Rivalry between @Facebook and @HTC – @Google, @Microsoft, @Sony and @Samsung in VR as Video Game Console Savior and smartphones Extinction

Virtual Reality is set to be big business in 2016. Potentially, it might even replace the Video Game Consoles as the next generation Platform for playing high-end immersive video games.

As is the case with any new technology, there are rivalries being formed. In the development of Virtual Reality, it is no different. There is a developing rivalry between Facebook, who purchased Oculus, a VR Developer and HTC, a smartphone maker partnered with Valve, a Cloud Gaming Developer. 

This rivalry that may come to define the direction the VR (Virtual Reality) and AR (Augmented Reality) world takes as explained in “Virtual reality may rule video games. Here's who will rule VR”, published May 22, 2015 by Ian Sherr and Roger Cheng, CNET News.

Rivalry between Facebook and HTC – MWC 2015 debut means smartphones and Tablets facing Extinction

Facebook had kicked things off by buying Oculus back in March 2014 for some US$2 billion as reported in my blog article entitled “Facebook buys Oculus Rift for US$2 billion - Facebook Social Virtual Reality Future as Smartwatches and smartglasses herald the death of the smartphone in 2015”.

No-one was sure what Facebook intended to do with Oculus Rift.

I'd speculated that they'd find a way to make the technology a lot smaller and portable enough to rival Google Glass but tailored for Console Gaming as reported in my blog article entitled “Facebook launches Nearby Friends feature - WhatsApp VoIP and Oculus Rift VR Wearable Computing Takes flight as FB look towards the Future in the Year of the Horse”. 

The partnership between HTC and Valve to develop the Vive VR Headset became public at possibly the strangest MWC (Mobile World Conference) 2015 I’ve ever written about as noted in my blog article entitled “Oculus Mobile VR Jam 2015 - How Samsung Gear VR is Gearing up for Competition in the VR and AR Space”.

This is because for the first time in years, the focus was on this new future technology that not only made the smartphone launches look mundane by comparison, but had the potential to make Video Game Consoles and smartphones obsolete by 2017 as described in my blog article entitled “Google Glass Designer Isabelle Olsson puts Leopard frames on Google Glass - Smart + Sexy = Smexy glasses Katy Perry Roar for Tablet and smartphone Extinction”. 

Google, Microsoft, Sony and Samsung  in VR – All the World’s a Stage as Content already in the works

There are other players now in the VR (Virtual Reality) and AR (Augmented Reality) Hardware Developer War. 

Google may possibly join with their Google Cardboard reincarnated as Mattel 's View-Master as well as a version of Android tailored for VR as predicted in my blog article entitled “@google to develope Google @Android for VR - Why a VR and AR War is looming on the Horizon in 2016”, as the story is far from finished:

1.      Microsoft Hololens

2.      Sony Morpheus VR Headgear

3.      Samsung Gear VR

We are now in the summer of 2015.  

Samsung Gear VR has launched their Samsung Galaxy Gear Developer Edition for Developers to play with in 2015 as noted in my Geezam blog article entitled “Samsung Gear VR Innovator Edition expands your Galaxy”. 

Aside from this, none of these VR Headset Developers is yet to debut a completed product, albeit Content is slowly beginning to bubble to the fore.

One such example is the partnership between DeNa and Nintendo in March 2015 to develop Video game for smartphones may also include VR Headsets, due to the similar screen size as predicted in my blog article entitled “@DeNACorp and @NintendoAmerica partner for Smartphone and Tablet Games - Partnership to boost Mobile Games as VR and AR Beckons in 2016”.

User generated Content is also starting to appear, thanks to Google's launch of YouTube’s support of 360-Degree Panoramic Videos.

This means while Video Game developers twiddle their thumbs, mulling their decision as to which hardware to support, owners of 360-Degree Panoramic Cameras would have been some of the first to develope Content online that's best viewed in an immersive VR headset as predicted in my blog article entitled “@Google's @YouTube launches 360-Degree Panoramic Videos - How Google @Android VR makes Content for VR Ambitions”.

