Telenor: We came to compete and grow

Telenor: We came to compete and grow

B92: What’s the latest on the process of Mobi63 integration into Telenor?

Vellan: The name is not the only thing we have changed; there are many other things besides. As far as integration and planned new capacities go, we have already achieved our goals, so the company we have taken over is on the right track to becoming a true Telenor company.

Since we plan to grow, we are currently recruiting personnel, especially in the sales and marketing sector. We will employ approximately a hundred new workers, and have already employed 25. Besides, we are working on improving the quality of the network. That means greater capacity, for our current and future subscribers.

B92: New services?

Vellan: Yes, when we offer the consumers new services, the network’s usage will intensify. I haven’t been satisfied with the state of the existing network, which saw no investments during the past couple of years. On the other hand, I am satisfied that the technicians have managed to keep the network operational, but now we want higher quality and therefore we have invested 15 million euros to increase the capacity.

B92: What kind of new services do you plan to offer?

Vellan: We are still studying the market. Once we’ve finished that, we will take the best services and solutions our Group has to offer and implement them here.

B92: When is this likely to happen? Subscribers are getting a little impatient…

Vellan: We will offer new services to the public within the next few weeks. B92: When Telenor came to Serbia, many were thrilled and said, “here’s competition to the state-owned Telekom, the prices will go down”. Were such expectations justified?

Vellan: There is something I have learned during my two months in Serbia. This is a competitive market with fair prices.

We have studied general mobile telephony prices and compared them to other markets in Europe. Believe it or not, we concluded the mobile services tariffs in Serbia are perhaps the cheapest in Europe. Finland gets close to that.

B92: Mobile telephony prices in this country are lower than in Norway?

Vellan: Norwegians pay considerably higher prices. But don’t worry, we’re not about to introduce Norwegian prices to this market. On the contrary, we will try to be even more competitive in that area as well.

B92: Will the roaming prices with some of the countries Telenor is present in drop? This is interesting not only to Serbians, but also to Hungarians and Montenegrins.

Vellan: Both Montenegrin Promonte and Hungarian Panon are a part of the Telenor Group. There’s an old adage that says it is hardest to do business with those closest to you. We are now in the middle of difficult negotiations with them and we hope to be able to arrange a more favorable roaming service of higher quality by the end of this month. 

B92: Will you offer act as internet service provider?

Vellan: Yes, this should definitely be a part of our services on offer. But this is where regulatory framework comes into play. B92: This leads us to the question of your competition in the area of mobile telephony, a company with monopoly over fixed telephony and internet service providing.

Vellan: There are other ways to access the internet, not only via Telekom. This can be achieved via television transmitters or companies that distribute electrical power. Various industries can offer telecommunications services.

B92: Does that mean you expect this monopoly to disintegrate naturally, i.e., to be made obsolete by technology itself?

Vellan: Yes.

B92: Let’s go back to your services. What’s the latest on the announced 3G technology?

Vellan: That is the one question I keep getting asked here. My answer is, what do you want to do with 3G?

B92: Fast internet access, at home and at work…

Vellan: Well, what do you want the third generation mobile technology for when there’s the fourth generation, much faster than the third? My associates are currently studying the services this market demands and we will go for the best and most up-to-date solutions. Some people wish to improve their communication with friends or family, others care more about business. As I said, once we’ve established that, we will decide on which services to offer. We may introduce the latest technology, the fourth generation network. B92: In Norway, beside the packages offering gratis conversations within the same family, you have well developed e-banking. For us, even 3G is fairly out of reach, even though both mobile operators announced its introduction at some point.

Vellan: The same thing can be introduced here in Serbia. We will offer various services, from family packages, to various others. E-banking is also an option, but to do that we will have to study the Serbian banking system carefully. Banks know the risks access to people’s accounts via mobile phones entails.

B92: Do you plan for a new internet portal?

Vellan: No, we already have our web site. Don’t worry, we won’t go into television, radio, and internet business, like your organization does… seriously though, we are currently preoccupied with our basic activity, namely that of mobile telephony.

B92: When you explained the reasons for Mobi63 acquisition to your shareholders, your projections included doing business in a two-operator market. However, Austrian Mobilkom will now enter the Serbian market as the third operator. Does that spoil any of you plans?

Vellan: Not at all. We are prepared for the competition. I also hope the old player in the market is and will be aware of the goings-on in the market. Look at our company doing business in Hungary, which also has three operators. The third license doesn’t worry me.

B92: When you bought Mobi63, your credit rating dropped slightly, when do you expect to get that back on track?

Vellan: I can’t comment on our credit rating, that is a question for the headquarters. Still, I can say we are already making profit in Serbia. I think entering this market was a good decision, our business is already positive.