The epidemic of Covid-19 is a human tragedy that is affecting hundreds of thousands of people. The impact on the supply chain, staffing and finance has been quiet devastating, resulting in companies struggling to sustain and survive. Working remotely through video streaming and global internet communication has become the lifeblood of modern society. Its firmly believed that once we are through the worst of this virus, larger part of our economy and industries will still be standing and, in many aspects, stronger than before.
Although COVID-19 undoubtedly represents a tremendous challenge for all, it offers telecommunications infrastructure companies a chance to help communities to excel. As the world continues to cope with it, the telecoms and technology sector, the Golden Child of the global economy, has undeniably taken a lead.
Telecom companies helps the world to stay connected. As the work environment has shifted to working from home combined with social distancing/lockdown measures, people are spending more time at home for work and leisure, and using exceedingly higher amounts of data. Also, to eliminate the impact of feeling isolated the need to stay connected is important than ever before.
Telecommunications companies are focused on increasing network resiliency and looking at how COVID-19 impacts their planned investments. This crisis has challenged the industry to invest in existing infrastructure and game changing technologies.
Impact on Telecom Sector
- Network usage is skyrocketing. The volume of voice calls is also increasing exponentially.
- Network reliability is an ongoing focus. Issues such as connection drop rates, lower audio quality are few examples. Efforts are made to mitigate potential outages by asking streaming services to limit picture quality.
- COVID-19 is leading to collaboration with competitors by borrowing spectrum.
Changes for the Customer
- Taking measures to improve the customer experience and access to networking services which includes increased capacity, offering unlimited minutes, and providing anonymized data to aid in tracking the spread of COVID-19.
- Offering networking tools for free or at a reduced cost to aid customers in working from home.
Financial impacts
While the telecom industry has been less affected, some may face issues with cash flow in the long term, similar to other industries.
After the Covid 19 pandemic, how corporate and individuals communicate and conduct business in the future will change forever. Working from home will become more common and communication platforms such as Microsoft Teams and Go to webinar will be used more frequently to replace face to face meetings.
by
Mr. Kakkassery Hamza Tariqali
Chief Financial Officer,
Zenith Business Services DMCC
UCAM MBA (Financial Management) Student, Westford University College
Related Links
7 Steps to Employee Engagement during COVID 19 Pandemic