The video formats for 360-Degree Panoramic Videos have already been agreed upon and are already in play, with Content being published by YouTube Video Developers, albeit nothing particularly eye-catching has yet to be published.

What is now needed is a breakout video that not only utilizes the technology to its full potential but makes the connection as to how it can best be viewed using a VR headset.

By 2016, one if not all of these VR and AR Developers will debut a game-changing product in 2016. But even before that, there would have been Content online, both in the form of Games as well as 360-Degree Panoramic Videos, guaranteeing the success of VR and AR Headsets.   

@amazonKindle Fire battle Apple iPad Mini in 2014 - Why @Amazon Tablet Glory Days fading as Tablet Extinction inevitable

Since the Amazon Kindle Fire had been launched in September 2011 as noted in my blog article entitled “Amazon Kindle Fire is now No. 2 behind the Apple iPad 2 - Deathrace to London Olympics 2012AD”, it has been giving the Apple iPad a lot of competition by popularizing the 7" category of Tablets.

Amazon has followed up with an update of their Amazon Fire Tablet line in 2014 that has many Amazon Prime members spoilt for choice as reported in the article “Your handy Amazon Kindle Fire cheatsheet”, published September 19, 2014 by Eric Franklin, CNET News. The Tablets in the 2014 line that was released in September and October 2014 are as follows:

1.      Kindle Fire HD6

2.      Kindle Fire HD6

3.      Kindle Fire HD Kids Edition

4.      Kindle Fire HDX 7

5.      Kindle Fire HDX 8.9

These are all small form-factor Kindle Fires of varying Screen sized and prices as listed in the table below.

So what lies ahead for the Amazon Fire Kindle in 2015, given that Tablet sales are falling globally according to analyst IDC in February 2015 according to my blog article entitled “IDC Stats suggest Tablet Freefall in 2015 – How to sell Tablets using built-in Keyboards and Carrier Unlocked SIM Cards”.

Apple and Amazon battle in the 7" Category - Tablet glory of Days past slowly fading

The Amazon Kindle fire was truly a game-changer when it was launched back in 2011, as it proved the viability and hidden love for the 7" Tablet form factor.

So much so that Apple eventually launched the 7.9" Apple iPad Mini in 2012 at a time when the world was falling in love with the 7" Tablet form, factors as noted in my  Geezam blog article entitled “The Two Towers of Tablets, 7” Amazon Kindle Fire and 7.9” Apple iPad are the Global Tablet size of Choice”.

At the same time, Amazon updated their Kindle Fire line with improvements to the Kindle Fire line, mainly upgrading the Processor and the Screen resolution as explained in my blog article entitled “Amazon launches a pair of Kindle Fire 2 - ACS-Xerox Call Centers in Jamaica ramp up as Kindle Fire begin to Sparkle”.

Since then, these 7" Tablets made by both Apple and Amazon have been refreshed on a yearly basis.

Apple soon followed up in October 2013 with the Apple iPad Mini 2 as noted in my blog article entitled “Apple iPad 5 and iPad Mini 2 Launch Event expected on Tuesday October 22^nd 2013 - 64-bit Quad-core A7 Processors, Touch ID, Apple Mac Pro and Apple iTV Video Game Console anticipated”.

The Apple iPad 5 also got rebranded as the Apple iPad Air, stealing some of the thunder from the Apple Macbook Air as note in my Geezam blog article entitled “Apple iPad Air’s the World Thinnest Tablet and Apple iPad Mini 2’s a 3DS and Vita killer”.

Amazon focuses on E-Readers in 2014 with Kindle Unlimited – Delaying the inevitable Tablet Extinction

Amazon opted to update the Amazon Paperwhite, their popular e-reader, with a few hardware and software upgrades as reported in my blog article entitled “US$199 Amazon Kindle Paperwhite upgrades Hardware and Software - How to find free Ebooks and e-Book Readers for Laptops and PC”.

