News
of an impending Cross-Network Rate cut to Cross Network Rates of JA$2.00 per minute has
many Jamaicans excited as the end of the month draweth nigh. The promise is yet
to be fulfilled as stated in the article “Talk
gets cheap - Reduced mobile rates coming in weeks”,
Published Wednesday May 29, 2013, by Arthur Hall, Senior News Editor, The Jamaica Gleaner.
It’s
now month end and the promised rate decline by the OUR (Office of Utilities
Regulation) based on the LRIC (Long Run Incremental Cost Model) from JA$5.00 per minute to
JA$2.00 per minute from Cross-Network Calls as explained in my blog
article entitled “JA$2.00 per minute
Cross-Network Rates expected from OUR in May 2013 - Postpaid Renaissance, Pain
and Gain for Digicel Prepaid in LIME's Ender's Game”.
The
ball’s definitely in the court of the OUR to follow through with the Minister
of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining decision as opined by Christopher Hanson
in the Jamaica Observer as per the article “OUR,
this is your time”, published Wednesday, May 29,
2013, by Christopher Hanson, The Jamaica Observer.
It’s
good to note that despite the protests of Telecom Provider Digicel, globally
we’re moving away from Voice Services and Data Services being on separate
Networks, the so-called Heterogenous Networks to VoIP (Voice over IP) and Data
Services efficiently riding on the same data pathways, essentially Homogenous
Networks.
As
smartphones get lower in cost and become more mainstream, users will mostly be
using mostly Data Services, with SMS (Short Messaging Services) or Text
messaging being the first to die as predicted in my blog
article entitled “CTIA
reports a 5% decline in US Texting as Instant Messaging ramps up - WhatsApp's
now Top Gun as The Dead Zone leads Star Trek Into the Darkness”.
Already
Telecom Provider Digicel is getting hip to this future with the planned
Caribbean-wide introduction of the sub-JA$100 Digicel DL600 smartphone in the
week on Sunday 26th 2013 as stated in my blog
article entitled “Digicel
to launch the DL600 smartphone in Jamaica on Thursday 30th or Friday 31st of May
2013 - Digicel DL600 is coming Fast and Furious 6 to make smartphones
accessible to all”.
Thus
price reductions to make Voice Calling cheaper and thus usher in mass adoption
of Postpaid is necessary for Voice Telecoms to blossom to its full potential.
Eventually when everyone owns smartphones, Free Calling on their older GSM
Networks may become a reality, with M2M (Machine to Machine) Services being
used to fill in the Traffic Gap i.e. Wireless POS Devices, Remote Telemetry
Sensors and Data Capture Technology.
Examples
of such low-speed services includes JUTC up and coming SmarterCard Cashless Bus
Ticker System which should have gone live in April of 2013 as stated in my blog
article entitled “JUTC
to debut RFID & NFC Readable SmarterCard Cashless Bus Ticket System in
April 2013 - The Last Stand for a Cashless Society to empower the Multi-Modal
Concept”.
Ditto
too Prepaid Power systems that’ll send discrete amounts of user data relating
to the Digital Meter and as such only requires a small bandwidth as explained
in as explained in my blog article entitled “JPS Co
New Digital Meters are all Smart Meters - Winsome Callum's A Simple Twist of
Fate” and my Geezam blog article entitled “JPS Co Analog Meter upgrade heralds Remote Billing Revolution”.
In
the meantime, MNP (Mobile Number Portability) has been placed on hold until May
2014 to fully examine models based around having BOTH MNP and LNP (Landline
Number Portability) and how best to pursue as stated in the article “Number
portability timeline pushed back to May 2014”, Published
Tuesday May 28, 2013 by Jerome Reynolds, Staff Reporter, The Jamaica Gleaner.
The
issue of MNP and LNP is worthy of its own article, which I’ll do later on, as
clearly there are reasons why they’ve backtracked on the promise of MNP by the
end of the year made in April 2013 as stated in “Number
portability may soon be a reality” Published Thursday
March 28, 2013, The
Jamaica Gleaner.
Rest
assured it will affect the OUR’s application for a new number Range necessary
for a New Telecom provider to Come to Jamaica as noted in my blog
article entitled “OUR
applies for new Area Code for Jamaica - Competition in Telecoms in the coming
Hunger Game Catching Fire of Mobile Computing”. MNP affects
the efficient re-use of phone numbers, as it helps Business people to avoid
getting a new number every time they cross from one Network to another.
But
as it stands now the Lower Cross Network Calling Rate of JA$2.00 per minute is long overdue
and the hope is that it’ll be implemented Saturday June 1st 2013,
the earliest. By then, suitors coming to Jamaica to build out a 700MHz 4G LTE
Network will clearly realize:
1. We’re
serious about Data Services, both for Residential and Business Customers
2. GSM
Networks can be used to facilitate M2M Services
3. Contract
and Postpaid Plans are being encouraged, thereby guaranteeing Voice Calling
Revenues
This
as already predicted in my blog
article entitled “OUR
Telecom Provider Stats indicate JA$14 billion profit for Second Quarter of
2011AD - Telecom Providers Stacking up all Faces on the Argo Video Calling and
VoIP on smartphones”.
Interconnecting
90% of the country with high speed Wireless Broadband is our main priority,
despite any assumed high CAPEX (Capital Expenditure) arguements as noted in my blog
article entitled “No
bidders thus far for the 700MHz Spectrum Auction for 4G LTE - CAPEX concerns as
Serious Man of Steel Investors are needed to assist Jamaica to become a more
Connected Society”.
Telecom
Providers are thus to design Homogenous Networks and avoid The Hangover Part III
(2013) with Voice Services.
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