Tech News Jamaica

Choosing a Digicel 4G Modem

2011-10-25T11:46:00.000-07:00

Ok guys, there seems to be a shortage of information on what exactly to get when you go to the Digicel 4G Store. Being the good person I am I can no longer leave this blog dormant, I must inform the people. *done with the self praise*

So if your like me, you're not very satisfied with LIME, you can't get FLOW and you're not really looking in the direction of the small wireless carriers. In addition, you don't want to pay any line rental fees or what ever other fees LIME wishes to force on you, you desire a no hassle internet connection that's on when you want it to and off when you don't, something flexible, like your prepaid phone, the answer lies in the image to the left.

Once you're in the coverage area your good to go, getting speeds *in reality from my experience* up to 4 Mbps rarely more, but that's good enough to watch YouTube, hang out on Facebook and get some work done at the same time. But of the 3 modems currently being offered which is best for you?

USB Stick Modem - If your thing is being on the road all the time with your laptop, maybe for business purposes or otherwise the USB Stick Modem is the thing for you, not for indoor use, perfect for the outdoors. Nothing else to plug in, just put that thing in and you're good to go.

CPE WiFi Modem - This is a pretty one, and works really well if your getting full coverage, otherwise you'll be having a lot of little browsing issues. Its expensive, however for the price you get to connect wirelessly via WiFi *my dogs name* and also get 4 Ethernet ports.

CPE Standard Modem - Now this is my favourite one, this is cheaper, no WiFi built in, but it gets the 4G signals where the beautiful WiFi Modem can't. Its easy to set-up and position and is just all round the best choice for home internet usage. If I were to recommend a Modem from Digicel this would be the one, if you want WiFi the get the Standard Modem and Wireless Router bundle.

So there you have it, information for my people. Talk to you next post.

AirLink Wireless Spreading its Reach

2009-08-07T10:22:00.000-07:00

In an interview via telephone with Mr. Palmer president of AirLink yielded a wealth of opportunities for the furtherance of the I.T. industry in Jamaica.

Mr Palmer a well accomplished figure within the Jamaican I.T. arena spoke of western Jamaica as their next target segment to introduce their wireless offerings. "We are currently waiting on shipments from the US to further build out our WIMAX offerings to Jamaicans all over the country."

He spoke further on the current telecoms landscape within Jamaica and how he envisions his company fitting in and ultimately gaining significant market share. "A responsiveness to customer needs will ultimately be what separates us, not size but perception."

View his accomplishments HERE.

JBOS... Networking Gold

2009-08-06T22:37:00.000-07:00

The Jamaica Business Opportunity Service (JBOS ) is a beautiful and unique website that provides much needed interactions with the Jamaican business community. A list of buyers, suppliers, and general opportunities within the Jamaican business landscape are all listed here.

This website follows a trend of emerging Jamaican sites; it is both visually appealing and well laid out exemplifying the soul of our business people and the dept of our talents.

JBOS is a great source for all things business related in Jamaica and boast a list of cluster services along with the ever present business opportunities that aids in the drive of our livelihood, our economy.

LIME Kingston's fastest 3G Network

2009-08-06T22:03:00.000-07:00

I'm not one who believes in false advertising or misleading the public in any way. LIME has marketed themselves for some time now as Jamaica's fastest 3G network, while that may seem true to those living in Kingston and St Andrew, the opposite is the reality to the rest of the island.

Truly, LIME is not Jamaica's fastest 3G network as their 3G technology is not throughout Jamaica therefore it is false to state that it is Jamaica's fastest 3G network when it only works in segments of eastern Jamaica.

My take is this, say what it is, not what it isn't.

Claro 3G No Mission Impossible.

2009-06-22T19:27:00.001-07:00

The possibility of everything being possible is becoming a serious possibility. In other words Claro stepping up the competition expands the possibilities for us all, hope I'm making some sense here.

