Shah Alam: DiGi.Com Bhd, the country's third largest mobile operator, will embark on a transformation journey vital for its survival in the ultra-competitive industry over the next 12 to 18 months.
The transformation agenda started last year when Henrik Clausen, DiGi's latest chief executive officer, joined the company. It will cover three areas - network, information technology (IT) system and distribution. "Without the transformation, we would lose out and die. So, in order to drive growth, we need to transform a good company into an even stronger company," Clausen said in an interview with Business Times last week. Trends are indicating that there will be more mobile phone users consuming data going forward, as more smart phones flood the market as well as the decrease in smart phone prices. To prepare itself for the trend, DiGi feels the need to swap and upgrade its entire network and equipment. The swapping process is expected to be completed by end of this year. "When you look at transformation, one of the things you need to focus on is to have an intelligent network. So, we have signed a vendor (China's ZTE) to complete the swap. All these will be 4G ready, everything will be one rack. So, when 4G is ready, it is just going to be a software upgrade," Clausen said. The next area of transformation would involve upgrading its IT system such as the billing system. "This is to enable us to respond faster to the market, and to support our business model," he added. The last area it plans to transform is its distribution, said Clausen. "We have strong distribution and dealers and we see some opportunities for expanding that model, in areas where its underserved such as the East Coast and other geographical areas. "On top of that, we need to get retail right, and we also see online distribution becoming more and more part of the game," he said. Clausen added that the biggest change the industry will experience over the near to medium term is not so much about the declining trend in voice services, the growing demand for mobile data, new services and contents. Instead, it is about how services will be delivered. "No one is going to stop talking. So, to some extend, voice is the history, present and the future. I think it is more about how that voice experience is going to be supported by the operators. "Today, a customer's need is quite effectively provided by having a voice platform and data platform. That's how the network has been built. But, if you look at the 4G networks, over time, there will be integrated networks where voice will be data. "So, at some point in time, that convergence will happen. People will still talk, but the voice experience will be delivered on a data-type platform," he said.
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