c&w vs digicel

[icuucme]

what network u think is better..c&w or digicel

better, as in overall reliability..rates..stability etc.

[seanbee20]

Bwoy out of the two, I would think Digicel still has the advantage. But i think you guys should not leave out Miphone out of this race. I have been working with all three companies and to be honest I am most impressed with Miphone's plans for the future and their technological advancements.

[death_knight]

we, i even heard that myphone has the internet service for the phones setup there just waiting to release it. on what!!!, thats what i'ld like to know. well i guess its their marketing strategy, they need to hire digicels marketting team.

[Nastrodamus]

People free your minds....apart from no charge voice mail and quick access (recharge and credit balance) Digicel has nothing on Cable and Wireless.

We are still bitter from what C&W has done to us over the years, that now that they have improved we haven't really noticed it.

Cable and Wireless has more technology initiatives (eg. Blackberry support), better Customer Service and Technical Support, comparitively cheaper mobile devices (If C&W and Digicel has the same device its cheaper at C&W), the list goes on......


Stop to think about it honestly first and then answer th question

[digitalchef]

i think c&w is definately the better network.

[Chris]

There is no hard and fast answer to this, it all depends on the person and their needs. That is why some persons have a phone from both companies.

[icuucme]

i'd have to agree with nastrodamus

[marlonxp]

Digicel is better cable and wireless dont even have mms

[digitalchef]

u sure about that marlon??
and you're making ur judgement off 1 feature.

[death_knight]

marlon you joking right, i mean wow. no mms OMG this company sucks regardless of the fact that hey have their phones cheaper offer basically the same services and arent' raping your pocket. theyre not better than digicel because (drum roll plz) they have no mms. come on man re- think that.

[seanbee20]

I am almost positive that C and W has MMS, marlon plz confirm your assumptions

[icuucme]

i think c&w has mms...and u surely cannot use that to say that digicel is better.i think c&w is better in rates, phone prices, customer care service etc..i especially like the UNLIMITED gprs for $9 a day

[death_knight]

i especially like the UNLIMITED gprs for $9 a day

for now esse, only for now. i remember reading in one sundays gleaner that pretty soon they'll roll in the charges cause that 9 a day is for the bfree service not gprs, cause along with the bfree service are other benifits, such as cheaper rates etc. ne way from what i was ready it seemed that they had plan to make the charge a flat rate thing also,so it still wouldn't be as bad as the money grubbing competetor digicel with there insane 25 cents per kilobit charge. them peoples must be around them transmission towers too long and the radiation getting em messed up in the head. :eusa_think.

[digitalchef]

what ur reffering to dk is bfree plus. that costs $9 a day.
bfree has no charge per day. no gprs and regular rates.

[digitalchef]

i was 100% sure cw had mms. proof (http://www.cwmobile.com/jamaica/FS_EF-PicMsg.asp)

[death_knight]

what ur reffering to dk is bfree plus. that costs $9 a day.
bfree has no charge per day. no gprs and regular rates.
yah i forgot the plus. :eusa_shif

[icuucme]

well, i guess it's now safe 2 say that c&w is a better cellphone network. i think that it is just a bandwagon effect y digicel currently has more customers (i think)..i think ppl just block their mind from c&w, while digicel steals ur money

[digitalchef]

thats correct icuucme. for some strange reason people believe that they owe something to digicel for bringing the competition to jamaica. y?? think about this, what c&w was doing to the local market is practically the same thing digicel is now doing.

[death_knight]

very true chef very true

[skytechja]

well C&W has the only fiber optic network leaving Jamaica and everyone has to go through it even digicel, if im correct. Wats the deli with that sattelite that Digicel was or is supposed to be setting up???? I read in the star and it is also on the tech hompage that another license being granted so that C&W wont be the only one with the fiber optic lines leaving the island. I wonder wat the competition will be like and especially on cell rates !!!

[marlonxp]

Cable and wireless has mms? mabe i was mistaken if i was sorry.

[digitalchef]

yes they do marlon.