The roll out of services so far are pretty cool however my favourite is definitely the flat rate Internet. It looks a bit sticky when they say that your speed gets cut to EDGE after 3Gb of data, and at the same time not seeming to be able to tell from there systems when you have gotten to that threshold.

Well, its still the best deal out there right now, a far cry from $40/mb.

Lime Late Again

2009-06-22T19:00:00.000-07:00

LIME/C&W is late with everything. Late to provide you with residential service, late in regards to innovation that stands out, and now late with 3G.

So, LIME is 3G ready in Kingston and St. Andrew while Claro with is late entry in the market has 3G island wide. The part the bugs me the most is that LIME is always glorifying it's so called successes through the media, while at the same time speaking of other companies that utilize the media in a worthwhile fashion.

LIME needs to take chances that are calculated and thoroughly thought through. That's all I got to say for now....

Tips for LIME

2009-03-03T11:52:00.000-08:00

In this post I'll attempt to provide a working guide for the management of LIME. Now over the years, C&W has been to most an under performer in that they are most times late with new developments and have proven on countless occasions that their marketing team is comprised of individuals obviously out of touch with the realities of today.

With that said, let me hasten to say that I do believe C&W/LIME can regain their glory as in the times when they had no competition by adhering to the following:

Extensive Research - this is extremely important and saves a lot of money down the road. I think most people can agree that C&W/LIME should have had their own fibre optic network throughout Jamaica before Flow. Back in the day, these guys on a quarterly basis reported mega profits, non of which (in my opinion) was used for research or the introduction of new technologies. They were downright lazy and did not seek to improve anything, why? no competition. After the liberalization of the telecoms sector C&W/LIME still didn't get it and continued to offer mediocre service, today they are still trying to play catch up and losing plenty of cash in the process. Tip Here - Be Proactive.

Sensible Advertising - mentioning the name of your competition within your ads is to me free advertising for the competition. In addition every couple of months C&W/LIME seems to be conveying a different message, their slogans change so rapidly I sometimes wonder if its the same company. Maintaining one central message that is repeatedly displayed to customers is key to building a strong and profitable brand. Tip Here - Maintain one Simple Message.

Wear the customer's shoes - an intimate knowledge is most times needed in order to make more informed decisions. Stand outside the market, look at the picture from the eyes of the consumer. Is my company really better than the competition? if yes, how best can I relate the differences to the people who need to know? What are the strengths and weaknesses between all competing companies? how is all this viewed by the consumer? Tip Here - Be Neutral.

It is possible for LIME to take the lead within their competing markets, it will take time, it will take work and possibly a new R&D and Marketing team.

Digicel's USB Modem, it it Worth it?

2009-03-02T19:34:00.000-08:00

So I went to my closest Digicel store to get my hands on there new internet offering, and here's my review.

The modem is plug and play, installation is fairly quick and easy however on some occasions you may have to restart your computer after installation for the modem to pick up Digicels EDGE signal. In comparrison to GPRS or Dial Up the USB modem is considerably faster, however the cost associated with the service is to me its downfall. At $40 JMD you get 1 Mb which is on average about 17 page views, for the novice this is a fairly good deal however for individuals such as myself a flat rate plan is much better. Digicel however will not change this for now as there network could not withstand so many users on a flat rate plan, charging per Mb, especially at the above price ensures low network traffic and high returns.

All things considered the Modem is a handy commuication device that is both easy to use and install, connection to the internet is quick and my browsing experience wasn't bad. As opposed to what Digicel's customer service may say, it does work with Windows Vista and can be shared across your home network.

What will I find here?

2009-03-02T18:54:00.001-08:00

Ok, let me just take the time to introduce this blog to you my fellow Jamaicans.TechNewsJamaica sets out to inform, educate and relate the Jamaican experience and experiences within our active Telecommunication and Technology Markets. Our wish is not to be the first to provide you with news relating to this sector, but to be the first to make sense of it. In addition, tips along with other helpful information will be posted regularly.

To make this more interresting, please feel free to email me in reagrds to anything under the subject of this blog.