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Tag: telecom

  • Indonesian telecom minister slams operator inefficiency

    Indonesian telecom minister slams operator inefficiency

    Operators in Indonesia have been warned by the country’s telecoms minister that their licences could be revoked unless they consolidate or improve their build-out efforts.

    Minister Rudiantara – who follows the Indonesian tradition of using a single name – has set out the consolidation goal of no more than four operators by the end of his term in 2019. To achieve this, he has advised smaller operators to either merge with rivals or leave the market.

    Rudiantara worked at two of the largest operators in Indonesia prior to his appointment to the government. “My background is in the private sector, so I’m pragmatic. I will suggest they consolidate to have the capability to invest and retain their permits”, he said. “Each permit has requirements for the operator to invest and to build, so if they don’t build anything, I can revoke their permit.”

    There are currently seven players in the Indonesian market; at the end of Q4 15 Telkomsel took the lead with around 153.3 million connections. It is tailed by Indosat with 69 million, 3 Hutchison with 51.2 million, and XL Axiata with 40.8 million. At the lower end of the scale are Smartfren with 12.5 million connections, Bolt with 2.4 million, and Ceria with 68,688.

    Rudiantara’s frustration with the inefficient coverage in Indonesia is widespread throughout the upper echelons of government. Without identifying specific companies, the minster has hit out at operators for not delivering on promises to develop and build out infrastructure, adding that the government had already fined some firms for this transgression.

    “So far we’ve handed them fines and penalties, but my job isn’t to accumulate funds for the government,” he said. “I only need to enforce the permits and I’m prepared to do that, but I’d rather take a friendly approach and suggest they merge to keep operating.”

    Indonesia has over 300 million mobile connections. The country’s five largest operators have stated that they will begin offering 4G services over 1.8GHz spectrum following investment in the technology.

  • Netflix blocked by Indonesia’s biggest telecom

    Netflix blocked by Indonesia’s biggest telecom

    Netflix hit a snafu during its expansion today, with the biggest telecom in Indonesia, PT Telekomuniksai Indonesia Tbk, blocking access to the service. The blockage is said to be over Netflix’s lack of a content provider permit, as well as objections to some content made available through Netflix. Concerns about adult and violent shows were cited as part of the reason for the banhammer.

    Earlier this month, Netflix’s CEO Reed Hastings announced that 130 new countries would be getting access to the streaming service, something that would hugely bump the number of regions where Netflix is available (from 60 to 190). The announcement came a short while ahead of the company’s crackdown against VPN users, a business move largely criticized.

    One of those 130 news countries is Indonesia, but rolling out there won’t go as smoothly as the company may have hoped. The nation’s Censor Board had made it clear earlier this month that it objects to some content made available on Netflix; furthermore, cable operators in the nation had expressed upset about the business move, likely due to the competition Netflix would pose.

    Telkom’s Netflix block is a big one, as the telecom controls both ISPs Wi-Fi.id and IndiHome, covering a large number of Internet users in Indonesia. Telekom also happens to be the company behind a local VOD service called UseeTV.

    Telekom’s VP Arif Prabowo said in a statement today, “Netflix’s content should adjust to regulations in Indonesia,” claiming the block is for the good of the people. It isn’t clear how Netflix will proceed, though it has said it will comply with whatever laws in the region it must.

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  • Telstra retail boss resigns after short stint in the job

    Telstra retail boss resigns after short stint in the job

    Telstra head of retail Karsten Wildberger has resigned after less than two months in the job.

    Wildberger is leaving the telco for ‘personal reasons’ and will return to Germany around the middle of next year to take up an executive role outside the telecommunications industry.

    Wildberger was appointed to the retail role when Telstra undertook a management reshuffle after of the resignation of Gordon Ballantyne. Wildberger, who had been an executive in Telstra’s consumer division since 2013, replaced Ballantyne as retail group executive.

