- dtac is putting in place strong measures to ensure continued service in the case of an escalation of the COVID-19 outbreak
- Patterns of mobile usage are expected to change if more customers work from home.
- dtac in partnership with the Ministry of Digital Economy for Society will promote and support its remote work policy and COVID-19 spread mitigation efforts.
March 17, 2020 – dtac has established a comprehensive preparedness effort, vowing to keep customers connected amid the escalating COVID-19 outbreak. dtac is preparing for changes and possible increases in mobile usage. At the same time, the company is rolling out a range of measures to limit exposure of its employees so that they continue to provide mobile services without interruption.
Sharad Mehrotra, chief executive officer at Total Access Communication PLC or dtac, said: “As the coronavirus outbreak spreads and causes a series of serious disruptions, mobile connectivity becomes the most critical way for everyone to stay connected with loves ones, continue to conduct business and receive information from the government. This is why dtac has put in place measures to keep our customers and employees safe, while also ensuring reliable services.”
MOBILE SERVICES MOST NEEDED
If the COVID-19 outbreak escalates, dtac will have to respond to both changing behaviors in mobile usage and the need to maintain continued services for its customers. In Western Europe and parts of the USA, measures to increase work from home have disrupted usage patterns, with internet usage shifting to residential areas during the daytime and increasing by up to 90 percent.
In response, dtac is ensuring continued 24/7 monitoring of the network with a backup Network Operation Center. dtac also readied three alternative call center facilities and automatic response systems to serve any spikes in customer queries.
“We have to be ready to not only maintain our current level of service but adapt it to changing needs if need be. We have the teams ready to do this, and we can even roll out mobile units if need be. We will not let our customers down when they need us most,” said Mr. Mehrotra.
ENSURING CONTINUED SERVICE
dtac has also implemented measures to limit the organization’s exposure to possible disruption. dtac has mandatory temperature checks for all its employees and visitors to its offices. Moreover, cleaning of high-contact surfaces is now performed hourly. Disinfection professionals also spray antiseptic solution in the dtac offices every night. All salespersons are required to wear hygienic masks in shops.
There have been no cases of COVID-19 infection among dtac employees. And all employees must self-quarantine for 14 days if returning from high-risk countries or in contact with a possibly infected person.
On March 18-19, dtac is also conducting trials for work arrangements where one half of the company headquarters’ employees work from home, alternating with the other half each day. This offers three benefits:
- Fewer people in the office reduces crowding and the likelihood of transmitting the virus.
- If one team is compromised, the other team can continue to work without self-quarantine.
- It allows dtac to explore and rehearse the operational challenges of remote work, so that in a worst-case scenario where parts of Thailand must self-quarantine, the company could keep operating.
KEEPING THAILAND CONNECTED
dtac also launched measures to continue empowering Thai society with connectivity at this critical time:
- dtac joined hands with the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society to develop a work@home initiative with additional data allowances.
- Support to various COVID-19 spread mitigation applications, in partnership with dtac’s “Happy Tourist” SIM cards.
- Free COVID-19 insurance bundled with two of our data packages. More information at http://dtac.co.th/s/tandc.
“We are all in this together. And for dtac, it is simply not an option for us to interrupt our services at the time when our customers need us most,” said Mr. Mehrotra. “We promise to do our part in keeping them connected to what matters most.”
