Mobile phone operators fear that the impact of Corona could lead to a balance or recharge crisis in the country in a few days.
Operators say the corona has closed about 75 percent of retail agent points in the country for more than a month. People have also run out of recharges due to their location at home. In addition, many of those who have been recharging through mobile financial services and others are running out of balance in their wallets due to not being able to refill.
Industry insiders say that not only these reasons but also the economic activities in the country have stopped and some people may lose the ability to talk by recharging their mobiles.
Meanwhile, the reduction in voice call and recharge has also affected the income of the operators.
Robi's Chief Corporate and Regulatory Officer Shahed Alam told Tekshahar.com that the overall revenue has declined by 15 per cent as the number of voice calls has been reduced by 20 to 25 per cent due to the corona. One of the reasons for the decline in voice calls is the decline in the income of low-income people, the increase in Internet-based OTT calls and the closure of recharge points scattered across the country. It has become difficult for customers to recharge, especially due to the lockdown situation.
In the last one month, Robi's daily average revenue has decreased by Tk 4 crore, and overall revenue has decreased by Tk 120 crore. If this situation continues, Robi's business crisis will increase in the future, 'he said.
In 2019, the operator made a net profit of Tk 16 crore. This top level official of Robi thinks that the loss of income in this way will leave the operator thinking of keeping the profit and will challenge him to prevent big losses.
Muhammad Hassan, Grameenphone's Head of External Communications, told TechShahr.com that in the past few weeks, Kovid-19 has damaged our overall economy, including businesses in various sectors. The telecommunications sector has not been spared from the negative impact.
"A significant number of recharge points are not fully operational due to community-based lockdowns across the country," he said.
An official in charge of the operator said that the number of recharges has come down significantly as retailer points are closed at 60-65 per cent. Most of the mobile phone customers in the country still recharge through retailer points. As a result, many customers will naturally run out of balance due to the recent house arrest and lockdown situation.
‘In addition, customers who refill through mobile financial services and other means are also facing a balance crisis. And the number of customers refilling digital mobile balances in the country is still low, ”he said.
Banglalink's Head of Corporate Communication and Sustainability, Sureka, told TechShahr.com that 20 per cent of customers will face a recharge crisis. The impact of the situation arising out of house arrest and lockdown in Corona is falling overall.
"But they are ready to serve their customers in any emergency," he said.
Officials of the mobile operators say that even though the telecommunication service has declared an emergency service, the retailers have not started their activities in such a manner. Customers are also not interested in refilling to find other points in the vicinity if they do not get recharge points at hand. Again in some cases retailers are giving back to the customer due to their own adequate balance crisis.
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