The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Aliv's top executive yesterday said it aims to shrug off COVID-19 by growing revenues up to 10 percent after launching a product to "revolutionise" mobile post-paid services.

Damian Blackburn told Tribune Business the mobile operator, which has just celebrated its fourth anniversary, had effectively made the US and Canada "part of The Bahamas" by enabling post-paid customers to use their existing data, voice and text allowances in those markets.

While quick to point out that Aliv is not encouraging Bahamians to travel amid a global pandemic, he added that the move will end high roaming bills and enable subscribers to avoid having to purchase a US cell phone when they visit that nation.

And, while Aliv's quarterly revenues had dropped from their $21m peak due to the impact of COVID-19 restrictions, and the impact on jobs and incomes, Mr Blackburn said the mobile operator's top-line for the three months to end-September 2020 had increased 6 percent year-over-year.

This, he added, had given it the confidence to forecast that revenues for the full year to end-June 2021 will be between 5-10 percent ahead of last year notwithstanding the continued disruption and uncertainty resulting from the pandemic.

"We remain committed to keep on doing innovative things in the market," Mr Blackburn told this newspaper, "and in that vein we've relaunched our post-paid plans. These plans allow you to roam in the US and Canada and use your voice, data and text allowances as if you were in The Bahamas.

"We've effectively made the US and Canada part of The Bahamas, and there will not be any roaming charges if you use your phone in the US and Canada. That's really a revolution of post-paid in The Bahamas and an indication we are not going to be resting on our laurels.

"We want to keep attracting new customers and bring them a new value proposition. If you travel to the US and Canada, you don't have to worry any more about roaming bills or buying a US mobile phone."

Mr Blackburn, though, conceded that Aliv's revenues had dropped 10 percent from their quarterly $21m peak amid the COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns. He added that most of the decline was due to a loss of roaming revenues, as there were no tourists to use its network here while fewer Bahamians were travelling abroad.

"Most of our revenue decline is actually roaming, incoming and outgoing roaming, because of the travel restrictions," the Aliv chief revealed. "Our performance in the last quarter, ending September 30, we actually experienced 6 percent year-over-year revenue growth.

"The business is going well. Given that 6 percent year-over-year growth in the first quarter, we think 5-10 percent for the full year is achievable. We expect revenue growth of 5-10 percent over last year despite the fact COVID-19 has had an impact on us."

Mr Blackburn said Aliv had also passed its rival Bahamas Telecommunications Company's (BTC) total 179,100 mobile subscribers, although he declined to provide figures for Aliv's customer base. "We've gone past the number they published," he added. "Our 60-day basis has gone ahead of that."