LIME Landline Rental Increase and HomeFone XPress - The Dead Zone is the Sum of All Fears

And the name of that town is Vanity; and at the town there is a fair kept, called Vanity Fair.

Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is coming to Jamaica on Wednesday June 22^nd 2011AD as stated in the article “Hilary Clinton to visit Jamaica on Wednesday”, published Sunday 19 2011 at 10:19:08am, Go-Jamaica.

Apparently she liked the June Plum Juice and so may be coming back for some more or at least the recipe. Either that, or Mango season is in and she is in Jamaica to get some mangoes to make Mango juice!

Either way, I have something to blog about come Wednesday June 22^nd 2011AD! Welcome to Jamaica US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton!

But for now the big news is undoubtedly another fruit, albeit not so sweet. It may not necessarily be to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton liking, albeit with it she is rather familiar.

Telecom Provider LIME is upping the rental on its ailing Landline Service as stated rather blandly in the article “LIME announce increase in Landline rates”, published Saturday June 18^th 2011 at 10:50:30am, Go-Jamaica.

To be precise:

1. Residential Landline Rental increases by 8% from JA$850 to JA$920 on a thirty (30) day billing cycle
2. Business Landline Rental increases by 7.5% from JA$1600 to JA$1720 on a thirty (30) day billing cycle

I am somewhat a bit miffed by this news, as although I do not use a Landline, knowing Telecom Provider LIME, they probably may be applying this increase across the board even to their HomeFone XPress Customers. I should hope not, as HomeFone XPress may be Telecom Provider LIME’s long term saviour!

I am surprised that Telecom Provider LIME STILL has a Landline Network, as besides ADSL (Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line) , there are no other VAS (Value added Services) than can be derived from these twisted pair copper wires.

The then C&W in 2003 even attempted to place four (4) customers on one (1) Landline to make the Central Office, the name for a Telecom Providers Switching Exchange, more efficient.

This is a contradiction, as Telecom Provider LIME is anything but efficient as my blog article entitled “LIME a paragon of efficiency - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” suggests

It failed miserably, partly due to my investigation, which discovered severe installation defects i.e. mis-wiring of the LEN (Line Equipment Number) at the backplane of the equipment demonstrating once and for all that it could not work.

I know.

I worked at Telecom Provider C&W as a Network Maintenance Technician (2001 to 2004) before they changed their name to Telecom Provider LIME on launching their 3G Service On Friday October 31^st 2008AD as stated in the article “Within LIME Jamaica, a new direction- spending smarter for better returns”, published Friday November 14, 2008, Lavern Clarke, Business Editor, The Jamaica Gleaner.

To my credit, I had even made the suggestion for the use of Alternative Energy to reduce the main source of Cost to the Telecoms Provider. Also ignored by Senior Management!

Heck, even the HomeFone Platform, of which HomeFone XPress is a mere permutation, was an idea is mine suggested to C&W back in 2003AD as my blog article entitled “Google and Apple - Case to point on Public and Diplomatic Relations” records!

For those of you who came late, HomeFone XPress is a Wireless Landline or Fixed Line equivalent that piggybacks on Telecom Provider LIME’s GSM (Global System Mobile) Network, specifically their GPRS (Global Packet Radio Service) and EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution) Platforms.

Launched in 2005AD in Jamaica, it partially fulfilled my prophecy of The Dead Zone (TV Series 2002–2007).

It uses these 2G Services to deliver Landline via VoIP. This is very feasible as GPRS is 56Kbps and EDGE is 356Kbps, quite suitable for VoIP, which only requires a minimum of 64Kbps Best Effort, effectively 56Kbps when real world Terrestrial Noise is factored in as stated in the research paper by Network Equipment Maker Cisco entitled “Voice Over IP - Per Call Bandwidth Consumption”.

This suggestion was made when I was being interviewed in a Redundancy exercise in the Fourth Quarter of 2003AD by Nurse Gunning as chronicled in my blog article entitled “LIME's fortunes after Digicel-CLARO - Master and Commander Garfield Sinclair”.

At that time I was a Network Maintenance Technician stationed at the Pembroke North Exchange, which has two (2) switches, a NEC NEAX 61E Switch and Nortel Networks DMS 100/200 Supernode.

I had become famous within C&W for The Dead Zone (TV Series 2002–2007) Theory, which irked the then British Management, in which I prognosticated the death of Voice Calling on the GSM Voice Network and the coming of SMS and eventually Data on a combined Data Network as stated in my blog article entitled “Telecom Providers and SMS - The Dead Zone” by 2010AD in Jamaica.

To be truthful, it is yet to happen, but recent events may be accelerating its occurrence, making me adjust my timeline to the year 2015AD, four (4) years from now!

Currently, signs of The Dead Zone (TV Series 2002–2007) Theory can be seen in the US of A with the launch of Telecom Provider Verizon’s VoLTE (Voice over Long Term Evolution) Network that combines Voice and Data over their LTE Network since February 2011AD as stated in my blog article entitled “Verizon's LTE Network and VoLTE - The Dead Zone meets The Machine Stops”.

