What’s the best way to sell to Telecoms Operators?

A recent study has undertaken analysis of the operator procurement process and concluded that events are a valuable source of supplier-selection:

The content below is re-posted from the CC Group blog

Vendors are facing some of the toughest trading conditions ever. It has never been so difficult to ‘sell’ to operators. It’s not just uncontrollable macro-economic factors that are frustrating vendor sales and marketing efforts. The manner in which operators buy has changed. However, many vendors are not changing how they market and sell in response to new operator buying habits.

ConneCt from CCgroup

To address the challenge, we undertook a comprehensive analysis of operator procurement processes. Our ConneCt study reveals the communications platforms that drive vendor inclusion in operator procurement, the influencing factors when shortlisting, and the critical factors in vendor selection. Here are some of the key top-level findings:

What are the most influential platforms that drive RFX inclusion?

• Unsurprisingly, having an existing relationship with the operator running the RFX – the enormous significance of peer relationships stresses the importance of industry networking to build and develop fruitful connections

• Professional analysts are critical in building influence – both internal business analysts and external industry analysts

• Industry events are still valued by operator executives when it comes to technology decision making – mostly in terms of building those networks mentioned in the first point

• Media coverage and presence is listed as an important part of the armoury, especially given its influence over other communications platforms such as internal analysts and tradeshows.

What factors influence operators’ shortlisting of potential suppliers?

• Yet again, having a previous relationship and familiarity with the supplier was rated the highest influencing factor.

• The reputation and market profile of a vendor was the second most influential factor on RFX selection and shortlisting.

• Anecdotal conversation suggests that the manner in which this reputation and profile is ‘realised’ is through channels such as media prominence, positioning in analyst reports, award wins and presence on the speaker circuit.

What factors influence which vendor is finally selected?

• Price rears its head at decision time – but overall, operators are more concerned about value. They want to understand costs saved, revenues generated, business models advanced or protected, or opportunities created as a result of a particular vendor’s solution.

• Vendors must prove their capability to deliver. Operators are unwilling to take ‘chances’ on untried and untested vendors and technologies. They require “proof” and evidence of claims made.

• Vendors must demonstrate practical vision through a roadmap for future solutions and post-sales support is a critical hygiene factor. Substance – demonstrating value, delivery and understanding are more important at this stage in an RFX process.

How can vendors better engage with telecoms operators?

To succeed, sales and marketing teams must expect and demand more of each other. Accessing and influencing the operator procurement process is intensely challenging for vendors today – but it can be done extremely effectively. It demands a symbiotic relationship between sales and marketing functions and the integration of various communications to deliver the campaigns that will make the difference.

A copy of the full research findings and key recommendations on how to successfully navigate this process are contained within the ConneCt white paper,available here.

Kenya, Malawi and Afghanistan in the Global Mobile headlines round-up this week..

Kenya launches US$2.8 bil. national broadband strategy

The Kenyan government has launched a KES250 billion (US$2.8 billion) National Broadband Strategy (NBS) aimed at transforming the country into a knowledge-based economy by providing reliable, high capacity broadband services to all citizens in the country by 2030. The strategy will involve the development of a countrywide broadband infrastructure, support of national capacity building and awareness as well as content development and innovations. The government will exploit various finance sources including the broadband infrastructure bond and the broadband venture capital. The government also plans to increase its budgetary allocation in the ICT sector from 0.5% to 5% in future. Kenya becomes the second country in Africa after South Africa to launch a detailed national broadband strategy. According to the latest statistics from the regulator, Kenya had 16.2 million Internet users as at end-4Q12, representing a penetration of 41.1%.

Malawi introduces a 16.5% tax on Internet services

The government of Malawi has introduced 16.5% VAT on Internet services which has seen the cost passed on to the consumers by the service providers. The country’s leading mobile operator Airtel Malawi has increased its mobile data tariffs by an average of 16.72% while its rival Telekom Network Malawi (TNM) has increased its tariffs by between 16.5% and 25%. According to Informa Telecoms & Media research, Malawi had 352,000 mobile broadband subscribers as at end-4Q12.

