Ooredoo: Leapfrogging Myanmar into the Future

Ooredoo is one of the world’s largest multinational telecom companies. It operates in 17 countries across the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia. ZTE TECHNOLOGIES talked to Ross Cormack, CEO of Ooredoo Myanmar at ITU World 2013. We talked about Ooredoo’s global operations, how it won a license in Myanmar, and how Myanmar is set for a telecom boom.

Q: The theme of 2013 ITU Telecom World is “Embracing Change in a Digital World.” What are the most important changes in today’s digital world? How is Ooredoo embracing these changes?

A: We’re seeing a very fast changing world. As you know, we’re thrilled that Myanmar has been through this competition process and that we have been selected as part of it. So this is a major change in our world. What I see is a huge interest in Bangkok, a very high level of engagement of senior industry people in grappling with the current issues. Clearly, technology changes all the time but consumer and corporate demands are changing faster and becoming more sophisticated. The industry is talking about how to work better with OTT players, how to look after customers in a more cost-effective way, how to connect the people on the planet who still aren’t connected to the internet. These are all big issues for this conference and exhibition. 

Q: Qatar has won the bid to host ITU Telecom World 2014, and Ooredoo was selected to organize it. What will be the focus of ITU 2014?

A: It’s hard to put a finger on what will be the challenges in 2014 except to say that there will be accelerated demand in the world for digital services and we will be engaged in even wider-reaching discussions. The telecommunications world has seen convergence with many other worlds, such as banking, media and marketing. 

Q: Ooredoo has presence in Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Algeria, Tunisia and Myanmar. What is the biggest challenge in multinational operations?

A: I am responsible for one country. Generally, you have to decide how you’re going to manage your operations. I think Ooredoo has been very smart in this respect. We have a group that keeps us in touch with the latest world demands, trends, and best practices and comes up with thinking that we don’t have time to come up with in the operations that are responsible for looking after the customers in individual countries. So we try to be the best both globally and locally. The challenges are distance and travel. Of course, we’re part of the solution because communications can help people in distant countries stay in touch simply with a webcam.

Q: Will you use the Ooredoo brand in other local markets?

A: At MWC 2013 in February, we unveiled Ooredoo as the group brand. Apart from our global company, the first company to adopt the new brand was the operation in Qatar. It became Ooredoo Qatar in just 10 days. So that was a very fast take-up. We started our life in Myanmar as Ooredoo. Algeria just changed this week. The brand launch coincided with a football match that Algeria won to take them into the World Cup. So I think everybody can see the value of Ooredoo in Algeria. It was a brilliant launch for Algeria’s rebranding. The group has promised to rebrand the nine controlled companies by the end of 2014.

Q: What was the key factor in winning a mobile network license in Myanmar?

A: Actually, 92 companies expressed interest, which is the biggest competition in our industry ever. One of the reasons was that the government promised an open, transparent process, including publishing everything we needed to know. There was an invitation to tender, draft telecommunication license, and draft regulations. We were even informed about the strategy of the country. The success factor is actually delivering what they have asked for. They challenged us to leapfrog in technology and bring services to the country to help them accelerate the resurgence of Myanmar as the jewel of Asia. As you know, over the past decade, they’ve had a very different economy. They’ve obviously not had the benefits that the rest of Asia has had. This is an opportunity to leapfrog Myanmar into the future. So what we’ve promised is the latest technology; fast rollout; and affordable, available communications. But we’ve promised not just communications; we’ve also promised applications and of course a fantastic customer experience.

Q: Why did you select ZTE as your partner to build the network in Myanmar?

A: Actually, we basically established a tender process, and ZTE absolutely satisfied all our specified needs. In fact, we challenged ZTE to do what the government challenged us to do, which is to roll out the latest technology very fast and have really credible plans to provide local employment and to create successful services. Part of that was based on ZTE’s knowledge and experience in Myanmar. You’ve already got a local employment base that understands the country, and you know how to work with Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT) and all the other telecommunications players. All of these factors played a part. But really, you promised to partner with us to achieve fantastic success in Myanmar.

Q: What do you think of ZTE as a partner? 

A: We’re just getting to know you, but we’re very pleased with what we’ve seen so far. We’ve just met ZTE CEO Shi Lirong. This is the first time you had a chance to meet with Dr. Nasser Marafih, our group CEO, and Ahmed Al Derbesti, our group COO. He brought a big team to give us the confidence that we are working together well as partners, which is great news.

Q: What makes Ooredoo Group stand out in the industry?