[aonekilla]

hmmm ... which one is better .... maybe the best person to answer that is someone who has bought both phones .... the main reasons i bought C&W was because of
1) cheaper phone prices.
2) cheaper C&W to C&W mobile rates
3) cheaper land line rates .... i mostly call land lines than cell phones ...
4) free text .... although limited

of course C&W still has alot of glitches to work out .....
but hey Digicell did serve their purpose still ... provide some competition and kick some sense into C&W to start improve their service .....

[24hrs]

I have both phones. I hate walking around with two phones. I prefer the C&W service. I like the free messages per month (that always finished by the second or third day), text messages are cheaper, calls are cheaper, especially at night and weekends. GPRS (for now) is free. They have a wider range of phones that are more affordable.

I just wish all my friends would switch to c&w then i would ditch my digi.

[skytechja]

how many free text messages do u get per month with the C&W. I have the C&W (bfree plus). to tell the truth, i have a digicell also and most of the times, i divert all my call to the C&W phone!!!!

I agree with u 24hrs "I just wish all my friends would switch to c&w then i would ditch my digi".

[aonekilla]

i think it is about 20 free messages per month

[digitalchef]

yea, its 20 a month. i'm with you guys on that. i just want everyone on c&w and then bye bye digi.

[Chris]

Trust me ... if somehow C&W was able to get some more persons to switch it would cause a massive chain reaction.

[icuucme]

how many free text messages do u get per month with the C&W. I have the C&W (bfree plus). to tell the truth, i have a digicell also and most of the times, i divert all my call to the C&W phone!!!!

I agree with u 24hrs "I just wish all my friends would switch to c&w then i would ditch my digi".


how do u divert ur calls???i tried it for 2 days on ma digi and i got all ma calls on ma c&w but now it not working. anytime somebody call ma digi they get busy or the call just drop(when i have on divert)...i was wondering if digicel block call divert.

[Virus]

I never realized so many ppl were unhappy with digi... cuz for the longest while i wanted a digicel, C&W don't give away free credit like digicel.. If it wasn't for gprs i would have bought a digi

[digitalchef]

i'm unhappy with digi yes. keep the free credit and gimi proper service.

[marlonxp]

Yeah i never know so many people wanted to swich. i have not swiched yet i am still waiting.

[digitalchef]

wat u still waiting on marlon??

[24hrs]

how do u divert ur calls???i tried it for 2 days on ma digi and i got all ma calls on ma c&w but now it not working. anytime somebody call ma digi they get busy or the call just drop(when i have on divert)...i was wondering if digicel block call divert.

I used to divert calls from my digicel to my c&w and i realised that it was sucking credit from my digi whenever someone called me!! And then when my credit was finished on my digi, calls weren't being forwarded again. I haven't tried it again since. My cousin tells me now that he does it and he doesn't think he loses credit. I guess i'm going to try it again and see.

[skytechja]

yes ur right 24hrs, it does suck ur credit whenever someone calls u, and when ur credit is done, ur calls wont be forwarded :-(.
ur cousin needs to check his ballance b4 n after on his digi then he will realise that he is losing credit.
I jus walk with the two phone n dun yaaa man. I practically live on my CnW right now !!!

[icuucme]

oh thanx....mi neva know still

[marlonxp]

@digitalchef i am waiting for a good phone that i love.

[digitalchef]

yo mi neva kno a sum dem tief.

[marlonxp]

I want a phne that is not common in jamaica then i would just buy a c&w sim card and use it.

[digitalchef]

same here marlon, just that they cost alot.

[icuucme]

digicel kinda too tief still wid the whole call divert thing

[carey]

what happens when cw wins over the majority, sabotages centennial and bankrupts digi. :\ nice scenario isn't it. They did it b4 ... they will do it again. U r right. CW's history is what's damaging them. Hell ... So is MS's. But isn't it weird that in Europe there is a hefty price for this commodity while out here it's extremely CHEAP?
"Inna Jamaica anyting free a fiwi!"
But come on. This must b 1 of those big company tricks. CW needs support. But they should be able to innovate willfully to impress. Not bcuz competition has this service but they don't.
Y else did they virtually abandon land lines, huhhh?
Remember wat happnd wen Gotel nearly made it big time? when InfoChannel was going to do VoIP? etc and more?