MCIT Afghanistan strikes deal with mobile operators for network expansion

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Communications and IT (MCIT) has entered into an agreement with some of the country’s mobile operators to expand the network to underserved areas, funded by the Telecommunication Development Fund. The deal will see the deployment of 240 new base stations in 34 provinces, covering an estimated half a million people.

Du 2Q13 revenues up by 12% Y-o-Y

UAE operator Du’s 2Q13 revenues rose by 12.05% year-on-year, from AED2.37 billion (US$645 million) to AED2.66 billion (US$724 million). Net profit pre-royalty rose by 19.5% over the same period to AED778 million (US$211.8 million) for 2Q13. Revenue growth was driven by a 13.33% increase in mobile sales to AED2.07 billion, with data revenues rising by 44.81% year-on-year. The company added 14,400 new mobile customers as its mobile subs base increased to 6.65 million. The company’s strategic goals are to look out for market leading products and services, and to maintain cost efficiency measures.

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Taken from Global Mobile Daily:  

http://www.informatandm.com/newsletters/

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Global Mobile Daily
Global news from the mobile telecoms industry
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Headlines for July26, 2013

Global Mobile Daily: ISSN 1099-730X
Copyright 2012 Informa UK Ltd.

Helios Towers Africa buys into Vodacom Tanzania’s tower network

Africa’s leading tower company Helios Towers Africa (HTA) through its Tanzanian subsidiary Helios Towers Tanzania (HTT) has signed an agreement with Vodacom Tanzania to acquire 100% of its existing tower network in the country.

Under the agreement, Vodacom Tanzania will benefit from cash and a 24.5% stake in exchange for 1,149 towers. The operator will also benefit from a significant increase in point of service and will lease back the passive infrastructure as per a long term agreement.

HTA was incorporated in 2009 and operates in Ghana, Tanzania and Democratic Republic of Congo with an overall network of 4,700 towers. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals.

Middle East & Africa

Orange Kenya partners with Asus to promote data usage

Kenya’s fourth largest mobile operator Orange Kenya has partnered with Asus, the global notebook vendor to launch three notebook models into the Kenyan market. The devices will be available in selected Orange stores countrywide either as standalone units or bundled with 3G or CDMA data modems for a retail price of between KES42,999(US$489.8) and KES56,999. Through the agreement, Orange Kenya hopes to boost data consumption in its network.

Mobilis extends network coverage to rural Algeria

Mobilis has further expanded its network coverage in line with the celebration of the country's 51 year independence and the holy month of Ramadan. The operator is now the sole provider in the remote villages of Tamadjart, Arekine and Tiferine in the Illizi district (wilaya) and Ghourd Nouss and Zaouiat Sidi Moussa in Bordj Omar Driss.  In addition, two new base stations have been put in place in the two towns near the In Amenas oil facility, Amenas and Ohanet. The operator is to set up retail outlets in all the newly connected areas.

Nedjma launches smartphone offer

Algerian operator, Nedjma, has launched a new Ramadan offer, whereby those who subscribe to its “One” package will receive a free smartphone. A One 4000 package offers unlimited on net calls between 6am and 6pm for DZD4 (US$0.05) per minute for off-net calls and SMS for 2DZD per SMS for DZD4,000 with a two month upfront payment to receive the smartphone. A six month upfront payment is required for the One 1500 package which offers 500 minutes of free calls, unlimited free SMS to a favourite number and unlimited Mobile Facebook usage for DZD1,000. 

Taken from Global Mobile Daily:  http://www.informatandm.com/newsletters/

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Global Mobile Daily
Global news from the mobile telecoms industry
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Headlines for July 22, 2013

Global Mobile Daily: ISSN 1099-730X
Copyright 2012 Informa UK Ltd.

