JA$2.00 Cross-Network Rates by Saturday June 1st 2013 - Design Homogenous Networks, more Contract and Postpaid Plans and avoid Voice Services Hangover Part III

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 26^th 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 1^st 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.