How Free Wi-Fi Promotion is coming from Digicel and Flow Jamaica

On Tuesday, May 20^th, 2014 at 3:37 PM, I'd received this email from Telecom Provider Digicel offering me three (3) days free Broadband in exchange for topping up my Modem with JA$100. Naturally, as I do have a Digicel Greenpacket Ex-250 modem which I brought back in February 2013 and with which I did the Geezam article entitled “How to setup and troubleshoot your Digicel 4G Broadband Modem”, I suspect it was just a Promotion to boost user-ship of their “4G” Broadband Network.

Digicel’s 4G Broadband Network is really a WiMaX Network, to which I hadn’t logged on in quite awhile, as I mainly hack into and use Free Wi-Fi in the Swallowfield Area using the technique as described in my blog article entitled “How to access any password-protected WEP or WPA and WPA2 Wi-Fi Network using TamoSoft CommView for WiFi”. I've reproduced an image of the email below with a link to the *.pdf document for those who want to check its authenticity.

I then proceeded to respond to the email but to no avail. After call 100 on my Digicel Cell phone and getting no help, I realized that possibly my email had been blocked by Digicel's Servers. So I proceeded to make a new email address and resend them the email. I'm still yet to get the offer of 3 Days Broadband as promised in the email on my Digicel Greenpacket Ex-250 Modem. But it got me thinking about promotions for Digicel 4G Broadband Network as, really, there has actually been none.

There have been promotions involving persons BUYING a 4G Mobile or Broadband Data Plan and getting something in return, such as the one they had for the YVA (Youth View Awards) held in January 2014 as described in my blog article entitled “Digicel's Supa DigiDealz gives you a DL600 or DL700 free on a Smart Postpaid Plan - YVA 2013 to feature Zendaya as Digicel are the Big Bad Wolves in the Smartphone Wars”

But aside from my own experience as described above, I've never seen Telecom Provider Digicel or Telecom Provider LIME offer any promotions where you can get free Data based on the idea that you've not logged on for a long time i.e. you've not got the money to pay for Data Service. 

How to have a Data Promotion – FLOW may introduce Wi-Fi Hopping soon

One way Telecom Provider Digicel or Telecom Provider LIME can offer a Data Promotion is via the very same Promotion as listed above, but instead of sending me email, just send it as an SMS (Short Messaging Service) or Text Message. This as I’d logically not have access to my email if I have no Internet for quite awhile!

It should also be offered to persons who haven’t topped up in the last 2 months, which I suspect shouldn’t be such as large number, due to the addictive nature of the Internet. Finally the criteria should be that once you login, you get online for the specific period; no credit top-up required.

For Broadband Customer’s an even better Promotion would be to give such users access to Wi-Fi Internet coming from any Mi-Fi Modem (in the case of Telecom Provider Digicel) or ADSL Modem (in the case of Telecom Provider LIME) that happens to be close by. This would be done by registering the IMSI of the SIM Card in their 4G Broadband Network in the case of Telecom Provider Digicel or ADSL Network in the case of Telecom Provider LIME and thus allowing them free access to the Wi-Fi Internet, bypassing the password set by that other customer as part of the Promotion.

By doing that, they’d be able to give offers of Free Internet either via their 3G or 4G Networks or Mi-Fi Devices connected to their Network to those who haven’t logged on for quite awhile. By doing this, they’d be able to get their Internet fix like everyone, but just for three (3) days at a time and for s set number of hours.

This idea is somewhat similar to the idea of Free Wi-Fi on the JUTC (Jamaica Urban Transit Company) Buses to keep unruly students still as described in my blog article entitled “Unruly High School Students Making out and having sex in the JUTC Half-Way-Tree Transport Center - How wi-Fi in Buses can lead to Solar Power, LPG and the smarterCard Cashless system”.

As after all, they’re already valued, loyal members of the Network, so sharing the Wi-Fi Internet from a nearby Mi-Fi or ADSL Modem shouldn’t impact that much on that paying customer’s experience. Especially as the offer is for a limited time only, with time limits being added if usage becomes excessive!  I call it Broadband Hopping, as effectively it’s free Wi-Fi but based on the simple criteria that:

1.      You are a Loyal, long time member of a particular Network

2.      You’re an active user of 3G/4G Broadband Internet

3.      You are fully registered using a GOJ ID

4.      You haven’t topped up for at least 2 months

5.      You’re living in the vicinity of someone else on the same Network that has Internet on their Digicel or LIME ADSL Broadband Modem that has Wi-Fi

Dear reader, what do you think? If you like this suggestion, please repost it as often as you wish so that it gains traction.