LTE in Africa : We are getting ready to rock n roll !!

Reblogged from Telco Global Connect

The Africa LTE Congress in Cape Town was a well organised and well executed Event. The 2-day assembled over 300 attendees from across the continent to hear insightful presentations, network and discover the future of LTE in Africa . The general ambience was cautiously optimistic even exciting since there is so much riding on LTE to bridge the growing Digital Divide in Africa.

It seems South Africa is clearly taking the LTE lead in Africa with a reported 94% of Africa’s 300,000 activated LTE SIM cards earlier this year. However, the rest of the continent is quickly catching up with Econet wireless confirming they are testing their LTE network in Zimbabwe, Surfline Communications announcing an LTE rollout in Ghana next year and MTC Namibia reporting 33% of data currently used on the network is already from LTE. And more projects in the works including Govt backed Open Access Model in Rwanda and Kenya.

It was widely discussed that there are still several hurdles to overcome before LTE in Africa can become truly mass market, mainly spectrum availability, affordable LTE devices and backhaul infrastructure requirements. Despite these challenges, a clear consensus was that LTE is on the minds of all operators in Africa with the CEO of Smile Communications ( who are rolling out LTE across 5 nations ) inspired the audience by stating that LTE is the only technology fast enough to truly open the doors to the digital revolution in Africa.

Key Highlights of LTE Africa included:

Telkom Mobile live LTE network demonstration, wowed the audience when it reached downlink speeds of over 210Mbps. A Telkom Mobile executive explained that they used an LTE modem connecting to their LTE TDD network in a 4×4 MIMO configuration supporting dual carrier downlink to achieve these speeds.

Huawei claimed to have 44 LTE networks across Africa, many of which are inactive but can be switched on immediately once the operators are ready. In a roundtable discussion with reporters leading global figures from the giant Chinese communications solutions provider painted a positive picture as to just how close major commercial rollouts are on the continent. The Vice president for Huawei, emphasised LTE TDD is the right solution for Africa because it is available across 200 different devices and it is rapidly being adopted on a global scale, which translates to 44 different networks to date confirming TDD viability.

The Samsung Rep informed VoLTE in South Korea, was first optimised and commercialised last year in August. He said VoLTE call setup time is significantly shorter as opposed to VoIP. It also allows for “one touch” switch over from a voice call to a video call. He enthused how Voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) is a viable solution for African communications given there are 800 million mobile subscribers on the continent.

Alcatel-Lucent and Surfline Communications have announced a partnership that could provide Western Africa with its first commercial 4G LTE network – operational in Ghana – by the first quarter of 2014. Their model is primarily to focus on the high end market targeting high potential residential areas and small to medium sized enterprises. The Ghana Regulator made a conscious decision not to award any LTE licenses to the current crop of mobile operators in a bid to promote competition in the industry as well as recognise the poor quality of voice services they currently offer the public.

Successful LTE networks are implemented using inductive thinking ( as opposed to deductive thinking ). The end result is envisaged ( nationwide coverage ) and then worked backwards on how to get there. Worldwide LTE operators can learn from the competitive success of the US , Korean and Japanese operators’ aggressive national build-out plans and evolving pricing strategies focused on multi-device usage and the role that devices play in the take-up of LTE.

Yours truly expounded on the vital importance of Policy Control and Charging in LTE Networks. Policy function is crucial to a number of mobile data billing models that operators expect to become much more widespread in the near term including the control of bandwidth according to application, service tier or customer profile.So what’s all the buzz about policy management? Policy has been around for years as a tool to enable traffic prioritization, particularly among cable operators looking to better manage broadband usage.

The current iteration of policy ( Policy 2.0) is dynamic and real-time is multi-dimensional, meaning the operator can incorporate multiple inputs into a policy decisions—for example, combining time of day with content type and device type to determine whether a teenager has access to a certain service under a parental control offering. Telcos can support virtually any service model strategy for data, based on advanced customer models combined with dynamic contextual network-level information.

