 5,316 views and only 6 replies — mostly a read-only resource, which makes sense for a guide. It’s the obvious first stop for anyone joining, and it shows that Public Mobile is at least trying to make onboarding straightforward.
What it all means
The plan cuts and rewards reductions make the brand less competitive on value against Freedom’s $40/250GB deal. The eSIM activation, biometric authentication, and app notifications show that Public Mobile is investing in the digital experience. And the Fast Switch expansion to Koodo provides a migration path for customers switching to Koodo postpaid.
If you’re on a low-end plan and don’t need much data, Public Mobile still works fine. If you were relying on the rewards program to bring your cost down, or if you were on one of those mid-tier plans that lost 50GB, it’s worth asking whether Public Mobile still makes sense for you.
Public Mobile has not announced any plans to bring 5G to its lower-tier plans or to upgrade network infrastructure beyond the current Telus arrangement.
Freedom Mobile is offering $40/250GB for similar money. Koodo offers postpaid plans with better support and features. Public Mobile sits in the middle now — still cheap, still functional, but less rewarding than it used to be.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between Public Mobile and Koodo?
Public Mobile is a budget prepaid brand with app-only support and no phone subsidies, while Koodo is a higher-tier flanker brand with postpaid plans, better customer support, and more plan flexibility. Koodo also offers features like financing phones and in-person support that Public Mobile doesn’t have, though you pay more for the privilege.
How much data did Public Mobile cut from its plans?
The biggest cut hit the $35 plan, which dropped from 80GB to 30GB — a 50GB reduction at the same price. Other mid-tier plans saw similar cuts: the $40 plan went from 100GB to 60GB, the $50 plan from 150GB to 80GB, and the $60 plan from 150GB to 100GB. Low-end plans under $30 were left unchanged.
