Digicel Jamaica, through a resale agreement with Jamaica National Money Transfer, launched prepaid roaming in the United Kingdom on Monday, a move which the company says is aimed at providing its product to the Jamaican Diaspora.

Digicel's commercial director, Harry Smith, told the Business Observer yesterday, that the move was the first of its kind from a Caribbean company.

"We wanted to have the product (prepaid roaming) available to the Jamaica Diaspora, starting with the UK," declared Smith. "This is the first time customers can actually top up credit at an outlet outside of Jamaica. We are currently the only company in the Caribbean with prepaid roaming outside the Caribbean."

Smith noted that the local mobile provider would be looking to the United States and Canada in the immediate future, but was unwilling to disclose an actual date.

But in an immediate reaction to Digicel's announcement, Cable & Wireless, told the Business Observer yesterday that while it did not currently offer prepaid roaming outside of the Caribbean, it was moving to change that "in the near future".

"Cable & Wireless Jamaica does not currently offer prepaid roaming outside of the Caribbean but this will change in the near future," Cable and Wireless said in response to questions posed by the Business Observer through its corporate communications manager, Camille Taylor.
As of Monday, Digicel prepaid customers can top-up their phone credit at designated JN Money Transfer branches in the UK, or importantly, remit credit back to phones in Jamaica.

"Customers will therefore be able to purchase $100, $200, $500 and $1,000 denominations of airtime at six JN Money Transfer branches in the UK," said Trevor Wright, recharge manager of Digicel Jamaica. "This makes it easier for Jamaicans vacationing in the UK and for those residing there, to top-up their credit while doing other transactions like sending remittances."

Digicel plans to further expand the new service across all 18 JN Money Transfer branches located in the UK.

The new service is part of a series of moves that Digicel has taken to grow its roaming service to its customers, which started with the lowering of rates in November, according to Smith.

"We (Digicel) reduced roaming rates in November in the Caribbean, and as a result of the acquisition of Cingular, we were also able to lower rates in the US," Smith told the Business Observer.

Prepaid roaming rates were lowered in the Caribbean from 49 US cents ($31) per minute to 29 US cents ($19) per minute for customers to receive calls while roaming. However, calls made within the roaming country and to Jamaica cost $63 per minute.

Cable and Wireless, on the other hand, charges its customers 42 US cents ($27.30) per minute to receive calls when roaming in the Caribbean, 75 US cents ($48.80) per minute to make calls to Jamaica and 50 US cents ($32.50) to make calls within the country the customer is roaming in.
Digicel did not disclose its roaming rates in the UK.

Digicel has approximately 200 roaming partners in over 100 countries for postpaid customers. Prepaid customers are able to roam in Cayman, St Vincent, Grenada, St Lucia, Barbados, and now the UK, but another five countries - Bermuda, Anguilla, St Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, and Dominica - will be added once the acquisition of Cingular's Caribbean network is finalised.

Cable & Wireless Jamaica's prepaid customers can gain access to roaming services in all Caribbean destinations where Cable & Wireless is a service provider, which includes Anguilla, Antigua, Barbados, Cayman, Dominica, St. Lucia, St Kitts, Grenada, Montserrat, St Vincent, and Turks and Caicos.

Trousers in Denim

Cream of the 'Crop'

Cheeky's World