Back in late August, TELUS-owned Public Mobile quietly exited the closed beta stage of its new prepaid smartphone plans and made itself available to the general public.
What makes Public Mobile interesting is the SIM-only carrier is setup so users can purchase and manage everything online, without the need to visit a retail kiosk or talk to customer service. This summer the company added new 10 and 90 day plan options, which made it possible for to get a 2GB unlimited nationwide talk plan for $57.49 per month, contract-free.
Public Mobile does not sell smartphones, and in an effort to outsource factory refreshed devices for its customers, they teamed up with Toronto-based startup Orchard, to offer a selection of devices strictly for the TELUS subsidiary.
In a statement to iPhone in Canada, Alex Sebastian, co-founder of Orchard, explained “our offer to Public customers will include a wider selection of phones, including the latest Apple, Samsung and HTC models, at the highest condition tier available for pre-owned devices: Factory Refreshed.” He also detailed how “each phone is guaranteed to work with Public Mobile and will even ship with the APN settings customized for Public’s network.”
For those looking for iPhones, we’re seeing the 8GB iPhone 4s starting at $240 CAD; 16GB iPhone 5 starting at $380 CAD; and 16GB iPhone 6 starting at $710 CAD.
All phones sold by Orchard come with a 30 day warranty, free shipping and ready to work with the TELUS network on Public Mobile.