They've even thrown in the option of an all-you-can-read US$8.99 Amazon Kindle Unlimited e-book subscription in June 2011 as reported in my blog article entitled “Amazon launches US$9.99 Kindle Unlimited - Oyster and Scribd got served by Earth’s Most Customer Centric Company but pay Indies Publishers better”.

But this is delaying the inevitable, as since the second half of 2014, branded Tablet sales are being cannibalized by Chinese “White-Label” Generic Tablets and to a lesser extent the growing trend of phablets as predicted in my blog article entitled “Gartner and IDC Forecast Tablets, PC fall, Smartphone rise - How Tablet's 3-Year Lifespan means Sub-US$199 Smartphones, Chrome OS to Dominate”.   

They've been affecting the sales of the Apple iPad and even the Google Nexus 9 Tablet as explained in my blog article entitled “US$183 Google Nexus 9 Tablet – Tablet Extinction coming as @googlenexus Strategy needed for Content Creation Tablet Market”.

So it'll be interesting to see what Amazon has in store for their refresh of their Amazon Kindle Fire line of Tablets in face of the declining interest in Name brand Tablets, now perceived as being overpriced.  

Why @globalwebindex says @Facebook Mobile Social Networks are for Private Groups of Friends

Facebook in the First and Second Quarter of 2015 has launched a raft of new products and services as it sets to recapture its Social Media Crown.

But with smartphones and Tablets, Social Media is changing as the audience is becoming more mobile as noted in the article “5 Ways That Facebook Usage is Changing”, published April 8 2015 by Jason Mander, GlobalWebIndex.

According to GWI (Global Web Index) latest statistics, Facebook is being eclipsed by other smaller more nimble Mobile Social Networks. Even some of their purchases are doing between than the parent company. The graph below shows that the usage numbers for Facebook on smartphones has been on the rise.

Especially as they've recently rolled out more Mobile apps, such as Facebook Hello and Video Calling in the Facebook Messenger as noticed in my blog article entitled “@Facebook Messenger Free Video Calling - @Meerkat and @periscopeco's new competitor as @Digicel_Jamaica defends against @WhatsApp”. 

Instagram and WhatsApp – The Children of a Lesser God outrun the Parent

Instagram has hit 300 million users since December 2014 and has shown no sign of stopping its meteoric rise in 2015 as reported in my blog article entitled “Instagram's 300 Million Active Monthly Users – Teenagers and Millennials Selfie Trend boosts Facebook's Advertising Revenue while Chasing Pinterest and Tumblr”.

WhatsApp mean has also hit their own milestone hitting 700 million monthly active users less than a month later in January 2015 as noted in my blog article entitled “WhatsApp reaches 700 million Active Monthly Users - Double Blue Checkmarks from China, Japan and South Korea and Russia with Love”.

Mobile Social Networks – Sharing is Caring and IM is Growing Strong

More and more Mobile users are now sharing photos and doing their Instant Messaging on these specialized Mobile Social Networks like Snapchat, Tumblr and Pinterest as pointed out by GWI back in November 2014 as explained in my blog article entitled “@globalwebindex indicates @Snapchat is King - Why @Tumblr and @Pinterest on the rise as @Facebook has higher engagement levels”.  

Instead, Facebook has become more of a time filler, with 50% of Facebook 1.5 billion month active users basic visiting merely out of boredom in a bid to entertain themselves during a lull period or mere to avoid the FOMO (Fear of Missing out). Based on the graph below, they’re still way ahead of the Mobile Social Networks, despite their growing popularity.

Facebook Like Button – Liking is not Engagement, unless it’s an interesting photo

The Facebook Like Button is still fancied by many users of Facebook, being as its quite simply the easiest action to execute on Facebook. More troubling is that posting links for users to read is very low on the actions of visitors to Facebook, as someone clicking that they like your post does not mean that they read it.

