Letters to The Editor
Johnson: "Say goodbye to Whatsapp with the New Cell Company!"
By Derek Johnson
Aug 10, 2016 - 6:17:37 AM

Dear Editor

Yep, if NewCo under its new "Digicel" leadership functions like its counterparts in Bermuda, St. Lucia and Jamaica, then WhatsAPP will be no more!

The messaging application phenomenon that has grown by leaps and bounds, and WhatsApp is the leader of the pack.  Almost every Bahamian use this application in their daily communications.  But this app that many have grown to love, may  come to an end under the "Digicel Bahamas" group disguised as the Cable Bahamas, NewCo cellular company.
 
Over the past few years WhatsApp has nearly perfected the VoIP calling feature that allows millions of users to call others irrespective of location. The challenge for many operators is that the calls made using WhatsAPP deplete mobile revenues and they have taken the position of blocking various functions in this application to maintain profitability.

Eerily, some Digicel caribbean customers with the app are having issues with its features. They have found that their mobile operator is restricting use of some of the functions in the app, preventing calls and messaging. The problems seem to be prevalent in the Digicel operated territories of Antigua, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands (BVI), St. Lucia and Jamaica.   On the island of St Lucia, Jadia Jn Pierre-Emmanuel, the Press Secretary to the island’s Prime Minister wrote, “This is something to cause any customer to become irate. Imagine having a postpaid account with a credit limit of $500.00. There you are paying for something. Yet the provider wants to control how you use it? How unreasonable?!”

I am very concerned that this poor and dictatorship like practice will be brought to the Bahamas and forced upon the hardworking citizens.  

Competition is the lifeblood of today's telecoms market, spurring innovation, better coverage and fair play.  Buyer beware. Bahamas beware of this new cellular company at Cable Bahamas. They are a wolf in sheep's clothing.  It's just more of the same!


Derek Johnson

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely those of the author in his/her private capacity and do not in any way represent the views of TheBahamasWeekly.com