    Telstra CEO Andy Penn announced Wildberger’s resignation this morning, saying he was sorry that Dr Wildberger would be leaving Telstra, “as he was a very capable telecommunications executive who had contributed to Telstra’s progress”.

    “Karsten is a great executive.  We will be disappointed to see him go but understand his personal reasons.  Karsten brings great energy and passion to our business and has significant global experience.”

    Penn said a successor to Wildberger will be announced in the near future.

    Wildberger is a former partner and managing director with The Boston Consulting Group and held Executive Vice President roles in Finance, Sales and Marketing for Deutsche Telekom in the UK and Germany. He also worked with Vodafone as an executive and interim CEO in Romania and is a Director of the Telstra Foundation and Telstra Ventures.

    The Telstra Retail business includes consumer and business divisions, product and digital business units with broader enterprise-wide responsibilities and a strong focus on customer advocacy.  The division is responsible for a significant portion of the Telstra’s revenue and profit.

    In a brief statement, Wildberger said “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Telstra and in Australia and am excited by the company’s prospects.

    “I was privileged to be selected by Andy Penn to lead the retail team.  I am grateful to this incredible company, its people and its customers for three years of achievement and inspiration.”

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  • Axiata’s Indonesia unit plans RM1.4bil sukuk programme

    Axiata’s Indonesia unit plans RM1.4bil sukuk programme

    Axiata Group Bhd’s Indonesian unit, PT XL Axiata Tbk, plans to establish a five trillion rupiah (RM1.4bil) sukuk programme to optimise its balance sheet and improve its capital efficiency.

    In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Axiata said the sukuk programme would be established under a two-year shelf registration programme.

    The first tranche or Shelf Sukuk Ijarah I XL Axiata Tranche I Year 2015 will see the issuance of up to 1.5 trillion rupiah based on the syariah principle of Ijarah, with the payment of Ujrah to be made quarterly in arrears.

    The Tranche I sukuk will have four series, with Series A having a maturity of 370 calendar days, Series B (three years), Series C (five years) and Series D (seven years).

    The net proceeds from Tranche I sukuk are to be utilised for working capital purposes to support PT XL Axiata’s business activity in terms of 2G radio frequency fee payment to the Government for the period of December 2015 to  December 2016.

    The Tranche I sukuk has been assigned a rating of AAA(idn) by PT Fitch Ratings Indonesia.

    A major cellular provider in Indonesia, PT XL Axiata is 66.43% owned by Axiata through Axiata Investments (Indonesia) Sdn Bhd, and currently serves 62.9 million subscribers.

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  • Everything you need to know about Indonesian telecoms and ecommerce

    Everything you need to know about Indonesian telecoms and ecommerce

    Macquarie Indonesia, the local branch of the global investment banking and financial services giant, held an invite-only conference for high-profile professionals in the telecoms and ecommerce spaces. No other press were allowed inside the venue at the Ritz Carlton, and the list of speakers included some interesting names, including Indonesia’s tech minister Rudiantara, CEOs from the top three telcos, and a slew of investors, VCs, and startup founders, among others.

    The speakers shared the industry’s latest data and insights about the future of the telco business in Indonesia, as well as the most up-to-date information about the archipelago’s internet users and online shoppers. Based on their findings, here are some insights to keep in mind going forward (Hat tip to Macquarie for providing a post-conference overview).

    A digital explosion is on the horizon in Indonesia

    Mobile data traffic has been growing at around 100 percent year-on-year in recent years, according to the telcos, and looks set to continue in the medium term as we reach an inflection point in the quantity of online content.

    This is helped by rising smartphone adoption in Indonesia, young demographics, and a growing middle income populace. Indonesia’s affinity for social media (it is number four in terms of Facebook usage) is well-acknowledged. However, what is less well-known is the development boom for localized content that helps accelerate web traffic in Indonesia.

    line-vietnam-telcos

    The government looks to give more support

    The Indonesian government claims to be highly supportive in developing the ecommerce industry. It plans to announce an “ecommerce roadmap” this year, which will involve input from nine government ministries. From a telecoms perspective, the government highlights the importance of “industry efficiency,” which in part means allowing mergers and acquisitions to run more smoothly in Indonesia. This, in turn, should improve the sustainability of Indonesia’s ecommerce industry and promote further investment.