In value-based pricing enabled by new Policy Control platforms linked to the OCS the feedback loop into creating new services and price points can be a lot faster; different value-based opportunities can be created and launched in weeks and not months. Value-based or Dynamic plans allow subscribers and providers to take advantage of new, innovative forms of mobile data consumption and pricing. These types of plans allow service providers to offer a mix of data packages to match user context , needs , propensity to pay and accurately charge for the data used on their networks.

While bandwidth management has been the primary policy control use case of the past few years, policy control is fast becoming table stakes for enabling rich, dynamic services and models that keep consumers and business users engaged.Policy control’s reach will extend beyond the network to business support systems (BSS), to enable complex service definition and real-time charging controls in innovative data services and plans.

The availability of real-time data in the post-paid billing system is essential to the future of mobile data billing. The integration of that real time data with the operator’s policy function is fundamental to the creation of the kind of diverse network controls that will enable more sophisticated data billing solutions. Bills should be presented to users on the device to increase customers’ control over their own usage and to create lucrative opportunities to sell them extensions and upgrades on an ‘as-needed basis’.

Sadiq Malik ( Telco Strategist )

Find out more about Zidi, the mHealth application winner of the Top App award at East Africa Com 2013

For the first year East Africa Com held an App Gig, dedicated to local app developers wanting to learn more and exchange ideas on developing, promoting and monetising apps in the region. The session included the Top App  competition: a chance for local developers to showcase their apps to the audience. Here the winner - Zidi - shares more information on the concept of its mHealth app.

ZiDi is the first mobile enterprise health management solution for Africa. ZiDi is offered as a cloud-based software service by MicroClinic Technologies, a Nairobi-based company.  ZiDi runs on web-enabled devices, preferably android tablets, in online and offline modes to ensure health workers have 24/7 access to patient data even in the most remote rural health settings.  ZiDi has been successfully beta tested in Kenya and its database currently grows by 1,000 patient records monthly.
 

Nurses equipped with ZiDi perform one task, i.e., document each patient encounter—demographic profile, history, symptoms, tests, diagnosis and treatment—and ZiDi does the rest.  ZiDi’s streamlined point-and-click closed loop data entry and storage structure guarantees a reliable system that will foster accountability for quality of care, commodities, finances and human capital in health centers & dispensaries in low-income countries.

Key components in ZiDi include:

a)       Electronic medical records (or electronic health record):  health workers can document patient encounters in real-time. ZiDi archives the longitudinal electronic record of an individual patient’s health information that can be easily retrieved for future decision-making and treatment;

b)      TeleHealth (including telemedicine): Cases in ZiDi can be reviewed retrospectively and in real time.  Experts can then advise the health workers on difficult cases from a virtual location;

c)       mHealth (or health through the use of mobile devices): Health workers equipped with ZiDi can send specific text messages or forward generic messages to patients using the tablets. ;

d)      eLearning (including distance education or learning): ZiDi enables gaps in health delivery to be identified.  Custom training videos can therefore be provided to the health workers.  The ZiDi enabled tablets can also be used for patient education and information sharing;

e)       Reporting (including utilization rates, inventory, and finances): ZiDi autogenerates reports on service utilization.  The inventory management module analyzes the turnover of drugs, vaccines and supplies and generates an order sheet with forecasts for the next 90 days.  ZiDi also reports on income from services provided and by payment sources, including from vouchers.

f)        Standardization and interoperability: Data collected in ZiDi can be exported as an Excel file for efficient and accurate offline analytics.  The inventory management module uses the WHO classification of essential drugs and supplies. ZiDi ensures that the integrated management of health systems from the national down to the facility level is seamless.

ZiDi provides rights-based access to national, county, district and facility level data through an administrative portal. Health officials, program officers and researchers are guaranteed secure, real-time access to actionable data on disease trends, inventory, fees, and human resource productivity.  Donor organizations can monitor and evaluate health programs from the convenience of their offices.
 

