Despite the rise in the trend of mobile phones use in Dimapur, PCOs are still common sights in town. (Morung Photo)
Dimapur| March 10 : There was a time when telephones were a luxury and few in number in this part of the world (read Nagaland). Other than the few landlines (that too mostly in the homes of bureaucrats and politicians) that were available, PCOs (“public call office”) were the only mode of long-distance communication for the common folks. For those who were unfortunate enough to not have a landline telephone, they had to walk to the nearest PCO booth or had to take the awkward step of going to a neighbor’s home whether during urgencies or courtesy callings. Those were the times when PCOs were ruling the roost when it came to telecommunication.
But today, with the advent of mobile telephony, business in PCOs have seen a downtrend while also the number of people using it has also drastically come down. Many a people assumed it would be the end of the line for PCOs. However, despite such a bleak prediction they are still common sights in almost all part of towns.
In a random interaction with a number of PCO owners, a common lament was that business is not as good as it used to be, with all of them attributing the downtrend in business to the influx of mobile phones. However, they make up for it by selling recharge\top-up cards for prepaid SIM users. Other than selling recharge cards the people involved in the business have branched out to other spheres of customer services such as photocopying, computer typing and selling mobile accessories etc., which have saved them from running out of business.
A PCO owner at Circular Road said that before the entry of mobile phones, his shop on an average had income in the range of Rs 700-800 daily just from the services of the phone alone but today it is making Rs 60-80 only; on some days it barely touches the Rs 50 mark. He makes up for it by selling recharge\top-up cards, mobile accessories and greetings cards which pays for the phone bills, the owner said. Another owner at the PWD junction runs his PCO as a side business while at the same time running his ‘paan shop’ which also provides a photocopying service.
Nowadays, the services of his phone adds only Rs 100-150 to his daily income, while in the past it brought in the range of Rs 300-400.
Like them, many other such PCOs have branched out to other spheres of customer services that have helped the business from going down. One factor that has contributed to PCOs still remaining in business is the widespread use of pre-paid phone services. The margin of profit in selling recharge\top-up cards is not that big, with dealers making only Re 1 or at the most Re 1.50 for every card they sell. But the demand for recharge cards is so high that, it makes up for the low margin of profit. Moreover, not all people can afford to have mobile handsets let alone a landline connection. Such people have to take the services of PCOs to keep in touch while at the same time PCO’s will be there for such people.
But today, with the advent of mobile telephony, business in PCOs have seen a downtrend while also the number of people using it has also drastically come down. Many a people assumed it would be the end of the line for PCOs. However, despite such a bleak prediction they are still common sights in almost all part of towns.
In a random interaction with a number of PCO owners, a common lament was that business is not as good as it used to be, with all of them attributing the downtrend in business to the influx of mobile phones. However, they make up for it by selling recharge\top-up cards for prepaid SIM users. Other than selling recharge cards the people involved in the business have branched out to other spheres of customer services such as photocopying, computer typing and selling mobile accessories etc., which have saved them from running out of business.
A PCO owner at Circular Road said that before the entry of mobile phones, his shop on an average had income in the range of Rs 700-800 daily just from the services of the phone alone but today it is making Rs 60-80 only; on some days it barely touches the Rs 50 mark. He makes up for it by selling recharge\top-up cards, mobile accessories and greetings cards which pays for the phone bills, the owner said. Another owner at the PWD junction runs his PCO as a side business while at the same time running his ‘paan shop’ which also provides a photocopying service.
Nowadays, the services of his phone adds only Rs 100-150 to his daily income, while in the past it brought in the range of Rs 300-400.
Like them, many other such PCOs have branched out to other spheres of customer services that have helped the business from going down. One factor that has contributed to PCOs still remaining in business is the widespread use of pre-paid phone services. The margin of profit in selling recharge\top-up cards is not that big, with dealers making only Re 1 or at the most Re 1.50 for every card they sell. But the demand for recharge cards is so high that, it makes up for the low margin of profit. Moreover, not all people can afford to have mobile handsets let alone a landline connection. Such people have to take the services of PCOs to keep in touch while at the same time PCO’s will be there for such people.