    In addition, the tech minister wants to raise US$1 billion for local tech startups to be controlled by a non-state-owned or privately-owned venture capital firm. “I’ve approached the top 20 conglomerates in Indonesia about this issue,” explains minister Rudiantara. “We must have a roadmap for this three to six months from now and the conglomerates would be the ones to choose the VC.”

    The tech minister corrects the media

    Regarding recent media coverage about an imminent rule for locally made 4G smartphones, the minister claims he never said that 40 percent of the 4G mobile handset components will need to be produced locally. According to him, the government has not yet mandated a fixed percentage for the regulation, although Rudiantara says he has been in talks with several local mobile manufacturers regarding their production capacities. He says:

    The decree will go into effect later this year. We welcome input from all stakeholders at this time. Importing these products contributes to our trade deficit. This is a macroeconomic issue that I must address.

    Rudiantara

    The digital ecosystem is still in its early days, but that’s changing quickly

    A clear theme to emerge from the conference was the number of bottlenecks preventing Indonesian ecommerce from rapid acceleration. The key challenges currently include online payments (with credit card penetration still around three percent), weak logistics and infrastructure, shallow human capital, and regulatory uncertainty.

    According to Macquarie, telecom operators and banks are leading the charge in growing the ecosystem by allocating resources. However, the firm asserts that the demand for ecommerce will outpace supply over the next 12 months in Indonesia.

    Eruption of online traffic

    Data now accounts for 25 percent of revenues for the local telecom industry. With online traffic accelerating as demand expands beyond social media and into online retailing, we can see an upside to data-led revenues, especially if operators can execute on content strategies centered around mobile advertising, ecommerce, and mobile money.

    XL Axiata and Indosat appear more advanced in their digital sevices strategy, while Telkomsel will continue to benefit from its competitors’ early findings.

    Indonesia is definitely seeing an ecommerce surge

    Online retail has seen exponential growth the last 12 months with Lazada Indonesia, Tokopedia, BukaLapak, and Zalora currently leading the way in the archipelago.

    Lippo Group’s recent US$500 million investment in MatahariMall potentially places the firm in an advantageous position in the medium-term to capture market share in online retailing. It’s supported largely by Lippo’s strong nationwide footprint and competitive advantage stemming from a sophisticated local supply chain.

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  • MobiFone Vietnam moves into retail

    MobiFone Vietnam moves into retail

    Vietnam telco MobiFone says it will focus on expanding its retail presence in the coming year as it competes for market share.

    MobiFone Vietnam is one of three key mobile phone networks fiercely competing for a share of the nation’s burgeoning telecommunications business.

    In recent years rivals Viettel and VinaPhone have all stepped up their retail presence, but MobiFone has less profile at storefront level.

    Speaking at a shareholders meeting last week, MobiFone Vietnam general director Cao Duy Hai said the company will focus on its businesses in telecom, television, retail and multimedia in the 2015-20 period.

    He said the company planned “a large distribution channel” to increase MobiFone’s market share. Local commentators suggest this may include partnerships with mobile phone brands such as Samsung, Apple, Oppo and Huawei, all strong players in Vietnam.

    Viettel has stores in many cities and provinces throughout the country and VinaPhone has co-operated with Apple, among others, to distribute its products. But MobiFone tends to rely on trade through independent stores who can connect customers to any of the networks.

    MobiFone is 100 per cent Government owned and also has businesses in construction, minerals, broadcasting and multimedia.

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  • Indonesia’s Telkomsel collaborates with Trikomsel for handset bundling deals

    Indonesia’s Telkomsel collaborates with Trikomsel for handset bundling deals

    The largest mobile operator in Indonesia, PT Telekomunikasi Selular (Telkomsel), unit of state-run telecom operator PT Telkom Indonesia Tbk (TLKM), has joined hands with gadget store operator PT Trikomsel Oke Tbk (TRIO) to launch a device bundling program to drive the growth in smartphone users, the company said in a statement.

