Consider this blog post as a sort of public service announcement to travelers who want or need internet on their Jamaica vacation. It’s not big news but handy to know and when I learn something I like to pass it on.
What is Dekal and WHY Should You Care?
Dekal is a wireless internet service accessible from almost anywhere on the island. You don’t need to plug in anywhere to get it and the place you’re staying doesn’t need to have internet service to access Dekal.
Why should you care? There are a few reasons. If you’re a resort-type of traveler you might be surprised to find out that popular Jamaican resorts such as Sandals and Jamaica Grande (among many others) charge EXTRA for internet service and it’s not cheap. I’ve paid approximately $15.00 usd per day for internet at Sandals and it wasn’t reliable. It was off more than it was on during my stay. Calls to the front desk and requests to be refunded were ignored. Not cool for a place that costs a fortune to stay. All-inclusive? Read the fine print!
Another reason you should care is because let’s just say you’re NOT a resort-type traveler and you like to go local. Not all these small, inexpensive places have wireless internet for guests. And your only other option is to spend too much money on an internet stick from Digicel, Lime or Flow – the major communications companies on the island. This isn’t an economical choice if you’re a one-time or infrequent visitor to Jamaica.
How To Access Dekal Wireless
You can visit their website to get more information about it. You can also purchase a 24-hour internet card if you only want to be online for a day at a time, here and there. This is the coolest option because it literally costs you $2.00 ($235 jmd) to get 24 hours of internet access from anywhere. Any little corner shop or supermarket that has a sign that reads “SuperWifi” sells Dekal internet cards. If you don’t see this sign anywhere just ask people in the street or other shop owners and they should be able to direct you to someone who sells the cards.
Once you purchase the Dekal card you scratch it to reveal a PIN number, turn on your computer and check the available networks. There will always be a network that says Dekal SuperWifi. Choose that one and it will direct you to Dekal’s homepage where you enter the PIN from the card and start surfing!
As I mentioned, this isn’t HUGE news but the topic of wireless internet has come up before on my Facebook fan page and I thought this would be helpful. Just like the constant topic of phones, phone chips and how to top up online. If you missed all those blog posts you can CLICK HERE for cell phone information. Please keep in mind some of the posts might be outdated but the information is relatively the same.
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