Uncertainty of new SIMs sale mechanism
Cellular operators’ subscriptions rocketing
KARACHI: The mobile phone subscription is on the rise as customers are rushing to franchises of different operators ahead of introduction new SIM’s sale mechanism across the country.
The background interviews of the cellular operators, franchise owners and retailers said that panic selling is being witnessed throughout the country mainly in the metropolis as customers wanted to avoid typical measures of subscribing to mobile phone companies from next month.
The sale of SIM has witnessed tremendous growth in the last few days on the rising demand of customers, an official of the mobile phone companies said.
The sale of SIMs has increased to 80,000 to 90,000 on daily basis nowadays as compared with a routine sale of 30,000 to 40,000 SIMs, he said on the condition of anonymity. Even the SIM sale crossed 100,000 benchmark and recorded almost 130,000 sale in the last few days, that is, more than 300 percent growth in subscription.
Our company has deployed extra staff members at customer care centres and provided them with additional systems to entertain as many customers as they can in accordance with rising demand of customers, he said.
According to a market survey, franchises and retailers have reduced the cost of SIM in order to attract the customers and to unload their stocks for avoiding losses.
The sale of SIMs has increased by 30 percent in the last few days at my franchises as the number of customers is surprisingly surging to buy subscription before November 30, which is the deadline of SIMs’ sale at franchises, Abid Mir, a franchise owner said.
The staff members of the franchise are too busy to process the registration of customers’ data in the system as even they find the network chocked sometime due to increasing load of applications.
As per existing system, the customers need to visit franchises and retail shops along with original CNIC. The data of customers along with CNIC number and franchise numbers or area code are registered by franchises on spot on the database of the associated company. Retailers have reduced SIMs rates by Rs 30 to Rs 20 per card to jack up their sales with low margins. The prices of SIM cards of various companies are available at Rs 50-70 as compared with Rs 80 to Rs 120 per card.
Retailers are too busy in selling SIMs because they are unaware about their stocks of SIMs to be bought back by companies or trash just after two days.
I have placed a banner on my shop to sell SIMs at discounted rates because I don’t know if the new system of the government will deprive me of earning money from this business, Nadeem Hussain, a retailer said.
I am earning only 20 percent profit margin on SIMs’ sale because I have no other choice either to reduce my income or return the stock of cards to franchises or companies, he added.
Besides, mobile phone companies have targeted populated potential areas through their franchises for attracting customers through roadside stalls of SIMs with minimum brand activation.
The respond is healthy since we have set up our stall and new customers are purchasing new numbers every day, said Safdar Ahmed, an official of the cellular operators who set up sales stall in Gulistan-e-Johar. Customers, on the other hand, are reported to do panic buying as they are afraid of the hectic proposed system of SIM sales in the future.
Saeed Ahmed, a customer, said that he bought SIMs for his daughter and nieces to whom he promised to give handsets and phone connection after their college will start next year.
He said that he got subscription on his name because he is living on rented home and does not posses a vehicle. It is merit mentioning here that the proposed new mechanism of SIM sales is through postal service at the residents of customers who have to prove their verification of home address through CNIC number along with utility bills or driving licence. There are thousands of customers queuing up nowadays at franchises and retail shops particularly those who do not own their own homes and vehicles, fearing that they would not be able to get connections in future.
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