It seems like an odd plan, but Public Mobile announced this morning that 25 stores in Toronto and Montreal are now open for business, yet the wireless carrier's service won't actually be up and running until May.

Why would a person buy a mobile phone today knowing full well that he can't actually use it until May? Public is offering an incentive: free Canada-wide long distance for life, as long as you're calling from one of its coverage areas. Of course there are limitations: for one, the carrier holds the right to cut the promotion off at a specific number of adopters; and two, the deal requires that you remain in good standing with the company, meaning that you don't miss more than two payments in a row.

This policy is especially important for Public's target customer base, which is not only the same 30% of the market who has yet to own a cell phone as all three new carriers cite, but mainly the "average Joes" who are typically living paycheque-to-paycheque.

Public Mobile has become the second new wireless carrier to confirm a launch date for its services to be up and running: WIND Mobile launched in late December, and continues to roll out services across Canada. DAVE Wireless, now known as Mobilicity, has only said that it will launch "in the spring."

Unlike WIND and Mobilicity, however, Public Mobile will be focusing solely on those who just want basic talk and text services: this means there won't even be any data capabilities at launch. Still, the company does not view "discount" brands like Koodo and Fido as direct competition.

"Koodo, Fido, Virgin, they're not really inexpensive at all," says Bruce Kirby, Vice President, Strategy and Business Development, Public Mobile. "If you look at their pricing, it isn't much different [than the incumbents]. Maybe there's more of a focus on texting with the low-end introductory plans. But they're not an attractive deal overall."

For Public, service plan pricing will be uber-simple: pay $40, and get unlimited talk and text within the company's coverage area. (There will be long distance options, as noted, but there won't be any roaming capability at launch.) Services will start in Toronto and Montreal, with plans to extend to core cities and broader urban areas over the coming months. "Our long-term goal is to cover the corridor from Quebec City to Windsor, and the two-thirds of consumers in these markets," advises Kirby.

Currently, there are 15 stores in Toronto and 10 in Montreal, and Alek Krstajic, CEO, confirmed at a media launch event this morning that Public Mobile aims to have another 50 open by May, doubling again in August. By the end of the year, 200 stores will be opened, ranging from corporately-owned locations to some owned by independent dealers (a ratio of about three-to-one, respectively). While Public will also forge partnerships with existing retailers, Krstajic says that the carrier is not looking to get a lot of shelf space beside the other carriers. "We just want to be in locations where our demographic lives, works, and plays." In many cases, these are not the same locations in which others reside.

To give you an idea of where that might be, the host store for this morning's festivities is located at Danforth and Woodbine. The only downtown Toronto location thus far is in St. James Town at Wellesley and Sherbourne.

Phones can be purchased outright: Kirby says the entry-level device will cost less than $100, and a "high-end" model will still be under $200. Currently, Public offers four devices, ranging from basic bar phones to QWERTY texting devices from ZTE, Samsung, and Kyocera. No BlackBerries or fancy smartphones, though. "People have a distorted perception of the market," claims Kirby. "We encourage people to buy phones with functions they don't need. Our expectation is that our customer will be more voice-focused, followed by text. We don't want to push our customers to a $300 or $400 phone when they don't see value in it."

Indeed, Krstajic notes, in reference to other new carrier WIND Mobile: "I think WIND is trying too hard to be an incumbent. [With incumbents], you can buy a BlackBerry for $150 only because you have to sign a contract. And there's nothing wrong with that. I don't think too many people will buy a $450 BlackBerry just to say they don't have a contract."

Krstajic, who has an extensive career in the wireless industry, including holding executive positions with both Bell and Rogers, says the carrier is not looking to steal customers, and we won't see any marketing efforts enticing customers to switch (much like we've seen with WIND's most recent $150 porting credit.) However, he does admit that Public might see a few customers switch over who feel they're being ‘over-served' by the incumbents."

"We will focus on being a simple, low-cost provider," explains Kirby, "with unlimited service where people don't have to worry about their bill at the end of the month."

Over time, however, Kirby admits that Public will add new features, functions, and handsets as consumers desire them. That means data functionality isn't out of the question for the future.

One major point of concern for Public Mobile is the fact that it operates on the G-block of spectrum, a CDMA band. This means that only handsets that support the band will function on the Public network.

"The core technology in handsets are designed to support this band," clarifies Kirby. "Sprint has licensed the band in the U.S. A minor adjustment is required in firmware to tell the hardware to look at this spectrum. But essentially, we can adapt any CDMA/PCS device to work."

As for the stores, they follow the same, simplistic approach, and will carry the same uniform design throughout every location. Painted in the company's signature white and orange, the stores feature the company's logo on the back wall, plus a series of service counters. A strategically placed vase in the middle of the Danforth store adds a nice touch; it holds a bevy of oranges bearing Public Mobile labels.

Public Mobile's slogan is "Everybody Talk", and the complementary ad campaign, much of which consists of bus shelter posters (618 in Toronto in total), depicts real people in poses and with expressions that depict "empowerment." The company's call centre is located in Canada, and showing its humorous side, Public Mobile created its own on-hold tune that aims to entertain callers should they have to wait more than a minute or two to chat with a representative. With a country twang, the singer belts out lyrics about everything from fun facts about squirrels, to just how frustrating it is to be put on hold. You can't help but muster a smirk.

"We want to walk before we run," says Krstajic in reference to holding off on lighting up service until everything is just right. For now, please wait, and someone will be with you shortly.

Alek Krstajic, CEO, Public Mobile

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