[24hrs]

Ahh GoTel :icon_roll They got me so excited :icon_lol: then after signing up, i waited over a year then just went back for my money with no interest (of course) :icon_frow

[Collin]

digicel kinda too tief still wid the whole call divert thing

Be careful of how you word your statements.

When you divert a call from your Digicel phone to a CWJ number once the call is answered on the CW number then CW will charge Digicel a termination fee.... so then should Digicel absorp this charge for its customers?

I forward calls from landlines to Digicel phones and of course CW charges me for all these calls that are answered on the cellphone because what you are been charged is a inter-network charge.

[icuucme]

Be careful of how you word your statements.

When you divert a call from your Digicel phone to a CWJ number once the call is answered on the CW number then CW will charge Digicel a termination fee.... so then should Digicel absorp this charge for its customers?

I forward calls from landlines to Digicel phones and of course CW charges me for all these calls that are answered on the cellphone because what you are been charged is a inter-network charge.

ok..i guess i should apologies for cursing digicel..i didnt really know that

[digitalchef]

Ahh GoTel :icon_roll They got me so excited :icon_lol: then after signing up, i waited over a year then just went back for my money with no interest (of course) :icon_frow
LMAO, i think we should have a gotel bashing thread. :icon_mrgr

[wbenjamin3]

I am a nebie from the states. I find that CW is most compatable with the GSM phones in the states. This opens it up to a much larger selection of phones. I have several US phones unlocked. They want to default to the CW network and now some won't work on the digicel network. So for me I am going to change from digicel post paid to CW post or bfree plus.

[Collin]

LMAO, i think we should have a gotel bashing thread. :icon_mrgr

Trust me we have been there and don't wish to go back there!! Many a posts were made on Gotel from way back in 2002.

[digitalchef]

really, i wonder how many jokes i would've gotten. :icon_mrgr

[Collin]

really, i wonder how many jokes i would've gotten. :icon_mrgr

Do a search for Gotel and you will see.
Start reading from the last page returned by the search and plan to spend a few minutes well reading.... Trust me it will be well worth it.

[icuucme]

what's the cost of digicel's mms?

[marlonxp]

J$9 Per message

[skytechja]

i would love to know how to unlock phones.

by the way, how do u set up mms messaging on the CnW phones. im using the ericsson t226 ??

[allgsm]

cwj does not have mms

[marlonxp]

@allgsm i said that before and the said i was wrong.

[digitalchef]

is u said it marlon. hmmm i was trying to remember yesterday. allgsm c&w does have mms, check out their site.

[Zeus]

C & W too gravalicious! Look how long them robbin we. Is Digicel come set them str8

[digitalchef]

...... and now digi come robbing us. i think u forgot that part zeus.

[icuucme]

and bmobile soon start set digicel straight...i love the competition..cheaper call rates for the users

[digitalchef]

hav any of u guys seem bfree plus's late night rates?? you could compare it to landline costs.

:icon_arro icuucme thats correct.

[icuucme]

yup thas true...bfreeplus has really cheap late call rates

[megiddo]

yo any which way consumer wins, as long as u have an unlocked phone and a sim card for each company........... now if i were digi i'd team up with cwj and set a standard, or a truce, bad for us but increases profits! which might lead to more free credit!

[icuucme]

if i were digi..i would team up wid c&w (b4 it's 2 late)

[marlonxp]

@icuucme That is funny.

[Collin]

yup thas true...bfreeplus has really cheap late call rates

That is if you want to stay up late just to make phone calls... I don't need late night rates ... I NEED Daytime rates. I sleep at nights!

[death_knight]

its not that i sleep much at nights but i wanna be able to use my phone whenever i want and pay a low rate. i'm not sure what company it is but theres'a comercial with a guy that dropped his cellphone in a gorrilla cage andthe gorrilla was making a call in the day (when the prices are sky high) and he had to fight the animal to save his pocket.. i dont want that happening to me :eusa_snoo

[icuucme]

lol...thas true

[Collin]

its not that i sleep much at nights but i wanna be able to use my phone whenever i want and pay a low rate. i'm not sure what company it is but theres'a comercial with a guy that dropped his cellphone in a gorrilla cage andthe gorrilla was making a call in the day (when the prices are sky high) and he had to fight the animal to save his pocket.. i dont want that happening to me :eusa_snoo

There is also the reverse Adv. Where the fella was walking his around his house making calls at night just to take advantage of the "lower rate".

