Trending Now vritti August 2020
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CHIRANTAN
SHARMA
SARANSH
AGRAWAL
Telecom operators have always played an essential role in society and the economy. They
have always been important, but have never been more critical than they are today. In the
current time of social distancing and lockdown, they are keeping the ball rolling, and are
mission-critical in keeping the economy moving forward. On one hand, customers are able to
stay connected and entertained with the help of mobile phone and internet connectivity. On the
other, businesses can remain open with the help of remote collaboration tools and online
connectivity, which are provided by telecom operators.
Having said that, telecom operators across the globe are facing their own set of challenges
due to lockdown & social distancing:
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Customers more than often have low balance as they are unable to reach the retailer's
locations to get their accounts recharged
Retailers are facing stock-out situations constantly as they are not getting service
from resellers
Distribution reach is also shrinking as touchpoints are not able to serve the customers
amidst the lockdown situation
Operators with high dependence on voucher recharge are facing a unique challenge of
Physical Vouchers' Obsolescence as retailers, despite having stock of paper vouchers,
are not able to sell them as walk-ins have declined
With more and more customers getting online, watching videos on mobile phone and
increase in calling because of social distancing, operators are facing a capacity crunch,
and their networks are choked
To mitigate these challenges encountered due to COVID-19, many operators across the
globe have deployed innovative solutions. These solutions help ensure that customers have
enough balance, retailers are not stocked out, and there is enough capacity to take the load of
calls and data traffic. The following page highlights some of these solutions in brief.