Digicel rebrands Data Plans as Data Lite, Data Plus and Data Max and complicates 2G and 3G Data

Telecom Provider Digicel’s Got Data fever or they’re just trying to confuse Jamaicans with multiple Data Offerings! This as on Friday February 21^st 2013, Digicel scuppered their Data Lite and Data Plus Prepaid Data Plans and replaced with three (3) new Data Plans as shown called Data Lite, Data Plus and Data Max.

These Data Plans apply to both Blackberry and smartphone users i.e. Apple iPhone and Google Android smartphones such as the DL600 and the newly minted DL700 as stated in my blog article entitled “Digicel has launched the DL700, an upgrade to the DL600 on Friday December 6th 2013 - The Alcatel One Touch Pop C3 is Digicel’s latest Unicorn that may be harder to catch”.

Confusion reigns as, yet again Digicel has taken something simple as Data and made it complicated! You can try texting 601 to 137, but that won’t help much unless you visit the Digicel website and read the page on the three (3) new Data Plans as shown called Data Lite, Data Plus and Data Max as well as Digicel FAQ on Digicel’s Data Plans.

Didn’t they just introduce Digicel DataFlex Card last week Friday February 14^th 2014 as I’d chronicled in my blog article entitled “Digicel’s launches DataFlex Prepaid Data Credit - Tablet Data Account top-up sans USSD codes as Data is Hot and Pay the Right Price Campaign needed once again”? The naming of the three indicates the type of users, and what they can do, based on usage patterns that Telecom Provider Digicel has determined from their internal Metrics derived from watching their Network Traffic.

Again this dropped out of the air without warning and no advertising on Television or mention in the newspaper. In fact, not even an ad on Digicel’s YouTube page; I had to again learn about this on Digicel’s Twitter and Digicel’s Facebook page!

First the Digicel’s Twitter posting….

Then the Digicel’s Facebook page, which interestingly has the advert prominently displayed as the Timeline Background as well…..

As per usual, the Digicel FAQ on Digicel’s Data Plans is as confusing to read as the instructions to put together an X-Ray Machine. After reading it to see if I could make heads or tails of it, I realized that what it basically means that contrary to what I’d said about Telecom Provider Digicel trying to make Data Service simple, they’ve decided to make it more complex. Even the Terms and Conditions of the Data Services aren’t straight enough for the layman to read and understand.

So here goes. First, the (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) codes have gotten….well, a lot more complicated. Here’s the lot of them.

The Data Plans are very similar to the ones listed in Geezam blog entitled “How to Access LIME or Digicel’s 4G Internet using an unlocked 4G LTE Modem Dongle, smartphone or Tablet” save that the Cost of the Data Plans have been lowered and the names of the Data Packages have been rebranded.

Again a nice graphic helps to explain the 4G Data Plans for smartphones and Tablets a little better, which bear a striking similarity to my Geezam blog article entitled “How to Access LIME or Digicel’s 4G Internet using an unlocked 4G LTE Modem Dongle, smartphone or Tablet”.

There are also new 4G Data Plans for Blackberry called Blackberry Max. Again similar procedures to activation of a Blackberry Max like a regular Blackberry Plan as explained in my Geezam blog article entitled “How to Set Up a Prepaid or Postpaid Blackberry Plan on your BB for LIME or Digicel”:

Finally for customers who apparently have some attachment issues to 2G Data and 2G Blackberry Plans, there are 2G Data and 2G Blackberry Plans Data just for them as well. The 2G Data Plans are, yet again, similar to those as described in my Geezam blog article entitled “How to get 2G or 3G Internet on your Mobile Phone in Jamaica”:

And as with all of Digicel offers, caveats abound in three (3) new Data Plans as shown called Data Lite, Data Plus and Data Max, all of which can be read, if you have the time, on Digicel FAQ on Digicel’s Data Plans:

1.      No video Calling or downloading or any activity that involves downloading while on Data Lite or Data Plus Plans

2.      Downloading or accessing Attachments is allowed in email on all three (3) Data Plans

3.      If you exceed you Data Plan, you’re instantly downgraded to 2G instead of being billed for the overage except in the case of Data Lite, Data Plus and 2G Data Plans. This is called Fair Usage

4.      2G Data Plans cannot be activated on Blackberrys and 2G Blackberry Plans, including Blackberry Max cannot be activated on Feature phones (like duh!)

Note too that Telecom Provider Digicel has finally added notifications to indicate to you when you’re close to finishing your Data Bundles, taking a leaf from Telecom Provider LIME as stated in my blog article entitled “LIME Jamaica introduces 30-day Data Plans for JA$300 and a free Alcatel One Touch T'Pop - How the Butler started the Smartphone Data Revolution”.

Telecom Provider Digicel has taken their Data Services and has re-complicated them yet again. Digicel DataFlex gave me hope for a simpler Data experience as pointed out in my blog article entitled “Digicel’s launches DataFlex Prepaid Data Credit - Tablet Data Account top-up sans USSD codes as Data is Hot and Pay the Right Price Campaign needed once again”.

Telecom Provider Digicel’s three (3) new Data Plans as shown called Data Lite, Data Plus and Data Max have dashed those hopes out the window yet again.