    The device bundling program includes, Lenovo Vibe X2, Xiaomi Redmi 2 and Xiaomi Mi 4i with cash back and data package promotion. In addition. Telkomsel also launched device bundling program for BlackBerry Classic, Samsung Galaxy S6 edge and LG G4 to attract high value customers.

    Since December 2014, Telkomsel has successfully rolled-out 4G LTE services to support the data services in Jakarta, Bali, Bandung, Surabaya and Medan using the 900Mhz spectrum. The operators are in the midst of rearranging their 1800Mhz spectrum and expected to be completed by the end of the year.

    To signify the completion of spectrum rearrangement in areas outside Java, Telkomsel launched 4G LTE services using 1800Mhz spectrum in Makassar and Lombok in July 2015. To date, the operator has more than 1,000 4G LTE BTS serving the seven key cities.

    In the first half of 2015, Telkom as a group has spent Rp11.9 trillion ($888.06 million) in capital expenditure (capex), of which Rp5.8 trillion was for Telkomsel and the remaining Rp6.1 trillion was for Telkom and other subsidiaries.

    Telkom’s capex was mainly utilised for deploying access and backbone infrastructure to support the broadband services, while Telkomsel’s capex was mainly utilized for radio access network. Other subsidiaries’ capex was utilised for towera, property, data center, and project international cable systems.

    In first half of the year, Telkomsel reported that net profit rose 14.7 per cent from previous year (Rp8.81 trillion to Rp10.11 trillion). While the company revenues rose 13 per cent from Rp31.33 trillion to Rp35.40 trillion in first semester of 2015.

    Revenue from prepaid customers accounted for 84.9 per cent with Rp30.04 trillion of Telkomsel’s total revenue mainly driven by prepaid subscriber base, high increase in data usage and data revenue as well as continued growth in voice and SMS revenues.

    Postpaid revenue increased by 13.5 per cent to Rp2.78 trillion mainly driven by the increase in the postpaid customer base which grew by 16.6 per cent to 3 million subscribers. Revenue from postpaid customers contributed 7.9 per cent to the total revenue.

    Telkomsel continued aggressive network deployment with 11,495 new BTS installed in an effort to maintain leading network supply to strengthen mobile broadband experience. Around 90 per cent of new BTSs were 3G/4G BTS.

  • NTT Communications to Launch Prepaid SIM Vending Machines for Tourists and Business

    NTT Communications to Launch Prepaid SIM Vending Machines for Tourists and Business

    NTT Communications Corporation (NTT Com), the ICT solutions and international communications business within the NTT Group, announced today that it will begin operating prepaid SIM card vending machines for foreign visitors to Japan at Narita International Airport from July 24.

    The prepaid SIM vending machines, the first to be installed at Narita International Airport, will give foreign tourists and business travelers access to low-cost mobile data communications while in Japan.

    One machine each will be installed in the international arrival lobbies of Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. In addition to NTT Com’s Prepaid SIM for JAPAN for short-term use, the machines will offer smartphones, mobile routers, accessories and more.

    Touch panel screens in English or Chinese guide the user through the purchase procedure. Payment is via credit card, so there is no need to prepare Japanese yen cash. After making their purchase, the user can register their name, birthday, etc. via either the machine’s touch panel or passport scanner to begin accessing the Internet immediately.

    NTT Com already operates SIM card vending machines at the AQUA CITY ODAIBA mall in Tokyo and Kansai International Airport near Osaka. NTT Com’s Prepaid SIM cards are also sold at airports, electronics stores and travel agencies.

    Given that a record 13 million tourists visited Japan in 2014 and more are expected this year, NTT Com expects to continue adding retail outlets for its Prepaid SIM, mainly at airports, electronics retail stores and travel agents. NTT Com also will gradually expand its range of optional services to support mobile communication experiences for foreign visitors.