From my personal experience on Facebook, persons are more likely to make a comment, the second favourite activity of Facebook users, if the post is an image or a very interesting Video. Article posts are more likely to be read if the title or comment in the post is salacious in nature and hinting at something that's worth gossiping about.

This is because most Teenagers (ages 1 to 17) no longer find Facebook as interesting as it once was, preferring to hang out more in Groups than to look on posts on another Facebook user’s profile.

Facebook isn’t Boring – Mobile Social Network are for more private Groups of Friends

Others Social Networks are filling that gap and help them to avoid the FOMO and are great for keeping in touch with smaller groups of friends.

Mobile Social Networks such as Snapchat, who have recently re-launched their Best Friends as Friend Emojis, making the Network useful for sifting out your friends as noted in my blog article entitled “@Snapchat Best Friends is Friend Emojis - How @Beyonce’s explains why @KimKardashian Needs Love as Moon says More Light”.

All of this matches up with the findings of a Harvard University-based Pew Research  Study in April 2015 that points out that the users of Mobile Internet are likely to Teenagers (ages 13 to 17) and Millennials (ages 18 to 28) as explained in my Geezam blog article entitled “Pew Research Study indicates American Middle-Income Millennial Minorities love Mobile Internet”.

Facebook is still Growing Strong in this Social Mobile Networking War of the Roses.

@LIMEJamaica's downpayment on High-Bandwidth AWS Spectrum - How FLOW rebranding and Jamaican Call Center means 4G LTE coming in December 2015

“Global trends show the growth in market demand for IMT­advanced (4G) services. This trend and the response of manufacturers to develop standards which can provide the services have contributed to the recommendation to exclusively designate the band to accommodate mobile services......To meet this demand, service providers require spectrum sufficient for the provision of islandwide services. The technical characteristics of the AWS band make it an attractive option for interested players”

Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining Phillip Paulwell commenting on LIME Jamaica part payment for the AWS Spectrum band that they’ll use to provision 4G LTE 

With the full backing of CWC (Cable and Wireless Communications), the parts needed to launch their 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) Networks are slowly falling into place.

Telecom Provider LIME is set to pay JA$1.3 billion (US$11.5 million) as part of the license agreement to purchase the AWS (Advanced Wireless Services) spectrum to launch their4GLTE Wireless Broadband Service as reported in the article “Spectrum Band Sold To LIME”, Published Sunday April 19, 2015, The Jamaica Gleaner. 

  

This isn't the full amount for the 24 MHz blocks of spectrum being purchased by Telecom Provider LIME, as the total cost stands at JA$2.6 billion (US$23.1 million) for these blocks of AWS spectrum.

Also, this announcement is a confirmation of the agreement that was reached nearly a year ago back in April 2014 to acquire the AWS Spectrum as noted in my blog article entitled “LIME and Digicel have purchase AWS and 700 MHZ Spectrum for 4G LTE - Spectrum Purchase by the Number with Strings Attached as Ministry gets kitty donations from Local Telcos”. 

In exchange for this part payment, Telecom Provider LIME will get the following blocks of spectrum as noted in my blog article entitled “LIME chooses AWS for 4G LTE – AWS  Link Budget difference reduces Shadowing as It’s all about Optimization and Human Nature”.  

1.      12 MHz Band consisting of Spectrum from 1710 MHz to 1722 MHz

2.      12 MHz Band consisting of Spectrum from 2110 MHz to 2122 MHz

Additionally, along with the total of JA$2.6 billion (US$23.1 million) which has to be paid, there is also some outstanding licensing fees that both Telecom Providers owe to the Government of Jamaica via the Ministry of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining as follows:

1.      JA$9.36 billion in License Fees, of which Telecom Provider Digicel has paid JA$5.48 billion

2.      JA$3.29 billion in License Fees, of which Telecom Provider LIME has paid JA$1.53 billion

So you see dear reader, we haven’t heard the last of this matter, as we’ll possibly start hearing announcements about 4G LTE in the next few months leading up to the end of 2015, when it’s widely expected that Both telecom Providers will launch their respective 4G LTE Networks.

