Cellular service provider Digicel is yet to decide how to charge customers for surfing the Internet on its high-tech phones, even months after launching the US$10-million service called GPRS.

Digicel says it wants to introduce a "simple pricing plan" but fears that it may be restricted from doing so by limitations in technology.

"One of the options being explored is pricing per page on Internet, but we are not sure if it can be done," said Digicel marketing director, Harry Smith. "We are exploring a number of options."

Picture sending on these phones will however be charged a flat fee.

Digicel wants to charge flat fees instead of charging by kilobytes, which it says is confusing. It cites international experiences where complicated pricing plans have confused customers, discouraged them from using the GPRS service, this negatively impacting the revenues of phone companies.

Customers will start being charged in April-the beginning of Digicel's financial year-for the services, but as a precursor, Digicel will issue mock bills to customers "getting them used to being charged for the data services".

Digicel originally planned to offer the service free for a six-month trial period up to December 2003. But the free service was extended in an effort, Smith said, to allow customers who bought new phones during Christmas, "time to get familiar with the new services before charging".

Rival telecom service provider, Cable & Wireless, launched its pricing plan a few weeks after launching its GPRS service in July last year. It has a myriad of pricing options, but C&W, up to press time last night, was not able to disclose to the Business Observer whether the service usage was meeting the company's expectations.

Last year Digicel spent US$10 million to set up the GPRS service, having previously invested some US$300 million in Jamaica.

The Irish company expects to break even in April but says it will carry US$200 million in debt on its balance sheet. The firm now has over 900,000 customers, after starting less than three years ago, having paid the Jamaican government US$47 million for the cell licence.

In April 2003, the cellular service company successfully negotiated longer terms for its US$200-million (J$12 billion) loan - from three and four years to seven years - thus reducing its debt burden. As part of that arrangement, the company, has the option to borrow an additional US$55 million.

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