Again I ask why should I keep awake to take advantage of:
Monday to Friday 11 p.m. to 6:01 a.m. $7(bFree) $1.95 (bFreePlus)

I need overall balance 24 hours per day!

[icuucme]

let's not just look at the call rates:
- gprs for c&w is faster and cheaper
- text messages are cheaper (20 free text per month)
- better signals (controversial, depends)
etc

[skytechja]

right now CnW is the only company that has fiber optics leaving the island so basicaly everyone goes through their network.
from techjamaica's hompage, i read that there will be the granting of another license for a company to have fiber optics leaving the island, so CnW wont be the only ones with that.

how do u think this will affect the way in which we connect to the internet ???
i definitly know things gonna be cheaper !!!!! (hopefully)

[Collin]

let's not just look at the call rates:
- gprs for c&w is faster and cheaper
- text messages are cheaper (20 free text per month)
- better signals (controversial, depends)
etc

Tell the average Joe about GPRS and hear what he says...
I don't text
better signal - yeah very controversial issue!!

To each his own... but what does majority of conusmers do? GPRS ?

[Virus]

i don't text either but 20 free, why call ppl...

better signal verrryyy controversial, if you live on the hills :icon_cry:
But this bfree plus killing me.. $9 a day :eusa_snoo too expensive...
BFREE PLUS - i want to be able to turn it on or off if i please

[24hrs]

Then just keep calling C&W and switch back and forth. OK i'm sure we wouldn't be able to do that.

[icuucme]

yeah...thas true..they should be able to make it an easy option to change whenever u want to because it may not be ervday u gonna use gprs

@collin..it can be concluded that u use a cellular copany depending on ur needs..some ppl would prefer digicel..others would want c&w (esp if they use gprs alot)..so it depends

[24hrs]

True, and since i use GPRS a lot, c&w is for me. But it's true that a lot of ppl actually dont use GPRS or even text messaging as a matter of fact and so they decide based on who they call most or which company's signal they have where they live.

[icuucme]

does anybody know what are the proposed prices for c&w gprs..i heard that they are eventually gonna start charging because they are not charging 4 it now

[Virus]

really that means the $9 being taken off of my phone.... :icon_eek:
Actually the service is being charged for...my friend when or IF you decide to buy credit don't put it on you c&w...
From my experiences it will allow you to connect to the network via PC but you can't access it from the phone if you don't have at least $9 call credit.. O and also I suspect that they keeping a track of customers who aren't adding credit to their fone and using net...
what are they doing about this.... or plan on doing about this??

[digitalchef]

:icon_arro 24hrs, i don't use it alot because it makes no sense to me. $3 per text message, i might as well make the phone call and done. its only like now where its $1 per text message i'm sending one and 2 messages.

[marlonxp]

I am swiching At the end of the year.

[digitalchef]

to c&w marlon?? i want to myself, but almost everyone is on digi for me. so i gotta do some convincing first.

[marlonxp]

Same for me the c&w phone that i like is the music phone thinking of getting one @ the end of the year.

[icuucme]

that's the fone i have now but remember it cannot be used to connect ur pc to the net

[24hrs]

Yeah i got that fone too and loving it. I have another phone that i use to connect to the internet so that doesnt really bother me.

[Techsavvy]

CnW all the way.i got me three mobiles all digi but i think its time i switched.i think CnW need to change their post paid pre paid thingy tho most people would prefer to buy a fone card than to be receiving a bill @ the end of the month.

[icuucme]

what do u mean by changing their post paid prepaid thing? what thing?

[Virus]

most people would prefer to buy a fone card than to be receiving a bill @ the end of the month.
Damm right, one more expense at the end of the month is wat i don't need..
Escpecially on my salary

[ProdMaster]

Damm right, one more expense at the end of the month is wat i don't need..
Escpecially on my salary
Virus you can say that again. :eusa_wall

[digitalchef]

but if u use your phone alot, you might be saving. just a thought.