LIME going with the FLOW – Call Center means 4G LTE to be launched in December 2015

LIME Jamaica is currently in a state of Transition, having recant made the decision to not only change their name across the Caribbean to FLOW as noted in my Geezam blog article entitled “LIME Jamaica Goes with the FLOW thanks to Caribbean-wide Survey”.

CWC, the parent company of LIME Jamaica, is also set to re-establish a 200 Seat Call Center in Jamaica sometime in December 2015 as reported in my blog article entitled “@LIMEJamaica's 200-seat Call Center by December 2015 – Going with the Flow and JCF’s Real Time Emergency Call Centre heralds entry into BPO”. 

The choice of AWS is an excellent one, as not only does it have the bandwidth to ensure fast upload and download speeds but thanks to Jamaica’s terrain the higher frequency is suitable for this type of service as argued in my blog article entitled “LIME chooses AWS for 4G LTE – AWS Link Budget difference reduces Shadowing as It’s all about Optimization and Human Nature”.  

Many of the users of LIME 4G LTE Service will most likely be homeowners who need Broadband access at their homes, with a few customers wanting Mobile 4G Broadband.

Homeowners are stationary, making it easy to establish line-of-sight with LIME's antennas provisioned with 4G LTE in a manner similar to how Digicel's 4G Broadband based on WiMaX works.

As for mobile customers, their mobility and focus on using their various Apps on their smartphones means that AWS spectrum can work for smartphones as well, as the customer will most likely be standing still most of the time while on their Tablets or smartphones.

So with the name change and Call Center coming in December 2015, expect LIME Jamaica to have a Christmas 2015 launch for their 4G LTE Network as well!

AWS vs 700MHz Band – Lower Penetrating Power but Bandwidth Galore

AWS may not have the penetrating power of Digicel's 700 MHz band for 4G LTE, which they most likely will use to provide a VAS (Value added Service) in the form of SportsMax Streaming Cable TV as detailed in my blog article entitled “Digicel purchases SportsMax – Why No Games, Just Sports on Digicel's Streaming Cable TV over Bigger, Better Network 4G LTE and FTTH”.

But it has the bandwidth for a whole host of broadband based services, from Streaming LIME TV to VoLTE (Voice over LTE) as described in my blog article entitled “Digicel and LIME going VoLTE - Why GSM extinct and Spectrum reused for M2M Services in HD Audio and Video Caribbean VoLTE-Age”.

So come December 2015, the predicted month that LIME may launch 4G LTE, we'll get an idea of what LIME, by then branded as FLOW, has in store for Jamaica.

@NatSecurityJA sets June 1st 2015 as new PICA Deadline – MNP, 19 Cable TV missing and Zika Virus for the Summer of 2015

Today on Friday May 22^nd 2015, Jamaicans have finally calmed down and are no longer fighting one another to get their passports and beat the deadline as reported in the article “Passport Office Sees Calm, Less Applicants Turnout For Processing”, Published Friday May 22, 2015, The Jamaica Gleaner. 

This is in sharp contrast to Friday May 21st 2015, when an angry mob got upset that PICA (Passport, Immigration and Citizenship Agency) has also set a quote of 1,000 applicants per day on Tuesday May 19th 2015. This anger can clearly be seen in the video in the article “Video: Crush!”, published Friday, May 22, 2015, The Jamaica Observer. 

All this because PICA has set Tuesday May 26th 2015 as the deadline to implement increase in renewal and replacement for Jamaican Passports as noted in my blog article entitled “PICA and the Passport Fee Hike - Jamaicans upset despite being told beforehand by Finance Minister, Dr Peter Phillips”.