    Products & Costs           Prepaid SIM for JAPAN (7-day plan)
    Prepaid SIM for JAPAN (14-day plan)
    Accepted Credit Cards     VISA, MasterCard, JCB, American Express and Diners Club
    (Payment is available via credit card only.)
    Operating Time           24 hours every day

    Note: Information as of July 17, 2015. Products and prices are subject to change without notice.
    Prepaid SIM for JAPAN prices may vary by retail location.

    Prepaid SIM for JAPAN
    Package                            Prepaid SIM for JAPAN          Prepaid SIM for JAPAN
    7 days                                   14 days

    Plan                                                     7-day plan                         14-day plan
    Max. data                                         100 Mb/day                   100 Mb/day
    Charges                           JPY 3,450 (excluding tax)            JPY 4,950 (excluding tax)

    Max. speed                                Download:150 Mbps; Upload 50Mbps

    Max. speed after
    100 Mb/day                                                       200 Kbps (until midnight of that day)
    Service extension                                        Neither plan can be extended
    SIM card sizes                                            Regular, Micro and Nano
    Service area                                                   Japan (nationwide)

    During the purchase procedures, instructions are provided on how users many apply for the no-charge Japan Connected-free Wi-Fi service provided by NTT Broadband Platform Inc. at some 130,000 locations, including airports, train stations, commercial facilities, convenience stores and more. (www.ntt-bp.net/jcfw/en.html).

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  • Indonesian telco giant XL Axiata appoints Mindshare for $18m media duties

    Indonesian telco giant XL Axiata appoints Mindshare for $18m media duties

    Indonesia’s second largest mobile telecommunications firm, XL Axiata, has concluded a multi-agency pitch that sees its media account change hands.

    Mindshare takes on the planning and buying business from Havas Media after three rounds of pitching against the country’s top agencies. Starcom MediaVest Group, Maxus, Zenith Optimedia and the incumbent were among those involved in the pitch, Mumbrella understands.

    The account is estimated to be worth around US$15-18 million, according to agency sources.

    A creative review of the business earlier in the year, which covered both of XL Axiata’s brands – XL and Axis – saw Lowe emerge the winner of a pitch involving Dentsu, Coleman, Saatchi & Saatchi and Bates Chi & Partners. Y&R was the incumbent.

    Digital marketing duties were awarded to STW Group-owned Xion, taking on the business from Mirum Jakarta, in March.

    The companies agencies will be working on briefs to differentiate XL and Axis, and reposition XL as a leading player in data.

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  • Indosat launches i-Aplikazone app store

    Indosat launches i-Aplikazone app store

    Indonesian mobile operator Indosat has joined the expanding operator crowd in trying to tap into the growing app economy by developing its own app store.

    With the launch of i-Aplikazone on Wednesday, the company said it expects to increase revenue from data users, the Jakarta Post reported. Indosat president director Alexander Rusli set the ambitious target of having all smartphone customers download the app, a move it hopes will attract more data users.

    The app store has about 10,000 applications, of which more than 1,000 are in Indonesian, thePost said.

    Indosat, which is 65 per cent owned by Ooredoo, is now the country’s second largest mobile player after recently edging out rival XL – Indosat has a 19.5 per cent market share vs XL’s 18.5 per cent, according to GSMA Intelligence.

    Almost a third of Indosat’s 63 million subscribers are smartphone users.

    Earlier in the year it said it expects data traffic to jump at least 50 per cent after completing a two-year network upgrade. The operator has devoted the majority of its annual capex budget of IDR8 trillion ($625 million) to the network modernisation programme, which focused on 23 of the country’s largest cities.

    Number two player XL introduced its app store — Gudang Aplikasi – a year ago and said it has 2.3 million registered users in Q1. It has an estimated 22,000 apps.

