ENTEL: Riding the Wave of Innovative Cooperation

Release Date:2017-03-13 Reporter: Pan Xiaolin Click:

 

 

Headquartered in La Paz City in the middle of South America, ENTEL is the largest Bolivian telecommunications company, accounting for 46% of the market share with about 5 million users.
ZTE and ENTEL started cooperation in 2010 when ZTE helped ENTEL construct a UMTS HSPA+ network. From then till now, the two sides have been trying to cooperate more and more closely in all fields. In early 2016, ENTEL signed a contract with ZTE to swap over its existing BOSS system to a new one of the latest technology.
ZTE Technologies interviewed Hugo Fernández, Chairman of ENTEL, and Bernardo Paz, Secretary to the Board of Directors, with the presence of Zhou Daosheng, General Manager of ZTE Bolivia. The two sides discussed about their past, current and future cooperation.

 

What are ENTEL's competitive advantages?
Bernardo Paz:
We are the No. 1 operator in Bolivia not only in terms of the quantity of customers, but also in terms of network coverage. We are trying to not only provide network and services in cities, but also in rural areas.

 

How would you comment on cooperation between ENTEL and ZTE?
Hugo Fernández:
At the present, ENTEL and ZTE are trying to pass from a buying and selling services relationship to a broader and deeper partnership on the basis of complementary advantages. We are looking forward to a brighter future if the new contract produces the results that both parts are expecting. 
Bernardo Paz: I don't work here as a technician but I am attracted so much to advanced technology. Here in Bolivia we are cooperating on normal and common technology, but ZTE's cutting-edge technology showcased at MWC 2016 in Barcelona really feasted my eyes. I was very happy when we were at MWC talking with your clients. They have clear benefits and they told us they are satisfied with ZTE's services. And what's more impressive are the prizes ZTE has obtained. ZTE has won the Global Mobile Award for its Pre5G Massive MIMO at MWC 2016 and the TMF President's Award at 2015 TM Forum Global Summit in Nice, which is an eloquent proof of ZTE's advancement and innovation. And I believe we are heading towards mutual benefits and win-win cooperation.

 

In 2016, ENTEL awarded a contract to ZTE for its BOSS system swap project. Why did you choose ZTE as your partner in providing the BOSS solutions?
Hugo Fernández:
There were a lot of considerations. At the end of the process, the board of directors analyzed three or four major proposals. Among all the factors that we took into consideration, technology and price were of the highest priority. But we needed also a contract that will contribute to a long-term cooperative relationship between the two sides. When we were at MWC we witnessed that ZTE's innovative technologies are excellent and we have every confidence that ZTE is among the best international providers of telecommunications technology and solutions. We were convinced that ZTE is playing a significant role in this field and will provide to ENTEL the technology and solutions that we exactly need at a reasonable price. We are lucky to begin a long-term cooperation with ZTE.

 

At MWC 2016 in Barcelona, Mr. Chairman, you have showed your great interest to build a Joint Innovation Center (JIC) between ENTEL and ZTE for talent training on new technologies. What's your vision of the center and how about your plan for building it?
Hugo Fernández:
For us it is a good idea to have a training center here in La Paz for new technology transference. Bolivia is located in the middle of South America with neighbors like Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru. All of them are more developed than Bolivia in technology and training services. It will be an effective measure to build a training center here for ENTEL employees and even students in universities. Also it's important for us to train people who will be in charge of our new instruments. Without any worries about the technology, one issue I am concerned is about communication. It's important for your people involved in the project to speak our language Spanish. 
Bernardo Paz: We have discussed about the idea on the training center in Barcelona with your boss Ms. Chen Jie. I think it will be far more than the products or services that will be offered. Other companies have never before put forward to us this innovative idea to build a center for knowledge transference and sharing.
Around 15 years ago, there were the same three companies here in Bolivia. ENTEL said we would not launch GSM technology; it's not for Bolivia since it will come in 10 years. But another company in Bolivia took the lead and started to deploy GSM technology, which turned out to be better than TDM-based technology. Six months later, almost all customers in Bolivia asked for GSM technology. ENTEL had to admit that it had made a very bad choice to let go the advanced technology at that time.
Zou Daosheng: The initial idea for the center is that ZTE provides equipment and teachers, while ENTEL provides venues and organizes students for new technology training. Of course, we need ENTEL to join us to discuss new technology trend and direction in Bolivia. And I think we can have a trial based on this idea.

 

As a veteran and leader in Bolivia's telecom market, what do you think are the main challenges for operators in Bolivia right now?
Hugo Fernández:
In Bolivia the first challenge is the low mobile phone penetration and fixed-line tele-density in the country. With our vast territory it's very difficult to provide network coverage of good quality to all the people throughout the country. Currently people in big cities have access to good network services while people in rural areas have no services at all. We need to improve network coverage in rural areas.
The second challenge is more investment in telecommunications. The more developed peer markets in South America such as Argentina and Brazil are investing more in telecommunications and providing better telecommunications services to their people. We need to accept the challenge and provide better services than our neighbors. Our people deserve it.
In the third place, we need to keep pace with world's telecommunications technology development.
Bernardo Paz: The coverage is very important but it's far from enough. We need high quality coverage. The situation in Bolivia presents great complexity since sites in some remote areas are lack of electricity. So we have much more to do than in other peer countries in South America.
Zou Daosheng: Referring to the coverage challenge in rural areas as mentioned by Hugo Fernández, high-efficiency and energy-saving solutions are very important for ENTEL. As it's sparsely populated in some outlying areas with less than 50 people in a village, it's unnecessary to build a big base station there. ZTE will provide compact solutions called fast diet site (FDS), with compact tower, base station and energy. We have already deployed these compact solutions in some areas and it turned out to be effective and useful. With broad and thorough coverage across the country, I can image that people will definitely tend to choose ENTEL as their preferred carrier.

 

What is ENTEL's investment strategy to compete in the current challenging environment? How would you describe ENTEL's goals over the next few years?
Hugo Fernández:
Bolivia has a territory of one million square kilometers with sparse population in the rural areas. Then the telecommunication services tend to be very expensive in certain rural areas. As a government-owned corporation, it's a bounden duty for ENTEL to provide telecommunication services across the country. We need to be very efficient and competitive in the urban areas where cost effectiveness is assured.
Bernardo Paz: Customers are asking for better services and solutions about the technology that they are witnessing around the world, let's say, in Argentina or Brazil, instead of just around themselves. Technology goes very fast, and it's very expensive for us to respond to this kind of demand, but it is necessary.
Before nationalization, ENTEL in 2007 invested 2.39 dollars per person a year in Bolivia, and in 2015 we invested 33.27 dollars, which was apparently still not enough. We are trying to provide complete services to our customers besides the internet and telephone services.