ZiDi is a disruptive innovation with significant benefits for pharmaceutical and telecom partners. By automating quantification, forecasting and access to essential drugs, pharmaceutical partners will for the first time have access to current information on the market demand for drugs and medical devices in Africa.  Offering continuing medical education to the thousands of health workers in Africa, of which there are close to 75,000 in Kenya alone, will drive data use and benefit the telecom partners.  Implementation of ZiDi in Kenya for example, where there are close to 7,500 public and private clinics, could generate upwards of 150,000 health records daily and consume 1,2 million hours of data per month.  Mobile carriers, tablet manufacturers, satellite and data management network providers alike, can thus benefit from these growth opportunities.

Dr. Moka Lantum, managing partner, MicroClinic Technologies foresees e-health content surpassing social medial and adult content in the not too distant future as solutions like ZiDi penetrate Africa. “It’s an unprecedented opportunity for mobile carriers as revenues from voice decline,” he said.
 

East Africa Com will return to Nairobi on 20-21 May 2014, with another App Gig session supporting local app developers.

Speaker Interview with Bayo Puddicombe

Bayo Puddicombe is the Co-Founder of Pledge 51. 

The Com World Series team caught up with Bayo ahead of the NigeriaCom conference and exhibition, taking place at the Lagos Oriental Hotel, Lagos, Nigeria, 17-18 September to find out a bit more about his experiences and focus at the event.

Com World Series: How is your company positioned in Nigeria and what are its future objectives?

Bayo Puddicombe: We are one of the pioneer mobile game/app development companies operating in the Nigerian space. We recently launched our mobile gaming community, Chopup, which integrates all of our portfolio games and allows users to trade achievements and points between content items. 

Our primary objective is to unleash the potential of African content in the mobile gaming space.

Com World Series: What do you think are the top 3 major trends that are affecting your business in the region in 2013?

 Bayo Puddicombe: In no particular order, I would say that these are the top three trends affecting the region;

- Faster data networks

- Smart phone penetration

- Mobile payment systems 

 Although, we are already seeing the emergence of fast data networks, there’s still quite a way to go in getting the most out of our data infrastructure. It would really go a long way in improving user experience for data hungry games and applications.

 Research shows that in most African countries, 2G networks will have to be supported for quite a while due to a mobile device distribution tilted more towards feature devices and dumb phones. We do know that smart phones can take full advantage of the possibilities offered by higher capacity data pipes, so as their penetration increases there will be increased consumer demand for high bandwidth and data capabilities.

 Mobile payments is also a key link in the value chain and we expect that in a before long, some of the mobile money providers will finally unlock the magic formula for enabling m-commerce in Nigeria. This could easily spurn the emergence of several innovations in the local technology space.

Com World Series: What are the remaining challenges in terms of connectivity and quality of services in the region and which technologies are most likely to resolve these issues?

Bayo Puddicombe: Connectivity and quality of service has always been a major challenge in Nigeria. The emergence of wireless data plans from mobile operators made significant impact in bridging some service to the region. However, it’s obvious that this is not sufficient to address the data needs of an emerging market of this size.

What we really need is high-speed fibre-based connectivity straight to homes, offices, businesses, etc in all major cities across the country. Until then, we cannot have the right kind of infrastructure to support this market.  

Com World Series: How are smartphones/tablets and cloud services impacting mobile/internet service providers in Nigeria?

Bayo Puddicombe: Smart phone penetration is currently low possibly approaching 10% penetration maybe less. However, most of these devices readily connect to the internet via mobile operator data networks and are quite data hungry. As smart phone users gained access to higher capacity mobile data networks (3G), some have actually discarded their primary internet service providers as data speeds from the mobile networks are beginning to compare reasonably to what can be obtained from ISPs.

This trend will possibly continue as more people adopt smart phones as their primary mobile device.

