Rudolph Brown/Chief Photographer
Alex Hill, vice-president of marketing and sales of MiPhone discusses the new Internet-based feature, Brew, with a staff member.Dennise Williams, Staff reporter
MiPhone says technology will give them the edge over the bigger boys in providing cellphone service.
Their latest treat comes just in time for Christmas, as MiPhone is brewing something special for your cellphone.
Brew is a service offered by MiPhone that turns your cellphone into a feature-rich experience. Not content to give just ring tones, wallpaper and games, Brew has an enhanced portfolio of features such as access to the Holy Bible and live television on your cellphone.
Consider any application you can have on a laptop or desktop computer and Brew brings it to your cellphone.
In fact, this type of wireless
technology is part of the hallmark of MiPhone's business model.
In an exclusive interview
with Sunday Business, MiPhone
vice-president for sales and marketing, Alex Hill, discussed the business model of his company.
"We at MiPhone cater to the
market that wants value," he said. The company serves both the consumer and corporate markets with cellphones and Internet solutions.
Mr. Hill outlined the product divisions.
Corporate
MiBiz a group plan for businesses.
MiNet a high-speed Internet service offered to MiBiz clients. This is offered with a PC card through the mobile phone or a fixed wireless terminal.
MiWorld geared for businesses or individuals, that makes a large number of overseas calls.
Consumer
MiCircle a friends and family calling plan.
MiRewards rewards plan for individual customers.
Inbound roaming U.S residents coming into Jamaica can use their cellphones while in the island.
Brew web-based productivity. Tools, education and reference applications on the cellphone.
An important edge that MiPhone enjoys over its competitors is that it is the only mobile company that focuses completely on Jamaica, he said. "The other companies may have higher costs because of the legacy landlines and the mandate to expand into other countries."
So, operational costs are kept down and the benefits can be passed on to consumers. Upgrading their network is done by the cost-effective use of
existing CDMA technology which requires fewer cell sites, and in some cases, MiPhone also piggybacks on the sites established by its competitors.
"This means we are a lean organisation with lean and nimble technology," he said. "We offer a completely wireless lifestyle in Jamaica and we take that to mean we can reach into communities previously ignored by other competitors."
Looking forward into next year, Mr. Hill states that, "in 2006 we will
continue to be innovative for the voice and data service. We are looking to partner with overseas CDMA cellphone providers so that MiPhone customers can roam outside of Jamaica."
However, coming back to the present, Mr. Hill states that for the Christmas season, in addition to Brew, MiPhone will be aggressively marketing its MiCircle package.