[nder]

I think Digicel right now just Edges out CW. Where I live in Papine for example, CW has poor reception. Digi has better coverage right now. I dont know about service though. But I for one am very annoyed and disappointed with Digicel right now.

[digitalchef]

i think this would be a better question. does anyone not hate digi??

[skytechja]

because digicel come in wid the whole hype, everybody love them up and even so now, because everyone have digicel, it makes no sense buying a CnW phone when all your friends have a digicel because they wont be calling u and if u call them......................
you will be buying credit VERY regular.
i have both still

digi for phone calls and my CnW for the internet

[icuucme]

c&w made a big mistake by not giving the customers proper cell fone service b4 digicel came. now everybody change to digicel and c&w a fight back when it 2 late. now c&w have better service but everybody still just block dem mind from it.

[Virus]

why can't i send text messages to the other network (digi)

[skytechja]

well if u wanna send it via the net.

check http://www.techjamaica.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6202&page=1&pp=10

[sg1]

In my opinion both C&W and Digicel have their problems neither of these two providers have anywere near 100% availability or coverage.... I have a C&W and a Digicel Phone. They both work fine most of the time, and I experience problems with both phones on numerous occasions. I think that the biggest problem I have with these two providers is the lack of good customer support, I hate calling for support and have to drill through a IVR menu before I get someone to speak to and when I do most of the time I don't get a clear solution to the issue that I call about.

In terms of technical issues and problems I think that the Digicel is suffering from having a network that grew at an exponential rate that they hadn't planned for originally and now they are playing catch-up, building up their network infrastructure to match and adequately support their customer base.
Most of their technical issues I think arises from the fact that they have such a large customer base. What do you think the comparison between Digicel and C&W would be if they both had the same number of customers ?

C&W has an excellent backbone transmission network, they blow Digicel out of the water were this is concerned. The backbone transmission network is one of the most important aspect of any cellular network. It doesn't matter if you have a 1000 cell sites (especially with GPRS services ) if you don't have a robust backbone transmission network and adequate capacity in place to connect all these sites to the main switching center. This is were C&W shines, they have been building and improving on this network over the pass 10 to 15 years to support their existing local telephone, leased lines business and mobile networks. C&W has the biggest and highest capacity WAN in the entire caribbean. They are probably the only company in Jamaica with an high capacity Island wide ATM network. Now with all this existing infrastucture I don't know how they allowed a foreign company to come into Jamaica and steal their market share. They need to get rid of the Dinosaurs in their senior management who are slow to react to changes in the telecom market and get new young and dynamic people into their company, then we would see what Digicel is really made of.

I am not going to comment on which network is the better network because there are so many factors to consider to make a fearly good determination. The good thing is that now we have a choice of three mobile service providers. Competition is always good for the consumer.

[icuucme]

wow sg1...that was a good essay..u really summed up what is needed to identify if one company is better than the other

[sg1]

why can't i send text messages to the other network (digi)

I have heard from reliable sources that this functionality was actually tested between both providers and it actually worked very well, but the problem is that they can't reach a mutually beneficialy interworking agreement. This is one issue that I think the OUR falls down flat on. They should have made it mandatory that this service is provided to the consumers by each operator just like inter-network voice calls. I think it would be next to impossible for us the consumer to get them ( C&W/Digicel) to provide this feature as I am sure that they must have gotten many requests for this service from their customers. Therefore the OUR should have stepped in and do their job thereby ensuring that we the consumer have this service or facility.

[24hrs]

digi for phone calls and my CnW for the internet

Ditto for me.

[netfreak28]

digi straight better roaming better network

[skytechja]

wat makes u say so my yute

[AnthrAx]

dudes...i still think digi is better...but of course i can say that bacause..it doesn't cost me anything to use digicel gprs :)

[24hrs]

Ok Mr. Anthrax, hmm. I dont even think i should ask how. :eusa_sile

[AnthrAx]

dude..believe me...dont!!!..:)

[makaveli]

inside links eh, mr anthrax?!

[AnthrAx]

actually i figured out how to do it by myself..it's safer that way...u'll get it forever..heeheeehee!!

[makaveli]

internet on digicel do not cost me any credits either, but i dont know why...so i dont ask.

