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The telecom service providers operating in Kashmir are “fearing for the worst” after mobile internet services were again suspended on Saturday, 32nd time since 2012.
The mobile internet services and prepaid outgoing was suspended after government forces killed Hizbul Mujahideen commander Sabzar Ahmad Bhat and his associate in Tral on Saturday.
“The growth story of JK’s telecom sector has been an encouraging one but internet bans has taken a toll now. Although the state has managed to cross 1-crore subscriber mark but frequent disruptions lead to a slump and take a hit on overall subscribers,” said an executive of a private mobile company wishing not to be named.
At a time when telecom sector was flourishing and Jammu Kashmir had witnessed maximum monthly increase in mobile subscribers during March 2017, as per Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) latest data, today’s ban is going to be a blow again for the sector.
The latest internet suspension is 32nd since 2012 and according to Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) telecom companies in Kashmir had suffered losses worth Rs 180 crore during the unrest last year.
Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC), a Delhi-based not-for-profit organization in its recently released figures had claimed that internet services were shut 31 times in J&K between 2012 to April 2017. The data reveals that internet services were snapped in the state thrice in 2012 and five times each in 2013, 2014 and 2015.
Last year in September, due to unrest, state witnessed a drop in teledensity to 77.67 but had now bounced back to 95.88 in March, 2017. Teledensity is calculated as number of phone connections per hundred people of a region or state.
JK had registered a negative growth during 2016 unrest and lost almost 4.5 lakh active subscribers during suspension of mobile and internet services. However, the growth witnessed a spurt as JK added more than 2 lakh subscribers in March, 2017. The total subscribers which had plunged to about 95.74 lakh in September last year had touched about 1.20 lakh at the end of March 31, 2017. With the latest internet ban, telecom companies are skeptical about future prospects in case the suspension of internet services continues. “From witnessing a degrowth last year we saw 1.73 percent growth in March recently which helped JK top the list of mobile subscriptions among all states. We hope the situation becomes stable again and the ban is revoked so that there is stability in telecom industry,” said another executive.
[“Source-ndtv”]