    XL’s data revenue increased 29 per cent year-on-year in Q1 and now accounts for almost a third of service revenue. Smartphone adoption increased 54 per cent to 17.2 million users, giving it a smartphone penetration rate of 33 per cent.

    State-owned Telkomsel, the market leader with a 44 per cent market share, set up TemanDev in August 2013 to encourage local developers to create apps. It offers open APIs and organises local competitions, such as BestAppsID.

    South Korea
    Two months ago South Korea’s three leading mobile operators met with mobile app developers to discuss setting up a joint app store called the One Store, which is scheduled to open in May. The three currently have their own app stores – Olleh Market (KT), T-Store (SK Telecom) and U+Store (LG Uplus).

    Operator initiatives to create their own app stores and app-developer communities have not had much success.

    Analysys Mason identified 30 operator-run application stores in Asia, the Middle East and Africa at the end of 2012 and only a handful of those had been successful.

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  • Huawei plans 40,000 new stores in two years

    Huawei plans 40,000 new stores in two years

    Chinese phone maker Huawei plans to more than double its global store network from 30,000 to 70,000 by 2017.

    Huawei sees building its retail network is the key to selling more mid-range and high-end smartphones, taking on Apple and Samsung headon.

    More than half its current retail outlets are in China, which means the brand so far has only a modest presence and brand awareness internationally.

    By definition, Huawei’s stores will range from stand alone outlets to concessions and “display zones” where its phones were demonstrated for sale.

    Glory Zhang, chief marketing officer for Huawei’s consumer business group, says the company plans to launch more ‘high-end’ smartphones in international markets by the end of this year.

    Huawei is in the midst of a rapid growth phase. In 2013 it shipped 52 million smartphones, a figure dwarfed last year by 75 million, which made it the world’s third largest phone manufacturer. It is on track to ship well over 100,000 handsets in 2015.

    Within its own product range, high end units comprised just five per cent of its sales last year, but in the first quarter of 2015, they accounted for 34 per cent of sales.

    Its newest showcase model is the P8, with a sleek metal body, (pictured above).

    Besides its retail network ambitions, Huawei has also revealed it plans to create a global service center network with urban customers no more than five kilometres from a repair shop.

    Zhang is confident about the brand’s international ambitions.

    “We’ve done this for a long time. We feel deeply that it’s easy to make a phone, but hard to make a good one.”

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  • Over half of mobile phones now smartphones in Japan, says survey

    Over half of mobile phones now smartphones in Japan, says survey

    Smartphone users now account for over half of Japan’s mobile telephone subscribers, a survey of 2,000 adults said on Saturday.

    The Dec. 5 to 8 survey, which drew valid responses from 63.7 percent of the pollees, found the ratio had risen to 52.7 percent from 43.7 percent a year ago.

    Usage was quite high among young people, with 93.4 percent of subscribers in their 20s and 85.7 percent in their 30s using smartphones, the survey said.

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  • China Mobile eyes 250 million 4G customers next year

    China Mobile eyes 250 million 4G customers next year

    China Mobile, China’s largest telecommunication service provider, has forecast that it will have 250 million 4G customers in 2015.

    The company has experienced robust 4G business growth in 2014 and had more 50 million 4G users as of the end of October, China Mobile chief executive officer Li Yue said on Friday.

    China’s 4G is powered by the homegrown technology, Time-Division Long-Term Evolution (TD-LTE), one of the two major international standards in the mobile telecom industry, the other being Frequency Division Duplex.

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  • Operators call for lower e-commerce taxes in Thailand

    Operators call for lower e-commerce taxes in Thailand

    Thai e-commerce operators are urging the government to impose lower rates of taxation in order to encourage them to enter the revenue system and pay proper taxes.

    Offering lower rates to small and medium-sized enterprises could also encourage them to go online and promote the development of the digital economy, says Somwang Luangphaiboonsri, secretary of the Thai e-Commerce Association.

    E-commerce in Thailand is burgeoning and the government’s policy to move towards a digital economy is expected to paint a rosy picture for the sector, he said.

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