[AnthrAx]

i wouldn't ask iether yute!!..it's better that way!! :)

[makaveli]

i mean...why complain when getting it free

[AnthrAx]

u got that straight!!

[makaveli]

how do they charge for internet service BTW?

[AnthrAx]

they charge 25cents per kylobite.......if u use the phone with a data cable u have to pay a $10 connection charge....and 25cents after that.

[AnthrAx]

they charge 25cents per kilobyte.......if u use the phone with a data cable u have to pay a $10 connection charge....and 25cents after that.

[makaveli]

per kb wow, that is kind of expensive i would say, i hardly use my mobile internet but thank godness is free.

[AnthrAx]

yeah man....there are some crazy ppl out there that actually spend $5000 for 3hrs.... i aint that rich

[makaveli]

i dont see the need to for so much time on the mobile web, i just check my emails or maybe download a nice ringtone and thats it.

[AnthrAx]

lucky u man...since p2p started working again i'm always on the net..well maybe not always.. :)

[makaveli]

what r some p2p mobile links?

[AnthrAx]

no clue man..but u should post a thread if u want to know

[makaveli]

u said since p2p start working again u are always on the net(mobile net right) so im asking u what r the p2p sites that u visit?

[AnthrAx]

go to warez..u'll find warez p2p..with that u can find and download anything u want...i'm using it right now actually..i just downloaded spiderman2..p2p is wicked!!!

[makaveli]

oh warez, i dont mess with warez man, im cool. thanks anyways

[AnthrAx]

hahaha!!!...if ur scared of warez just use limewire...it's one the the safest p2p programs....go to http:\\www.download.com

[icuucme]

what does limewire do? is it a p2p prgram like kazaa?

[AnthrAx]

nothing like kazaa..but yes it is a p2p program...one of the best and fastest..it uses the Gnutella network

[Boo]

I have heard from reliable sources that this functionality was actually tested between both providers and it actually worked very well, but the problem is that they can't reach a mutually beneficialy interworking agreement. This is one issue that I think the OUR falls down flat on. They should have made it mandatory that this service is provided to the consumers by each operator just like inter-network voice calls. I think it would be next to impossible for us the consumer to get them ( C&W/Digicel) to provide this feature as I am sure that they must have gotten many requests for this service from their customers. Therefore the OUR should have stepped in and do their job thereby ensuring that we the consumer have this service or facility.

I live in Grenada and I heard a similiar thing that relates to texting between Digicel/C&W. Interesting thing is, this process should have been completed last May :icon_eek:

[makaveli]

kazaa is fill with spywares dude! i dont use it anymore.

[digitalchef]

thats y u use kazaa lite maka diamond. :icon_mrgr

[makaveli]

hmm im not to much of a p2p guy anyways digimon chef :D

(wha di shortcut fi that "grin" smiley again?)

[digitalchef]

u calling me a monster, sissy. :icon_mrgr
its :icon _mrgr take out the space and you'll get it.

[AnthrAx]

hahaha!!!...u guys crack!!! :)

[24hrs]

This thread almost look like it did turn IM between makaveli and Anthrax.

So Anthrax, u dload spiderman 2 using the digi gprs? How long that take? What dload speeds u get?

[AnthrAx]

hahaha!!..it took me about 8hours to download 1/2 i.e 205MB.......i usually get speeds of 5-6kbps

[Collin]

Please folks... discuss other issues in proper forums and treads.
This tread is about CW vs Digicel !! not about p2p etc.

[AnthrAx]

hey i put a thread about p2p but ppl dont talk in that one...:D

[digitalchef]

how does both networks handle overseas calls?? i've made and received calls from overseas on my phone and when i talk the person doesn't hear me for another 3 or 4 secs and the quality is terrible. is it any better using c&w??

[AnthrAx]

i haven't had those problems..and ive gotten calls from the phillepines

[24hrs]

I notice the delay too. I dont think its as much as 3 or 4 secs tho. What bugs me the most is when it echoes so i keep hearing what i just said loud and clear. I think this problem was with digicel. Its not always there tho, just sometimes. Maybe MiPhone is the way to go for overseas calls. They say its clear and the rates are cheap.