We have to serve customers even better to stay ahead

FEB 05 -

Johan Dennelind is president and CEO of TeliaSonera. The company operates telecom services in 20 countries. He is currently in Nepal to learn about market operation at local level and meet stakeholders. Ramesh Shrestha of The Kathmandu Post talked to Dannelind about TeliaSonera’s expectation from the Nepal market, challenges here and future plans. Excerpts:

It’s been six years since TeliaSonera entered Nepal. How do you evaluate Ncell’s performance over the period?

I must say, it has been transforming not only for TeliaSonera and Ncell, but also for many aspects in Nepal. Ncell has been a catalyst for taking telecom penetration to over 50 percent. And, it has also done well financially. We have invested a lot of money in networks and those investments also go back to customers as corporate social responsibility. So performance has been really good, but that is not enough. Now we need to look ahead and strengthen ourselves even more.

Would you please tell us why TeliaSonera sold its stake in Nepal Satellite Telecom?

One of my first decisions was to exit Nepal Satellite because I wanted to focus on Ncell. Ncell is our star and we need to focus our energy, investment and management capacity on Ncell. So that was the background for the decision.

With the Nepal government coming up with unified licence, new operators are also coming in the GSM mobile segment. This is expected to heat up the competition. What would be Ncell’s strategy amid increased competition?  

We think competition will increase and it is increasing already now. But it will intensify going forward so we will be telling Ncell and Erik (Erik Hallberg, president of Business area Eurasia who was also present during the interview) to invest in the business and to make sure that we are prepared for competition. It means we need to serve our customers even better. We need to reach more places. Whenever there are complications and changes, we should be ready.

The demand for broadband internet is growing in Nepal. How Ncell will cater to this growing demand?

I think we’ve been able to meet the customers’ demand. Just to give you an example, I met a young person here three weeks ago and I talked about how much do they spend and how they (the new generation) are using the internet. He said he is using it almost every day. That means the internet or mobile data is important. We need to make it affordable for everyone in one way or the other. Price is already coming down gradually and if we do not make it affordable, they will not buy it.

Ncell has been ranked as one of the best performing brands in the Eurasia region. What do you think made Ncell one of the best performing brands under TeliaSonera?

In my perspective, the Ncell team has been very passionate in developing Ncell as a brand. And, it has paid off. The next phase will be different, especially how we develop the brand and move forward. Ncell is now very known brand in Nepal. With this comes great responsibility and that is to care for the brand and develop the company.

TeliaSonera is being run under a new model from April 1, 2014. What should a customer expect from this change, especially in Nepal?

I would say that Ncell, in many aspects, is already running according to new model because it’s the local mandate, where we infuse, inject new practices where we see need for it. The new model also wants us to learn better from Ncell to bring experience and learning into other companies. In many areas, Ncell is our best performer, so we hope to learn more from Ncell in the new model.

The Nepal Telecommunications Authority has come up with draft paper which says private telecom companies should go public. Is Ncell ready for this change?

I think it is good that the government is thinking ahead for the industry and nation. We are ready to be part of such a discussion and we are open to such discussions and suggestions. We have seen in other markets where we operate that public offering can be a way to broaden your ownership for a company. We are curious to find out more and I would be looking for dialogue here. We have done it in other companies already. We did it in Kcell, Kazakhstan, last year.

Source: The Kathmandu Post