Author: Laurence Zwimpfer

I am committed to supporting the development of New Zealand as a digitally included nation, where everyone has equitable opportunities to benefit from the digital world.

SIM cards should not be removed from Jump modems

We have received reports from some partners about a possible misuse of the SIM cards in customers’ Jump modems. Some customers are turning up claiming that they have lost their SIM card or inquiring if the modems have one. It appears that a few people are removing the SIM card from the Jump modem and using it in other devices, believing this to be a way to ‘purchase’ low cost data for their phones.

This is expressly forbidden in the Jump terms and conditions. An alert will be sent to Skinny whenever a Jump SIM is used in any device other that B315 or B618 Jump modem and the SIM card will be blocked. So anyone attempting to do this will quickly discover that the device with the Jump SIM no longer works.

If partners suspect that any of your Jump customers are doing this, you should not issue a replacement modem.

Digital Identity – Engaging Seniors in new research

InternetNZ is seeking participants from digitally excluded groups to engage in a current research initiative focusing on Digital Identity. One of these groups is seniors (aged 65+).

Many Stepping UP partners are actively engaged in delivering programmes for seniors, whether this be Skinny Jump, Better Digital Futures for Seniors or the new Appy Seniors initiative. We are seeking your assistance in inviting seniors in your community to engage with this research.

All that is required at this stage is for seniors to complete a short online questionnaire; Internet will then select a diverse group of participants to engage in a 60-minute interview. This could be in-person (if the seniors are based in Wellington or Hutt City) or by Zoom. All participants invited to participate in the 60-minute interview will receive a $50 Prezzy card.

Please share the following link with any seniors participating in your current digital literacy programmes as a starting point:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/inz-id-research

1000 more B315 modems coming soon

Since January 2021, partners have become familiar with the larger B618 Skinny Jump modem. Skinny has now uncovered another 1000 B315 modems lurking in their store and these will be distributed shortly. Don’t be surprised when these start to arrive. This is not a mistake; the B315s work just as well. Over 1000 Skinny Jump modems are being distributed every month, so before you know it we will be back to the now familiar B618s.

Being kind to our environment with Jump modems

Most B618 modems being returned by Spark and Skinny customers are still in excellent working condition but some are slightly discoloured or have minor scratches. The ones being returned by Jump customers are still usually in pristine condition, since we have only been using them for six months. The Skinny team is reluctant to send these for recycling and we totally agree. So if you see any Jump modems arrive that don’t look brand new, just give yourself a pat on the back every time you issue one, knowing that you are helping reduce e-waste pollution in our environment.

Good news! 15GB free data has been extended

We have just been advised by the Spark Foundation that they have extended their offer of free 15GB data each month to all Jump customers*. This was introduced to help Jump families maintain their internet connections. We know there are a number of families who make the tough choice between $5 for 30GB broadband and purchasing other essential items.  The 15GB free each month means they are able to stay connected and make life a little easier by accessing services online during the times they can’t afford to purchase a Jump plan.

*The 15GB topup is not available for sponsored customers who receive 150GB each month such as students supported by the Ministry of Education or families on special programmes supported by CIENA or the Red Cross.

Stop Press! Skinny Jump address checker is down

We have been advised that Spark is currently experiencing intermittent outages and this has caused the Skinny Jump website to not load for Address Checking. The Jump App is experiencing the same problems. We have been promised updates as soon as the Jump team know something but for now, they have suggested that partners ask customers to try again at a later time.

Good to go again with Jump modems!

As at 3:45pm today the ‘stop issue’ notice from yesterday has been cancelled. We have been advised by the Jump team that all the modems issued during the last week or so have now been correctly provisioned for Jump. If partners do find any that have not been provisioned, please use the Modem Returns form to get them reset. I will keep an eye on the Modem Return forms and will raise the issue again with the Jump team if I find more than the odd one or two have not been correctly provisioned.

Do not issue notice!

We have discovered the same problem first encountered a few months ago – B618 modems are being issued to partners by Ingram Micro without being provisioned for Jump. Three partners have brought this to our attention over the last few days.

At this stage we don’t know the cause of this, but the Skinny team is planning to do a bulk provisioning of all modems issued during the last week to Jump partners. This could affect up to 50 partners who have received modems since Monday 10 May.

Any partners who have used the Modem Reset process to provision modems for Jump and have then issued these modems could find their customers’ accounts being reset. We are currently aware of one partner who has done this and we will make efforts to prevent these modems being reset.

The Skinny team expects to get this sorted tomorrow (Tuesday 18 May), so our advice in the meantime is to set aside any modems received during the last week and only issue older or reset ones. We do not recommend that you use the Modem reset process for any new modems until we get the all clear from the Skinny team.

And yet another update on Jump modem provisioning

Hopefully, this time it’s good news! This morning, the Spark Foundation team advised that all pipeline modems (i.e. ones you have received from Ingram Micro during the last few weeks) have now been checked and provisioned for Jump. There are only 12 modems that have been issued to customers that have not been correctly provisioned; the Skinny team is contacting these customers individually to sort this out.

If any partners do receive a returned modem (they will only be B618s) that has been issued during the last few weeks and is causing problems for customers, please use the Returned Modems form to get it reset and provisioned correctly.

Please contact us immediately on jump@diaa.nz if you discover any further modems that have not been provisioned for Jump. Please provide the IMEI number of the modem concerned. Thank you.