Com World Series: In your opinion, which companies are spearheading innovation in the region and what can be learnt from them?

Bayo Puddicombe: Firstly, I would like to put things in context by saying that innovation is relative. What is considered mundane in developed markets could actually be quite innovative in another context. My definition of innovation is combining technology/tools from disparate fields and combining them in a way that solves significant problems. With that said, I think Sproxils is doing some fantastic things with SMS based technologies in providing drug verification services. 

Com World Series: Who are you most looking forward to meeting/hearing from and what do you hope to achieve from taking part in NigeriaCom?

Bayo Puddicombe: I think just being at NigeriaCom would give us a fantastic opportunity to meet with stakeholders across the mobile/digital landscape.

Find out more at NigeriaCom. Bayo Puddicombe will be joining a panel of speakers on Day 2 at the APPGIG at 14:30 on the session “Africa paving the way in app development: trends, challenges & monetisation”. 

Find out more at NigeriaCom. Steven Evans will be leading the session “Keynote Panel Hosted by Etisalat” on Day 1 at 10:00.

Register here

Silver Lining or Troubled Skies? Cloud in Africa

AfricaCom 2013 

12 - 14 November 2013
CTICC Cape Town South Africa

Cloud@AfricaCom
Co-located with AfricaCom - 13 November 2013

Pre-register & Quote your booking code: LIN/AFRICACOMEM1 HERE

ITM analysts peg Cloud as the fastest-growing new revenue opportunity for telcos worldwide, with over 300 operators already offering Cloud services ranging from SaaS to IaaS.

Moreover, investment in IT infrastructure is soaring across Africa and Cloud is the dominating the headlines and headspace of African CIOs. Telcos are uniquely positioned in the Cloud Ecosystem to offer and expand their service and many have already started making the most out of this new revenue opportunity.

As part of AfricaCom, the continent’s largest gathering of telecoms, media and IT professionals, Cloud @ Africa Com is a unique platform that showcases the “how-to” strategies for dealing with and profiting from the advent of Cloud.

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Download the preview brochure here 
http://africa.comworldseries.com/2013-preview-brochure

Register for your Free Exhibition pass here 
http://secure3.eventadv.com/Informa/Registration/VisitorReg.aspx?EventID=21

Pre-register for a conference pass here
http://africa.comworldseries.com/register/

Quote your Booking Code " LIN/AFRICACOMEM1 " 

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Cloud Pioneers Confirmed Include: 

	Theo Bensch, Managing Executive, Telkom Cybernest, Telkom South Africa
	Evans Nyagah, Head of Enterprise Sales & B2B, Safaricom
	Adedipo Olagbegi, Head IT Technical Infrastructure, Etisalat Nigeria
	Adrian Cornelius, General Manager, MTN Business
	Juergen Urbanski, Chief Technologist Big Data and Cloud, Deutsche Telekom Group

To see the full speaker list, click here 
http://africa.comworldseries.com/conference/speakers/

Now is your last chance to join the speaker line-up! Contact georgios@cloudworldseries.com today

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By attending the event, African telcos can:

- Discuss and develop the business case for launching a telco Cloud service offer
- Learn how to transform your infrastructure for deploying robust Cloud services
- Benchmark your Cloud service offering against that of leading Cloud vendors
- Uncover the secrets of a robust security and privacy framework across the region’s markets
- Explore the future role of the telco industry in the African Cloud ecosystem

We look forward to welcoming you to AfricaCom, 12-14 November, CTICC Cape Town, South Africa 

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COME AND SEE THE FUTURE OF DIGITAL AFRICA

