Nadisha Hunter, Gleaner Writer

Skittish Jamaican consumers, unnerved by plunging stock markets, record foreclosures and job cuts in the United States and Europe, may consider placing purses and wallets under lockdown for the holidays.

But not so fast! Retailers and service providers, particular in the mobile phone market, have been dishing out deals aplenty to pry those fingers off Fort Knox.

And what better time than Christmas to tap into the gift that keeps on giving?

LIME and Claro are kicking it up a notch to cut into the profits and market coverage of mobile titan Digicel. When the dust is settled, consumers are likely to be big beneficiaries of the gladiatorial showdown.

Special packages are being offered by the cellphone triumvirate to enable persons to stay connected with friends and families throughout the festive season.

Promotion breakdown

As part of LIME's promotion, eligible customers have the opportunity to win weekly prizes, including the grand prize of US$1 million (J$77 million). In addition, there is also a BlackBerry promotion.

Digicel has been slashing phone prices. Its marketing campaign has gone full throttle with its 3-after-3 promotion, in which callers are charged the regular rate for the first three minutes but $3 per minute for the remaining talk time. Another bonus is available with free calls on the Digicel network for a maximum four hours between 10 p.m. and 5:59 a.m., after making two three-minute calls.

Claro is keeping its Christmas deal close to its chest for now but will launch that promotion early next month. However, the telecoms company continues to offer its regular packages. These include free calls to two mobiles and free text messaging to one cellphone. There's also the up-to-the-minute package in which two persons on the Claro network can pay $14 for every 10 minutes.

Christmas promotions