Ministry of National Security sets June 1^st 2015 as new Deadline – MNP,  19 Cable TV missing and Zika Virus for the Summer of 2015

The Minister of National Security, Peter Bunting, who has oversight over PICA, has now backtracked on the original Tuesday May 26^th 2015 deadline after these massive protests and crowds of Jamaican desperate to avoid the increases.

Instead the new deadline will be Monday June 1^st 2015, the date on which the new increases will be implemented as stated in the article “Security Minister Says Passport Fee Hike Implementation Date Changed To June 1”, published Thursday May 21, 2015, The Jamaica Gleaner. 

These new fees are as follows:

1.      JA$6,500 for an Adult Passport (over 18), up from JA$4,500

2.      JA$4,000 for a Passport for a minor (under 18), up from JA$2,700

The fees for replacing your Passport at PICA will also be increased as well:

1.      JA$11,500 for replacing an Adult Passport (over 18), up from JA$9,500

2.      JA$7,000 for replacing a minor's Passport (under 18), up from JA$5,700

Well, at least Jamaican can look on the bright side.

By Monday June 1^st 2015, we'll also have MNP (Mobile Number Portability) and LNP (Landline Number Portability) as pointed out in my blog article entitled “How Jamaican can access MNP and LNP by Monday June 1st 2015 – Windfall for Jamaican smartphone unlockers as Quad-Band smartphones and Carrier-Free SIM Cards Required”.

Also, there will be no Cable Television services as nineteen (19) channels will be blocked, forcing many parents to send their children outside to play as argued in my blog article entitled “FLOW increases Cable Package prices - 19 channel removal on MNP, LNP Day as Summer of 2015 for Streaming and Downloading”.

With the Zika Virus possibly on its way by August 2015 as predicted in my blog article entitled “Zika Virus is coming to Jamaica – Zero MOH Preparedness for Chikungunya Part II but Mosquito Repellant and Vitamin C works”, the Summer of 2015 in Jamaica is shaping up to be very interesting indeed!!

@LIMEJamaica's 200-seat Call Center by December 2015 – Going with the Flow and JCF’s Real Time Emergency Call Centre heralds entry into BPO

Telecom Provider LIME has finally decided to start listening to customers as it relates to Call Centers Service.

In the next two (2) months, Telecom Provider LIME will be setting up a new two hundred (200) seat Call Center in either Jamaica or Barbados as reported in the article “New CWC call centre for Jamaica or Barbados — Bentley”, published Friday, May 22, 2015 BY RICHARD BROWNE Business editor, The Jamaica Observer.

So says CWC Chief Executive Phil Bentley during a Press Briefing for Caribbean journalists, via teleconference from London on Wednesday May 20^th 2015.

He might also end up becoming the CEO of FLOW and LIME, which curiously has decided to adopt the name FLOW based on a Caribbean-wide survey commissioned by Group Director of Communications and Culture, Grace Silvera as noted in my Geezam blog article entitled “LIME Jamaica Goes with the FLOW thanks to Caribbean-wide Survey”.

When they decided which Caribbean country will get this 200 seat Call Center by July 2015, they'll start building the Call center by September 2015. Once built (from scratch, what no rental?) operations will commence by the end of 2015 as noted in the article “CWC To Return LIME Call Centre Operations To The Caribbean”, Published Thursday May 21, 2015 by Neville Graham, The Jamaica Gleaner.

The result?

A net increase in employees, or at least, so says CWC Chief Executive Phil Bentley, quote: “We will be a net increase employer across the Caribbean. I am absolutely convinced that we will have a net employment increase across the markets”.

So is this call center justified, as they could have easily have moved it to another Caribbean island with Call Center Facilities, like the Bahamas or St. Lucia?

It's all about the numbers!

LIME Jamaica 200 seat Call Center by December 2015 – Going with the Flow means more Calls

Many customer have complained that the Spanish–speaking Call Center representatives that they speak cannot break the language hurdle, as their Spanish accent is a dead giveaway.

Still, logically, for such a massive business as CWC, the mere complaints from the customers at Jamaica cannot be the only and possibly the real reason for this decision. What must really be happening is that there is some massive demand for Call Center resources within LIME Jamaica’s Network.