The HSDPA+ Release 7 Network by Telecom Provider LIME and Telecom Provider Digicel as stated in my blog article entitled “LIME's US$80 million Caribbean HSDPA+ Release 7 Upgrade - Sonic the Hedgehog” and the article “Of ATC Strikes and Digicel 3G+ Upgrades - Pushing Tin in Eerie, Indiana”.

As this, combined with Alternative Energy as stated in my blog article entitled “Alternative Energy and Telecom Providers - An Environmental Marketing Strategy” can be a marketing strategy that shows that Telecom Provider is Green, and not just in a fruity way!

Especially as Telecom Provider LIME and Telecom Provider Digicel are building out their respective HSDPA+ Release 7 Network in anticipation of the coming of tourists and their smartphones, Laptops and Tablets come December 2012AD as opined in my blog article entitled “LIME and American Tourist Data Avalanche - The US$80 Million Dollar CannonBall Run”.

Ditto for the joint JA$543 million build-out of the Island wide Fiber Optic Network by Telecom Provider LIME and Triple Play Provider FLOW.

This is to provide 100Mbps Broadband to three hundred (300) high schools funded by the UAFCL (Universal Access Fund Company Limited) and the Government of Jamaica as reported in my blog article entitled “LIME, FLOW and the $JA543-million Internet plan - Ebony and Ivory”.

That’s five (5) years from now folks!

A Wireless and Fiber Optic Network that may be very Energy Intensive, possibly requiring the use of Wind and Solar Power to lower their operating costs as stated in my blog article entitled “Alternative Energy and Helix - A Test Case for Wind Power for Telecom Providers”.

HSDPA+ Release 7 Network is a protocol upgradeable to LTE Network in the future, thus making Telecom Provider LIME and Telecom Provider Digicel a long term investment for the future!

That’s eighteen (18) months from now, folks!

Thus the obvious is clear, as my ideas condensed in my blog article entitled “LIME's fortunes after Digicel-CLARO - Master and Commander Garfield Sinclair” are now relevant.

Telecom Provider LIME needs to upgrade all their Landline equipment to provide ADSL out-of-the-box i.e. if you order a Landline, you get ADSL automatically as a bundled VAS (Value Added Service).

Thus you are ordering a Landline Service alone or currently have a Landline, Telecom Provider LIME needs to “grandfather” that customer over to the HomeFone XPress Service.

Telecom Provider LIME should also upgrade their Switching equipment to Ericsson Switching equiptment capable of providing ADSL and later FiOS Service.

This as Fiber Optic to your House will be cheaper and feasible in the future. This too as Wireless and Wired Broadband Services such as Triple Play Provider FLOW penetration improves, being that Triple Play Provider FLOW have been granted until 2015AD to finish their build-out as stated in my blog article entitled “FLOW, IPTV and the coming of Net2Vu - Johnny Mnemonic”.

That’s five (5) years from now folks!

Eventually, every Landline customer should be “grandfathered” off the Landline Service by 2015AD and onto the Wireless HomeFone XPress Service, which by then will be capable of VoIP and 3G, HSDPA+ Release 7 or LTE Network Data, assuming people in 2015AD STILL make Voice calls.

Thus I hope that Telecom Provider LIME is slowly “grandfathering” over their Landline Network Customers to the new HomeFone XPress Network after making this price increase, as they are likely to see increased churn as people switch to Telecom Provider Digicel Fixed Line Service.

It is good to note at this time that the current HomeFone XPress Fixed Line Units being offered should be capable of using Telecom Provider LIME’s 3G and HSDPA+ Release 7, 42Mbps Best effort capable release of 3G in the future as my blog article entitled “LIME's US$80 million Caribbean HSDPA+ Release 7 Upgrade - Sonic the Hedgehog” opines.

So the news looks good!

It is imperative that Telecom Provider LIME follow the above strategy, keep costs in check and stick to the timeline, as a huge bonanza awaits them in 2015AD, as this plucky analyst speculates.

At least, before people get bored of the Internet, which is unlikely, as Millenials [age 18 to 28] have a FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) as my Geezam Blog article entitled “Social Network Prostitution: FOMO drives Millennials to “Inboxing”” points out.

Broadband Internet may also usher in the coming of Tele-Working and a Flexi-Work week as Millenials look for work that is suitable to their always-connected lifestyles as stated in my Geezam Blog article entitled “Jamaica’s 100MBps Internet Silver Lining – Tele-commuting Workplace is coming”.

These changes would make their Landline Network less loss-making and thus remove the albatross that has been holding them back, as The Sum of All Fears (2002) is upon Telecom Provider LIME: The coming of The Dead Zone (TV Series 2002–2007) in eighteen (18) months time and accelerated in the next five (5) years in 2015AD!!