(Source: The Gleaner<\/a>)<\/p>\n
Unlimited does not necessarily mean unlimited<\/h3>\nDepending on the services that have been included in the plan, not all services might be unlimited. Calls \u2013 either with respect to calling minutes or number of calls, and text messaging, may be advertised as unlimited; but sometimes the unlimited calls is only for on-network calls. For example, for Digicel Jamaica\u2019s Nuff Data + UNLTD Talk plans<\/a>, unlimited calls are only allowed to other Digicel customers.<\/p>\n
Number portability can make it difficult to identify off-network numbers<\/h3>\nIn circumstances where the unlimited calls are limited to on-network calls, thanks to number portability, it can difficult to properly identify which numbers, for example, are Digicel numbers or Flow numbers. Due to number portability, when customers decide to change providers, they no longer have to relinquish their phone numbers.<\/p>\n
Hence, although being able to port numbers between the main carriers is a major benefit to consumers \u2013 since your mobile phone number essentially has become a personal identifier \u2013 it can no longer be automatically be assumed that a number that initially had been assigned to a particular carrier (Flow, for example), is still assigned to that carrier. As a result, it is possible that although a call recipient\u2019s number suggests that s\/he is a customer of your service provider, that may no longer be the case, and could fall outside an \u2018unlimited calling\u2019 basket.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Use of services outside the plan, depletes the plan faster<\/h3>\n
Regardless of the service plan, your telecoms company tracks your consumption. So, although your plan might include unlimited calling, your calls are still tracked and would be zero-rated by the monitoring platform, consistent with the terms of the plan. For services that are capped under the plan, such as mobile\/cellular data, the monitoring platform will deduct your consumption from the cap until the plan expires.<\/p>\n
In the other hand, for services that fall outside of the plan, and whenever those service are accessed, you are charged, and those charges are deducted from the amount you paid for the plan. As a result, and illustrated in Figure 1, those deductions effectively lower the cap on some of the services under your plan.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fgd.dfv.mybluehost.me\/.website_c81a1e61\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Hypothetical-example-of-the-deductions-made-to-an-unlimited-plan.png?resize=908%2C364&ssl=1\")
Figure 1: Hypothetical example of the deductions made to an unlimited plan (Source: ICT Pulse)<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
As the example show, instead of having 100 MB of data, thanks to off-network calls and the text messages \u2013 for which there are no provisions under the plan \u2013 the value of the plan is now equivalent to 78 MB. Further, as more off-network calls are made and text messages are sent, the free data allocation continues to decrease.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
When the money is depleted or a cap is reached, the service stops<\/h3>\n
Following from our hypothetical example, a combination of two things are likely. First, the out of plan services deplete the amount paid for the plan, and\/or, one or more of the capped services are consumed to their (revised) limit. When this happens, and although the life of plan has not been reached, the plan ends.<\/p>\n
Typically, plans are not configured to still provide customers with access to unlimited components of their plan, such as unlimited calls, but no data (referring to our hypothetical example). You are thus required to replenish your account \u2013 by paying for and activating a new plan, in order to have service \u2013 which as expected, benefits the service providers.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It can be difficult to track one\u2019s consumption<\/h3>\n
Following from our earlier point on challenges in managing on-network and off-network calls, in light of number portability, and with respect to data (including broadband Internet) services, it can be difficult to track what has been consumed. Ideally, we would all wish to be able to easily monitor how much data we are using, especially when the capped allocation is modest.<\/p>\n
Although we might have a broad sense that some activities consume more data than others; for example, instant message and emails with no (or small) attachments tend to require less bandwidth than video chats and video streaming, there are other variables at play that contribute to the bandwidth consumed. An important factor is the quality of the service, and consequently, the extent to which data has to be resent until it is successfully delivered to its destination.<\/p>\n
Luckily, many smartphones have the capability to allow you to track your data use, and even configure alerts should you be approaching your limit. However, some facilities are more sophisticated than others, and so it may not be easy to align with your billing cycle, or to track consumption against your data cap.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In summary, the service places offered by telecoms companies can provide an attractive mix of services to suit a broad range of budgets. However, their use still need to be carefully managed, in order to limit out of plan charges, the frequency of replenishment, and ultimately, to ensure a favourable balance between cost, quality and availability of service(s) for which you have paid.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
More often than not, unlimited telecoms plans are rarely truly unlimited. Caps are usually placed on some of the services. Here we outline five tips and considerations to better navigate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":150493,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[53,301,334,284,12],"class_list":["post-150484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ict-tech","tag-competition","tag-fixed-line-telephony","tag-mobile-broadband","tag-mobilecellular","tag-regulation","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Unlimited-Plans-image_v1.png?fit=800%2C665&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2iE1G-D9a","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150484"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150484\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":150495,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150484\/revisions\/150495"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