Within Jamaica, CWC has some interesting numbers:

1.      19% increase in their mobile subscriber base

2.      107,000 new mobile subscribers

3.      713,000 mobile subscribers in total

After acquiring FLOW, their fixed, broadband and video subscriber base expanded:

1.      5.068 million fixed, broadband and video subscribers before Flow/Columbus purchase

2.      6.069 million fixed, broadband and video subscribers after Flow/Columbus purchase

US$1.5 billion is being spent by CWC to marry themselves to FLOW and some additional 56,000 100Mbps Broadband customers will be going with the FLOW once the other Caribbean countries come on board as noted in my Geezam blog article entitled “LIME Jamaica Goes with the FLOW thanks to Caribbean-wide Survey”.

Turns out that aside from the purchase of FLOW, there is a more direct reason for this planned Call Center, actually!

LIME Jamaica and Ministry of National Security Call Center Deal - JCF’s Real Time Emergency Call Centre

LIME Jamaica Limited had been awarded a JA$464 million (US$4 million) to upgrade the JCF (Jamaica Constabulary Force) Emergency 119 Service as reported in the article “LIME gets $464-m contract to upgrade JCF phone system”, published Friday, May 22, 2015, The Jamaica Observer.

Approved on Monday April 20^th 2015 by Minister of National Security Peter Bunting, he had first announced his intention to upgrade the JCF Emergency 119 Service in April 2014.

The plans for the JCF Emergency 119 Service are quire elaborate and is intended to transform the Service into a Real Time Emergency Call Centre, whatever that means. The objectives give some clue as to what the Ministry of National Security and the JCF are aiming for with the Real Time Emergency Call Centre concept:

1.      Process Emails

2.      Notifications

3.      Social media Posts

4.      Phone calls

5.      Instant Messaging

So the Jamaica Constabulary force is basically getting a standard Call Center, similar to the ones I’ve worked in before. As for the Call Center Agents, they most likely will not be Jamaican Police but Jamaican Call Center Workers employed by LIME Jamaica!

LIME Jamaica building the JCF’s Real Time Emergency Call Centre – LIME goes with the FLOW back to BPO

Based on the JA$464 million (US$4 million), it suggest that they're not really going to build a Call Center separate for the JCF. Rather, LIME 200 seater Call Center will actually cost JA$464 million (US$4 million) and will have a section dedicated to handle the JCF Emergency 119 Service.

Best of all, it'll be powered by LIME, effectively making the JCF their first client and may possibly be signaling LIME's return to the BPO Sector since they sold their interest in the Montego Bay Freezone in the form of JDI (Jamaica Digiport International) sale back in June 2012 as reported in m my blog article entitled “Montego Bay Freezone Liberalized as LIME's Jamaica DigiPort International gives up its Monopoly - Call Centers Age of Empire as Mandeville Beckons”.

This is a lot more efficient and would logically justify the need for 200 persons, as that number could have been filled by any other Call Center in Jamaica, such as Xerox, who are currently setting up shop in Kingston as noted in my blog article entitled “How to find work in Jamaica at Call Centers - Xerox's Three New Call Centers in Kingston for 860 employees for Future Expansion”.

It might also be a clever way to stop Pranksters from inundating the 119 Service with False reports of Crimes as noted in the article as reported in the article “Stop prank calls to 119, police urge”, published Monday, April 01, 2013, The Jamaica Observer and “Police Caution Against Prank Calls To Emergency Numbers”, published Monday April 1, 2013, The Jamaica Gleaner, as they're making it difficult for the Police to respond to legitimate Calls to their 119 Emergency line.

Hopefully that means when I call the Jamaican Police they’ll come a lot quicker. On the flip side, it’s a strong indication that Telecom Provider LIME is not just trying to please customer, but also becoming a competitor in the BPO Industry once more, with the JCF being their first client!