Data, content & apps set to flourish in Africa

Digital Services Africa 

25-26 June 2013

Hilton Sandton, Johannesburg

Visit our website: http://comworldseries.msgfocus.com/c/1XbckzqtCPObNv87pp6XOg6

Data, content & apps set to flourish in Africa - Digital Services Africa

Digital Services Africa event has now shut its doors after two days of intense debates on the opportunities offered by digital services on the continent. Digital services (including mobile data, content, apps, mobile money, mobile marketing) are creating new business models and partnerships in an ecosystem that is no longer dominated solely by mobile operators. The relations between OTT players and telcos have evolved greatly in the last few years but there is still work to do to ensure partnerships are working and that revenues are shared equitably. Representatives of all parts of the digital ecosystem shared their views in lively debates during the event: OTT/content players (Google, Iroking, Spinlet, Bozza), social media (Mxit, 2Go), operators (Orange), devices specialists (Nokia, Anabel Mobile), solutions providers (Spice Africa, Jinny Software, Intersec), app developers and more.

"From the debates we heard at Digital Services Africa this year, it is clear that what we're seeing now is only the beginning of what will be a great market. There is still a lot of work to ensure the digital market grows for the benefit of all - including customers. We are proud to be able to provide a forum where market stakeholders can get together, exchange ideas and build partnerships" says Julie Rey from organisers Informa Telecoms & Media.

The event will return to Johannesburg in 2014, co-located with MVNOs Africa. This will provide more opportunities to discuss new partnerships and models to deliver attractive services to African users.

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See You Next Year @ The Maslow Sandton!

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Digital Services Africa 2014

24-25 June 2014

The Maslow Sandton

www.comworldseries.com/digitalafrica

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Thank you to our Sponsors of 2013!

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Digital Services Africa opened today at the Hilton Sandton Hotel in Johannesburg...

***Join us for day 2 *** Share your thoughts on #DigitalServicesAfrica @allaboutcom

The digital ecosystem is going through great changes in Africa: new players, new services, and new customer demand.

Digital Services Africa opened in Johannesburg today at the Hilton Sandton, providing a forum for players in the ecosystem to discuss how to make the most of it: what services will drive the market, how to monetise them, what partnerships will work best? 

The conference opened with a session on innovation and entrepreneurship, followed by a panel on partnerships between operators and new players. The afternoon sessions looked at mobile money services and digital music. The variety of companies represented among the speakers and in the audience provided great debates and networking opportunities: operators (Orange, MTN, and Vodacom), OTT players (Google, Iroking, Spinlet, and Mxit), financial services companies (Standard Bank, Pbell, Wizzit, and Zunguz), app companies (People Input, Rlabs), and solutions providers (Spice and Jinny Software). 

The debates today not only showed the great amount of innovation taking place in Africa’s digital market: they also gave an opportunity to discuss how the market is shaping up and how the different players are gearing up for the many opportunities it offers.

The second day will look more closely at content and apps, with a panel on social media (including speakers from Mxit, 2go and Google), one on content (with representatives of Bozza, DSTV, BBC and Umuntu), a session mobile marketing and the AppGig led by event partners Mobile Monday.

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View Day 2 of the latest agenda  
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Agenda:
http://bit.ly/10qC780  

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Tweet about your presence #DigitalServicesAfrica  
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Make sure to let everyone know your thoughts about the show on twitter using #DigitalServicesAfrica

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Hear from Day 1 Attendees... 
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“This was a very informative conference and it has given me the necessary exposure. Thanks for the opportunity.”
Abiodun Akandi, Broadband System Planning, MTN Nigeria

“Not even a million can buy this valuable information gathered at the event”
Ian Jindela, Senior reporter, Africa Business Media South Africa

“The event was well prepared and the presentations were relevant”
Amine Haddad, CEO, Actel Lebanon

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Thank you to our Sponsors of 2013!  
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Comza Africa
Intersec
Jinny Software
Spice

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Have you joined our networking community? Here's how:  
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Download Bizzabo (iPhone, Android) - http://www.bizzabo.com/download  
Search for: Digital Services Africa
Click 'Join'!  