In circumstances where the unlimited calls are limited to on-network calls, thanks to number portability, it can difficult to properly identify which numbers, for example, are Digicel numbers or Flow numbers. Due to number portability, when customers decide to change providers, they no longer have to relinquish their phone numbers.<\/p>\n
Hence, although being able to port numbers between the main carriers is a major benefit to consumers \u2013 since your mobile phone number essentially has become a personal identifier \u2013 it can no longer be automatically be assumed that a number that initially had been assigned to a particular carrier (Flow, for example), is still assigned to that carrier. As a result, it is possible that although a call recipient\u2019s number suggests that s\/he is a customer of your service provider, that may no longer be the case, and could fall outside an \u2018unlimited calling\u2019 basket.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Use of services outside the plan, depletes the plan faster<\/h3>\n
Regardless of the service plan, your telecoms company tracks your consumption. So, although your plan might include unlimited calling, your calls are still tracked and would be zero-rated by the monitoring platform, consistent with the terms of the plan. For services that are capped under the plan, such as mobile\/cellular data, the monitoring platform will deduct your consumption from the cap until the plan expires.<\/p>\n
In the other hand, for services that fall outside of the plan, and whenever those service are accessed, you are charged, and those charges are deducted from the amount you paid for the plan. As a result, and illustrated in Figure 1, those deductions effectively lower the cap on some of the services under your plan.<\/p>\n
Figure 1: Hypothetical example of the deductions made to an unlimited plan (Source: ICT Pulse)<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
As the example show, instead of having 100 MB of data, thanks to off-network calls and the text messages \u2013 for which there are no provisions under the plan \u2013 the value of the plan is now equivalent to 78 MB. Further, as more off-network calls are made and text messages are sent, the free data allocation continues to decrease.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
When the money is depleted or a cap is reached, the service stops<\/h3>\n
Following from our hypothetical example, a combination of two things are likely. First, the out of plan services deplete the amount paid for the plan, and\/or, one or more of the capped services are consumed to their (revised) limit. When this happens, and although the life of plan has not been reached, the plan ends.<\/p>\n
Typically, plans are not configured to still provide customers with access to unlimited components of their plan, such as unlimited calls, but no data (referring to our hypothetical example). You are thus required to replenish your account \u2013 by paying for and activating a new plan, in order to have service \u2013 which as expected, benefits the service providers.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It can be difficult to track one\u2019s consumption<\/h3>\n
Following from our earlier point on challenges in managing on-network and off-network calls, in light of number portability, and with respect to data (including broadband Internet) services, it can be difficult to track what has been consumed. Ideally, we would all wish to be able to easily monitor how much data we are using, especially when the capped allocation is modest.<\/p>\n
Although we might have a broad sense that some activities consume more data than others; for example, instant message and emails with no (or small) attachments tend to require less bandwidth than video chats and video streaming, there are other variables at play that contribute to the bandwidth consumed. An important factor is the quality of the service, and consequently, the extent to which data has to be resent until it is successfully delivered to its destination.<\/p>\n
Luckily, many smartphones have the capability to allow you to track your data use, and even configure alerts should you be approaching your limit. However, some facilities are more sophisticated than others, and so it may not be easy to align with your billing cycle, or to track consumption against your data cap.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In summary, the service places offered by telecoms companies can provide an attractive mix of services to suit a broad range of budgets. However, their use still need to be carefully managed, in order to limit out of plan charges, the frequency of replenishment, and ultimately, to ensure a favourable balance between cost, quality and availability of service(s) for which you have paid.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
More often than not, unlimited telecoms plans are rarely truly unlimited. Caps are usually placed on some of the services. Here we outline five tips and considerations to better navigate […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":150493,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[53,301,334,284,12],"class_list":["post-150484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ict-tech","tag-competition","tag-fixed-line-telephony","tag-mobile-broadband","tag-mobilecellular","tag-regulation","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Unlimited-Plans-image_v1.png?fit=800%2C665&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2iE1G-D9a","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=150484"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150484\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":150495,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/150484\/revisions\/150495"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/150493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=150484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=150484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=150484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}