Digicel's JA$70 Data Plans vs LIME's JA$50 Data Plans - How to choose 3-Day and 30-Day Data Plans in Jamaica

Now that the secrets out about Telecom Provider LIME JA$3999 Huawei Ascend Y330 smartphones as chronicled in my blog article entitled “JA$3999 Huawei Ascend Y330 vs JA$7599 Digicel DL700 this Summer of 2014 - Waggonists Transfer Form not Required to get new smartphone”, many may now be curious about Data Plans.

                                                

Telecom Provider Digicel is yet to drop the cost on their Digicel DL700 smartphones for the Summer of 2014, so this is beginning to look like a one-horse race! Queue the song Fancy by Iggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX.

Still the Summer of 2014 is off to a great, albeit a very hot start as per the predictions of Climate change in Jamaica as chronicled in my blog article entitled “DIY Alternative Energy - How to keep cool and Electricity Bills low in the future as Global Warming Scientists predict higher Temperature within the next Decade”.

LIME’s Data Plans – 30-Day Data for the price of a Tin of Grace Corned Beef

Many Jamaicans may be curious as to how Data Plans from Telecom Provider LIME compare to those from Telecom Provider Digicel. So as to make this simple, I’ll print the “new” Mobile Data Plans on offer from Telecom Provider LIME first!

When compared to the Mobile Data Plans from around last year that were launched in August 2013 as chronicled 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”, it’s clear that the prices haven’t changed, save for the 1-Day Plans, which have been removed and replaced with 3-Day Plans instead.

That’s basically the same price as a JA$50 Suck-suck as shown above. Hence the quotes on “new” as you can check the Plans on your LIME smartphone by dialing *129*6#!

This isn’t free Data as described in my blog article entitled “Free Wi-Fi Internet as a Promotional Tool - Broadband Hopping the next weapon from Digicel and LIME”. But if you notice from the table that 30-days Mobile is now at JA$300, then you have more reason to get a JA$3999 Huawei Ascend Y330 smartphone from Telecom Provider LIME this Summer of 2014. That’s basically the same price as a Tin of Grace Corned Beef!

Their Plans are also blessedly simple. With the exception of the 7-Day Data Plan, it’s either 3-Day or 30-Day Data Plans with unrestricted IM (Instant Messaging), Email, Social Networking, Browsing and Streaming!

Of course, you know that, like Duh-uh, “unrestricted” doesn’t really exist; it’s just a marketing buzzword used to attract the gullible. Telecom Providers LIME Data Plans really shell down as follows.

Digicel Data Plans – Complex as a Spider’s Web and just as hard to get Un-Tangled

As the title suggests, this is the long part of my article; Digicel’s Data Plans.

Digicel had initially launched their Smart and Value Postpaid Plans sans the regular blitzed advertising on Traditional Media sometime around October 2013 as noted in my blog article entitled “Digicel had launched Digicel Postpaid Smart & Value Plans yet doesn't advertise it - How Postpaid Plans, the savior of Digicel should lead to 2-year Data and Voice Plans”. This can be seen at FAQ’s & T’s & C’s for Digicel Postpaid Smart & Value Plans on their Digicel Website.

That was very short lived, as I’d expected, due to its complexity and possibly due to their Postpaid slant with no pre-paid options. By November 2011, they’d eventually dropped the word “Value” and instead they were reincarnated as the Digicel’s Smart Postpaid Plans website as described in my blog article entitled “Digicel Upgrades Smart and Value Postpaid Plans to Smart Postpaid Plans geared towards smartphones - More helpings of Data and International Calling Bundles is How I Live Now”.

Clearly at this point, it can be said that Telecom Provider Digicel was experimenting with Data Plans to see what worked best. This was in a bid to capitalize on the success of the DL600 which was launched on Friday October 18^th 2013 and the DL700 that was launched two (2) months later on Friday December 11^th 2013 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”.

So by late February 2013, Telecom Provider Digicel introduced 2 new innovations to the Data Market. The first was Digicel DataFlex Cards as 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” and as show below in the advertisement

Data Plans as shown called Data Lite, Data Plus and Data Max as chronicled in my blog article entitled “Digicel rebrands Data Plans as Data Lite, Data Plus and Data Max - Elain Stitch Shoot Me as Prepaid 2G, 3G and 4G Data Services for Blackberry, smartphones and Tablets made more complex”, as show in the advertisement below.

So with this in mind, I’ll utilize the Data Plans as mentioned under Data Lite, Data Plus and Data Max! The Plans are as detailed here!

Similar to LIME Data Plans, except what was previously more confusing has now been reduced down to three (3) equally confusing Data Plans, namely Data Lite, Data Plus and Data Max. Good to note that their lowest priced Plan is only valid for two (2) days, as opposed to three (3) for Telecom Provider LIME. On the 30-day side of things, their lowest cost is JA$1750, basically the same cost as 2 6-piece KFC 6. Pcs Combo!

Clearly, too, there are restrictions on Browsing and Streaming as opposed to the cheaper LIME Data Plans that have no restrictions on such activities.

Also, like LIME, here’s a list of their USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) codes to activate their various Plans choc-full of options. These USSD is both for “4G” Mobile, which is of course really 3G Mobile Data Plans and their 2G Data Plans, mainly geared at GPRS (Global Packet Radio System) or EDGE (Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution).

You can read Digicel FAQ on Digicel’s Data Plans as well as Terms and Conditions of the Data Services, which are necessary reading to fully understand Digicel’s Data Plans! Better yet test 601 to 137 or call 100 to get a real person from Digicel Customer Care to explain their 4G Mobile and 2G Mobile Data Plans to you!

For comparison’s sake, here are the ads that have the pricing for the Digicel DataFlex Cards, of which I’ve seen very little in the Wild i.e. on the Streets of Jamaica either in Kingston or in Clarendon.

But at JA$100, it cheapest Plan is roughly around the same price as an Excelsior Cinnamon Crackers. So not bad for simplicity, Digicel!

So based on your reading thus far, based on price alone, it must now be clear for the Summer of 2014 not only the smartphone of Choice but also the Data Plan of Choice if you already have a smartphone

So again I ask the question, but in a different way: Who will win the Data War for the Iron Throne come Tuesday July 1^st 2014 in this Game of Phones? Will it be the Telecom Provider Digicel’s DL700 aka Alcatel One Touch Pop C3 or the Telecom Provider LIME’s JA$4999 Huawei Ascend Y330? Or will Digicel roll out a new Budget smartphone to compete, possibly a version of their Branded smartphone, the DL800?

And will Tablet prices Tumble too as I’ve predicted in my blog article entitled “Council of Trade and Economic Development allows GOJ to remove CET on smartphones - How CET removal from Phablets is the Perfect Storm for CET-Free Tablets by Emancipation Day”?

Check back with my blog or just follow Digicel Jamaica’s website Digicel Jamaica YouTube Page, Digicel’s Facebook Page and Digicel’s Twitter Page  Also follow the action for Telecom Provider LIME on their LIME website ,LIME’s YouTube Page, LIME Twitter Account and LIME Facebook Account.