Digitel: The Leader in Mobile Data in Venezuela

Digitel is an innovative Venezuelan telecom operator that offers mobile and fixed telephony and high-speed mobile internet services with national coverage. In 2012, Digitel was awarded 30 MHz of extra spectrum in the 1800 MHz and 1900 MHz bands and in 2013, became the first operator to launch 4G LTE services in Venezuela. Digitel has cooperated with ZTE to deploy an LTE network. Recently, ZTE Technologies interviewed Gonzalo Fernandez, vice president of Digitel, who talked about the characteristics of Venezuela’s telecom market, the experience of building an LTE network, the partnership with ZTE, and Digitel’s development strategy for the next five years.

Q: Could you introduce Digitel?

A: Digitel is the most innovative company in Venezuela’s telecommunications market. We offer mobile and fixed telephony and high-speed mobile internet services with national coverage. We have also pioneered some advanced communications solutions. Digitel was the first operator to launch 4G LTE in Venezuela.

Q: What are the characteristics of the Venezuelan telecom market?

A: The Venezuelan telecom market is characterized by over 100% mobile penetration and very strong market segmentation between the three leading operators. In Venezuela, there has been great take-up of both voice and data communications, and this has generated ARPU that makes the Venezuelan market one of the most profitable in Latin America. This is a great advantage for us. Our strategies are focused on providing users with the best quality service and attention.

Q: Competition in the telecom market is very tight. What makes Digitel stand out in the industry?

A: Digitel has pioneered technology that sets a worldwide standard and has launched services that accompany these technological innovations. The latest technology is 4G LTE. Venezuela is among the few countries in Latin America to offer this technology, and Digitel is the emerging force in mobile data in Venezuela.

Q: Digitel was the first operator to deploy LTE in Venezuela. How has Digitel overcome the difficulties of deploying LTE?

A: Digitel’s LTE deployment plan has been success. A record 800 LTE stations were deployed across the country. The current difficulties lie in the availability of terminals that enable people to fully appreciate 4G. We are currently in discussions with our suppliers and other state-owned telecom companies to supply the market with such terminals.

Q: Could you share some of your experiences of building the LTE network?

A: In the telecommunications industry, operators and manufacturers are writing history. In Venezuela, we have innovated with the deployment of each new technology and have learned from past mistakes so that we improve each new implementation. 4G LTE was no exception. We have learned with our customers to build a network tailored to their needs. Each new cell is a new challenge and commitment to provide stable communications. For us, 4G was special because we not only had to do feasibility studies but also market studies to tell us more about certain areas and how to maximize the use of this network. We have attracted more than 80,000 customers, and the user base continues to grow one year after the network was commercially launched.

Q: What is Digitel’s five-year strategy?

A: We will continue our expansion. Looking at the mobile phone market, growth prospects are limited, but Digitel is projected to become the leader in data communications and can provide the best prices in the market. These competitive advantages are our spearhead for further growth in Venezuela. In the next five years, we will continue to be on par with the rest of the world in terms of technology deployment. Over the past five years, we have deployed 3G and 4G LTE, and we are confident that we will make further progress in the next five years.

Q: What are the future trends in the Venezuelan telecom market?

A: We are committed to the use of social networks and collaborative applications of visual tools. The market requires us to increase capacity, and our commitment is to maintain the quality of services to our more than 6.5 million customers. Our goal is to be one step ahead of trends and enable our customers to define how they want to communicate.

Q: How do you think the partnership between Digitel and ZTE will evolve?

A: We are confident that we will continue working with ZTE to strengthen our network in areas ZTE has already helped us. ZTE is the first partner we trust to modernize the entire technological infrastructure in the east of Venezuela, one of the best-performing areas. We believe we can further develop these implementations with the help of ZTE.

Q: What impressed you most in Mobile Asia Expo 2014?