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Join us for Day 2 @ The Hilton Sandton 
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Hilton Sandton
138 Rivonia Road
Sandton
South Africa 2196
Tel: +27-11-322-1888
Fax: +27-11-322-1818

Directions: http://bit.ly/12E193V  
  

Steven Evans, CEO of Etisalat Nigeria reveals the cornerstone of their success in Nigeria ...

Steven Evans is the CEO of Etisalat Nigeria.

The Com World Series team caught up with Steven ahead of the NigeriaCom conference and exhibition, taking place at the Lagos Oriental Hotel, Lagos, Nigeria, 17-18 September to find out a bit more about his experiences and focus at the event.

Com World Series: How is your company positioned in Nigeria and what are its future objectives?

Steven Evans: When we launched commercial operations in 2008, we had one goal in mind – to turn around the telecoms industry, exceeding every Nigerian’s expectation of what a telecom organization should be. We went ahead to develop Etisalat’ s business strategy based on four strategic elements – Innovation, Quality of Service, Customer Focus and Efficiency/Value for Money.

With these core pillars The Etisalat team operate on a daily basis with an outstanding sense of Customer Centricity – this along with Innovation (in products & services) has become the major positioning of the brand.

The Etisalat brand has also enjoyed an amazing affinity with the youth market to date and has a phenomenal percentage of its base between the ages of 18 – 24. Moving forward, we intend to continue to push this affinity with innovative products and services that speak directly to our customers.

Com World Series: What do you think are the top 3 major trends that are affecting your business in the region in 2013?

Steven Evans: The top 3 trends here can only be summarised with the phrase “Data, Data and more Data”!

As voice revenues level out, data, over well designed, well deployed, well managed 3G networks, is the next frontier for telecoms in Nigeria. Market growth in this 3G era is a major focus with over 55% (nearly 8 Million) of our subscriber base being data users.

This evolving behavior means the market, our customers need data-driven propositions, tariffs, content and Apps that provide a new and exciting communications experience. Recent launches like our very popular EasyFlex tariff, an exclusive partnership with award winning music App Spinlet and collaborations with major device manufacturers for low cost smartphones all tick our brand values of Innovation & Customer Focus ensuring improved data usage on the network.

The quality of our network, and therefore our service, is the key to unlocking the potential of our base and so we have a very aggressive focus on utilising the best possible network solutions to lead in this market.

Com World Series: How are Smartphones/tablets and cloud services impacting mobile/internet service providers in Nigeria?

Steven Evans: In comparison to markets in the West, Smartphone penetration in Nigeria is relatively low at around 15%.
Key to driving the goals mentioned above will be the right device choices for our customers. We recently launched a new, low-cost Android Smartphone with Chinese device manufacturer, Techno. This move puts more and more data-enabled devices in the hands of the Nigerian Subscriber, driving our market forward.

Com World Series: What are the remaining challenges in terms of connectivity and quality of service in the region and which technologies are most likely to resolve these issues?

Steven Evans: Power is the most disruptive issue for all mobile operators in the region. The lack of a viable, existing structure for power and fixed-line telecommunications presents a huge challenge to network expansion and improvement. Moving forward, efforts must focus on feasible solutions to extend networks and manage traffic in the absence of these basic structures. Fibre, Wi-Fi and LTE will be key to reaching the market’s full potential.

Com World Series: Who are you most looking forward to meeting/hearing from and what do you hope to achieve from taking part in NigeriaCom?

Steven Evans: The concept of the event itself, bringing together the ecosystem of the Nigerian telecommunications market is an exciting one. Well done Informa! I’d have to say I am certainly looking forward to hearing from our Minister of Communications and the Regulator on how they will continue to successfully collaborate on driving this great success story. Inevitably, contributions from my operator peers will be insightful as we increasingly team-up to face some of our shared challenges. Finally, as this ecosystem expands, I’m excited to understand how we can better serve our client base with innovative partnerships on content and mobile functionality.

Find out more at NigeriaCom. 

Steven Evans will be leading the session “Keynote Panel Hosted by Etisalat” on Day 1 at 10:00.

Register here