Digicel addresses data-charge query

Dwayne Tulloch, Guest Columnist

I write in response to the letter from Mr Niaro Gelbara that appeared in The Gleaner on Saturday, February 15, 2014, regarding data charges. We value all our customers' feedback and, as such, our team has since reached out to Mr Gelbara and will address his concerns personally, once he has responded to us.

On Mr Gelbara's point on postpaid plans, Digicel is committed to giving our customers value and choice, and, as such, based on their feedback, all postpaid plans now include data. Customers can, therefore, choose a plan that best suits their usage, as well as they can opt in and out of plans as needed.

As it relates to the one-day data plan, the response and uptake from our customers over the past year has been extremely positive. In an effort to deliver even more value, we have changed this plan to a two-day plan with more data (500Mb) at the same cost of $100. All Digicel data plans ranging from two days and over, therefore, have an auto-renewal feature that advises customers when their plan expires.

Digicel takes action to help customers get the most out of their smartphones/data experience

We are happy to facilitate the growing appetite across Jamaica for smartphones and data, by providing customers with a range of best-value data plans to suit every lifestyle and pocket.

However, we are mindful of our responsibility to ensure that customers fully understand how to get the most out of their smartphones and their data experience. To that end, we have implemented a number of programmes to educate customers accordingly.

These include a 15-minute programme on Nationwide News Network from November 2013 through to February 2014 called the 'Data Doctor', which provides customers with tips on how to manage their data use and data spending, as well as tips via SMS, Facebook, and Twitter.

Finally, I would like to use this opportunity to provide information and clarification to our customers on how data is used on smartphones.

Smartphone applications (apps) continue to update themselves in the background even when you're not actively using them. These apps include Facebook and Twitter. For example, if someone changes their status on Facebook, the Facebook app on your smartphone uses data to reflect those updates. This is the same for Twitter and other apps.

How smartphones work

This is how smartphones across the world use data and is not specific to a service provider, but is a feature of the phone/device itself, as it communicates with the data network. If a customer is not on a data plan but is using apps, credit will be used to enable those apps to be updated from time to time, as described above.

To ensure that your credit is used ONLY when you are actively using data, customers can take several steps:

The best way is to sign out or close Apps when you're not using them.

Uninstall any apps you don't actively use.

And periodically check your credit while using data. You can refer to the data usage app on your phone or download an app to monitor your usage.

We encourage our customers who need more information about data usage on their smartphones, to call us directly at 100 or connect with us on Facebook or Twitter, and we'd be more than happy to help.

Dwayne Tulloch is customer care director. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.