PREPAID BAN

Ban hits mobile handset sales volume in J&K

BILAL HUSAIN

SRINAGAR, Nov 16 [2009]: With the recent ban on pre-paid mobile connection by the ministry of home affairs in Jammu and Kashmir, the sales volume of the mobile sets has gone down considerably, traders here lament.
The pre-paid ban has not only affected the subscribers but has taken toll on mobile set dealers in the state as well. “The sales has zeroed since the decision on the ban has been out,” Ashiq Hussain, a local mobile-set dealer.
The traders in the sector believe that the prepaid SIMs issued by the telecom companies here pushed the business of mobile handsets in the state. “The ban has affects the retail sector of mobile sets in the state,” said a trader, Tahir Ahmad.
However, the sales of the secondhand sets (used handsets) have gone up, the customers have started selling their handset as their mobile connections are bared. “Most of the prepaid customers whose connections have been bared and are not willing to shift to post paid. So they are selling their sets,” Tahir said.
There are over 38 lakh prepaid mobile subscribers in the state. The decision would have an impact on over all market size of the mobile handsets, is what authorized distributors believe. "Most of the customers come to us for pre paid connections but now we would not be unable to provide them one," a local dealer said.
The decision would hamper the growth of the mobile subscriber in remote rural areas, a prepaid subscriber said.
The BSNL, a public sector telecommunication company, currently has a customer base of over twelve lakh subscribers, Bharti Airtel, has got the highest customer base of over 19 lakh in the state, Dishnet Wireless has eleven lakh subscribers in the state and the new entrant in the state, Vodafone Essar has a customer base of over a lakh.
The ministry of home affairs has decided that no prepaid mobile connections would be issued and existing prepaid SIM cards would not be renewed in J&K after Nov 1, 2009, an official said. The ministry has asked the Department of Telecommunications to take appropriate action to implement the decision.
The decision is not going to impact the over all profitability of the telecom operators functional here but the subscriber base is surely going to get affect by the move, an official of a telecom operator said. “In particular the poorer people who can’t pay regular sums as is the case with the postpaid connection would be worst hits by the decision,” Nisar Ahmad Wani, telecom expert said.
Many subscribers told KT that the decision on banning the prepaid connections is uncalled for. “They should have given us time to go for postpaid connection,” said a subscriber. Social experts here believe that the move would disempower low paying category in the state.