Thane: Sharp spike in mobile subscriptions during Covid period

THANE: The Kulkarnis from Thane was meticulous about ensuring their two school-going children weren’t given independent mobile phones till they reached secondary section. However, the Covid imposed lockdown and the subsequent online school sessions forced the couple to purchase independent connections for their kids as they were unable to share their gadgets due to their own overlapping work from home schedules.
The Kulkarnis are one of the lakhs of subscribers who unknowingly could have helped beef up the number of mobile phone connections in the state that registered an average 22% increase in the Covid period compared to the non-Covid times.
A cursory tally of the data released recently by the state government reveals that while 1306.2 lakh connections were operational in FY 2019-20, the numbers swelled to 1265.8 lakh in the first nine months of FY 2021-22. The FY 2020-21 saw 1325.6 lakh connections with a monthly average of 110 lakh active connections.
Experts have attributed the jump to the work from home and online schooling trends to have helped fuel the business for mobile network providers.
“Many employees were asked to work from homes and also schools had taken up online tutoring. While the initial year saw many parents accommodating and sharing gadgets with their children, they eventually decided to ensure an independent connection for their child’s education needs,” observed Achintya Mukherjee, telephone consumer activist.
Bhavana J, a businesswoman from Mulund says her family has dedicated numbers for their two children including her working husband to ensure their independent work didn’t get affected during the lockdown. “We were initially sceptical of allowing our younger child a mobile phone but the online education compelled us to as we couldn’t share our due to our overlapping work schedules,” said the resident.
Interestingly, the increase in subscriptions is apparently the highest witnessed in the last seven years smashing the near 12% rise in numbers reported in FY 2016-17, reveals records. Interestingly, the average connection count had stagnated for two years since FY 2017-18 and also showed a drop in FY 2019-20 but the numbers took a northward turn in the coming years, with the initial numbers of last fiscal reveals reporting one of the best performances for the industry.
A mobile company representative said the volume of new subscriptions was high last fiscal as many applied for connections online that were delivered at their doorstep. “Many opted for broadband connections along with getting new mobile connections for their children or for their official communications,” said the representative.
Interestingly, the landline connections that have been seeing a gradual decline also saw a turnaround in number of subscriptions last fiscal.
Activist Suyog Marathe from Thane attributes the multi-media platforms available on the mobile in addition to the calling features which was a rage during the lockdown may have become a trigger for the rise in connections over the static landline connections.
“Major part of daily routine during the lockdown was going online in addition to professional and academic works. Be it sharing and uploading videos, connecting with friends and family or even posting updates on social media, having an independent phone connection for almost every family member became a necessity,” he hints.
Nonetheless, experts have warned parents to exercise caution and ensure their children don’t get too addicted to the gadgets. “Already the younger generation is tech-savvy and with independent connections and gadgets at their disposal, parents need to be extra cautious and ensure the facility isn’t misused,” said an expert.