LIME launches XL Value Campaign and slashes 3G Mobile Prepaid Data come May 1 - Shadows of the Old Republic as LIME does Baby Cham's Wine

In a sign that competition in the Wireless Broadband Telecom Provider LIME has announced yet another raft of aggressive rate drops and Promotions in both the Voice Services and Data Services Sector respectively.

This as they had kicked of their LIME XL Value Campaign that saw them rolling out their version of Gimme 5 for its Prepaid customers as stated in the article “Lime goes 'XL' downtown Kingston - Giant cake unveiled and served during campaign launch party”, published Friday April 20 2012 by The Jamaica Star.

I’ll make really short work of this, as it’s a gutsy move that is much needed as it segways perfectly with its sponsorship with CVM TV of the London 2012 Olympics slated to start on Friday July 27^th 2012AD. Standing at a little over seven hundred thousand (700,000) Prepaid customers with the majority of that number being Prepaid, Telecom Provider LIME lacks the market penetration despite numerous Promotions for Mobile.

Thus their future growth does indeed lie in Mobile, mainly Fixed Line Voice Services such as Homefone Xpress and Data Services such Wireless 3G, 4G (that’s LTE for y’all, coming in 2013AD!!) and Fiber Optic Services such as FTTH (Fiber Optic to Home) as opined in my blog article entitled “LIME look to the future with new Services - Video and Audio Friends with Benefits in the Dead Zone” and “LIME goes FTTH like Verizon's FiOS - Free ADSL after FTTH Mass Adoption”.

Thus a launch with entertainers MC Pretty Boy Floyd and dancing provided by L’Acadco Stilt Walkers, past Dancin' Dynamites dedicated for the people in Sir William Grant Park allowing customer to get a slice of the cake, symbolized by the gi-normous 8” by 8” cake is definitely Telecom Provider LIME’s Marketing Director Grace Silvera’s signature style and is spot on.

Long term, their best however lies in shoring up Postpaid, Mobile Data and Fixed Line Landline and Mobile Services which are actually on the rise as noted in my blog article entitled “OUR Records Voice Decline for the Fourth Quarter of 2010 - Postpaid, Data Services and Fixed Line Mobile and Landline Saturday Night Fever for Telecom Providers”.

The new LIME XL Value Campaign is best described by Telecom Provider LIME’s managing Director and CEO Gary Sinclair, quote:  “LIME has gone extra-large with our XL Value offer. There is no other network that gives you so much talk, texts and savings for your dollar. Our free nights start at 9 p.m., when you send three texts you get 100 free and our newest deal is 27 minutes free call time after you talk for just three”.

Like I said, it’s Gimme 5 with slightly more goodies in Voice Calling but with the missing component of free International Calling after three (3) minutes. Telecom Provider LIME apparently realizes that Telecom Provider Digicel JA$8.99 Flat Rate Calling Plan also serves the purpose of silently phasing out this aspect of Gimme 5 and encouraging customer to adopt a International Calling Plan as noted in my Geezam Blog article entitled “Digicel Introduces One Rate Calling for $8.99 in Jamaica”.

Thus, after watching Telecom Provider Digicel have a go at it since competition heated up with them and CLARO Jamaica they are doing the same thing. Cleverly, they are not making that mistake of offering free International Calling after a five (5) minute call while cloning Gimme 5.

Telecom Provider LIME has instead replaced the Five minute Local On-Net Voice Calling and five (5) SMS (Simple Messaging Service) or Text requirement with a Three (3) Minute Local On-Net Voice Calling and three (3) SMS (Simple Messaging Service) or Text requirement.

 LIME XL Value Promotions is a great offer and is an otherwise great way to boost Voice Calling on your GSM Voice Network. They’ve even throw in Bonus Credit of JA$100.00 for Prepaid customer at the start of the month, truly making this offer very sweet. Gimme 5, despite its free giveaway Voice and Text Services, is really a snippet of Postpaid services for Prepaid customers and is a great way to get customer interested in Postpaid.

This as Telecom Provider Digicel has now launched their Anywhere Minutes for Postpaid (DigiSelect) customers, the equivalent for their JA$8.99 Flat Rate Calling Plan for Prepaid (DigiFlex) as noted in my Geezam Blog article entitled “Digicel Introduces One Rate Calling for $8.99 in Jamaica”.

Coincidentally, this all comes some four (4) days after Telecom Provider LIME had announced their aggressively ramp up marketing in terms of pricing with huge drops in 3G Mobile Data slated to roll out on Tuesday May 1^st 2012AD as stated in the article “LIME to slash prepaid mobile Internet rates May 1”, published Monday, April 16, 2012, The Jamaica Observer.

The official statement from Telecom Provider LIME on the coming aggressive ramp up in 3G mobile is subtle and to the point, quote: “Now, by lowering the cost of prepaid mobile Internet, LIME is making it even easier for a wider cross section of persons to access the Internet as customers can use readily available devices such as mobile phones to surf the Web and send e-mail, among other things”.

Telecom Provider LIME is getting ready to launch their “4G” Service to head off the coming low-cost wave of Municipal Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11n) Services such as Dekal Wireless and Nubian-1 Tech Services Limited as prognosticated in my Geezam Blog article entitled “LIME’s 4G Experience Centers challenge the Rise of Dekal Wireless Dragon”

Telecom Provider LIME 3G Mobile Broadband rates will as of Tuesday May 1^st 2012AD EXACTLY match those of the stealthy Dekal Wireless and Nubian-1 Tech Services Limited, a strong indication of their fear of the slowly rising Dragon in this Year of the Dragon as asserted my Geezam Blog article entitled “LIME’s 4G Experience Centers challenge the Rise of Dekal Wireless Dragon”.

The rate reductions for 3G Mobile can be vividly seen in the attached Table below:

Interestingly, with the price declines come declines in the Data Caps, a sore point for many, as Telecom Provider LIME Prepaid 3G Data Service is not unlimited, but capped. Customers who exceed the Data Caps are ramped down in speed, as opposed to Telecom Provider Digicel which bills you at a rate of JA$15.00 per Megabyte exceeding the Data Cap for each Data Plan.

Clearly too, Telecom Provider LIME is also is being very bullish about the future. Especially as the improvement in the Remittance Sector as stated in the article “Remittance Companies Bullish As Transfers Hit New Record” published Sunday March 4, 2012 by Avia Colander, The Jamaica Gleaner.is making many in the Banking Sector giddy.

So thus it’s clear that Telecom Provider LIME not only has great things in store for Voice and Data Services in Jamaica as it defends itself against the Rise of the Old Republic using Baby Cham’s “Wine”.