Banglalink, the second largest mobile phone operator in the country, has reported 13.8% revenue drop in second quarter as affected allegedly by the application of regulatory directives of deactivation of VoIP customers.
VimpelCom, parent company of Banglalink, released the report last week – acknowledging for the first time that VoIP affected their business.
Earlier, the telecom regulator had fined this operator Tk1.68bn for involvement in VoIP operations during the last caretaker government regime.
From April to June, Banglalink’s revenue stands at Tk10.1bn, which was Tk11.7bn in the same period of previous year. In the first half, their revenue stood at Tk19bn, down from Tk22bn of the first half of 2012.
In the second quarter of 2013, Banglalink’s year-on-year Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) dropped by 16%.
The report explained: “As previously communicated, the deactivation of high value suspected VoIP customers, in compliance with regulations set by the regulator, is expected to have a prolonged negative impact during 2013.”
Total deactivations related to suspected VoIP customers during 2Q13 stood at 190,000 customers, in addition to the combined total of 1.06 million customers deactivated in 4Q12 and 1Q13.
In addition, fourteen days of national strikes in 2Q13 negatively impacted business, the report adds.
Banglalink also said its mobile data revenues increased 115% in Q2 2013. Its subscriber base increased 6% to 27.1 million, driven by high gross additions and lower churn rate.
The government reduced SIM tax to Tk300 from Tk600 previously.
The government imposed 7.5% VAT on 3G spectrum fees in May 2013, while also increasing corporate tax rates on listed companies to 40% from 35%.
