You are CEO of Orange Romania, can you tell us about your company, its history, its offer and the key figures of your activities?
Orange has been on the Romanian market for over 20 years, and through its more than 10 million customers, is connecting 1 in 2 Romanians. In this time, we’ve seen dramatic changes in an industry that accounts for 2% of GDP, as well as in the society in general. Most often than not, we’ve led the change and have been an innovator on the local market as well as at group level. It’s something we’re really proud of and that wouldn’t have been possible without a great team and, of course, the reputation that our specialists have earned throughout this time.
Thanks to this important asset, our employees, we managed to bring new technologies to the market, year after year. Our main mission is to decrease the digital divide in Romania, and so far we’ve done this by bringing mobile connectivity, including broadband, to as many Romanians as possible. At the moment, Orange Romania operates the widest 4G network in the country.
Moreover, we currently have over 160 cities where people can access 4G+ speeds of up to 500 Mbps and have tested, during last spring and summer, 5G fixed-wireless access technology with customers from Florești, Cluj-Napoca County. This was the first 5G test of this kind run in Europe. Additionally, we have recently launched the LTE-M network in over 3000 localities in order to help our business partners integrate IoT technologies into their operations.
Having said this, the Romanian market is very competitive and fast paced, and Romanians, as a nation, are very eager to try out new technologies and are very particular about the quality of service that they expect. Orange has been the telecom mobile leader for over 14 years and this is a direct consequence of the importance we place on the quality of our products and services and of the way we interact with our clients. On this point, it is worth mentioning that this year Orange has received recognition for best performance on the local market for both its fixed and mobile networks from the local regulator authority – ANCOM, from independent auditors – Systemics PAB, and from our customers by running tests on the Speedtest platform by Ookla.
More importantly still, our customers’ trust is our most prized asset, one for which we work constantly by listening to and speaking with the people using our services in order to connect them to what truly matters to them.
What our customers want is seamless connectivity, whether they are at home or on the go. Thus, in 2016, Orange Romania has reinvented itself into a convergent, integrated operator that provides the whole spectrum of telecommunication services. This move has been well received, so that this year we have continued to grow at an accelerated rate. The benefits of convergence are evident: one point of contact, one invoice, added value for a set of high quality services. It’s so much simpler for clients to satisfy all their connectivity needs from Orange. More importantly, besides this basic need for connectivity, our focus is on bringing an excellent customer experience across all channels.
When we say “convergence”, we think not only about connectivity, but about a wider spectrum of services. Financial services is one domain where people are looking for innovation and for simplicity coupled with fast and secure ways to manage their money. Thus, since 2016, customers can manage their finances with us thanks to Orange Money. We are constantly updating and growing this part of our business. In November, Orange Money signed a partnership with Visa for physical and virtual debit cards, NFC smartphone and smart watch payments.
The growth of Orange Romania is undoubtedly the most important of the sector, how do you explain such a success?
Orange Romania had a turnover of 1.07 billion euros in 2017 and of 832.6 million over the first three quarters of 2018, up 5.8% over the same period from last year. Growth was mainly driven by the positive evolution of fixed-mobile services and mobile data consumption. All this was supported by heavy network investments. Orange is one of the main investors in the country, with over 3.2 billion euros invested over the past 21 years, which sustainably created infrastructure, as well as jobs, this way significantly contributing to the economic development.
Our success in Romania is also thanks to the technology & IT expertise of the well-trained people who live and work here. Our top engineers’ contribution is also reflected in the achievements Romania is renowned for, our country topping charts within Europe and even worldwide for internet speeds and the quality of connectivity.
The digital innovations and new technologies will continue to drive the development of the sector, and this will be partly accomplished through the support given to tech start-ups and R&D projects. We can already see this in the innovation ecosystem created around Alba Iulia smart city, deployed by Orange. Therefore, connectivity, innovation and infrastructure are key. Since the digital economy is relying on our digital infrastructure, investment in this core element of the country’s infrastructure is strategic. Fast and reliable, the network allows you to do more, play more, trade more. The connected SIM or object is not only enabling work, info or fun applications, but also industry-changing services like real-time monitoring, security solutions, instant mobile banking transactions or connected cities. This brings a long term benefit for the customer and to the country by securing an environment favorable to investments, a climate which stimulates value creation and stability.
It is important to stress out the fact that the telecommunication industry needs a balanced and investments-favorable regulatory framework, as well as the authorities’ support in order for this to be accomplished.
You launched the “Orange Fab” program more than a year ago, what are the key areas? What are the sectors with the highest potential and what are your initial findings?
We value innovation and strongly believe in co-creation. Over the years, Orange Romania has been involved in pre-accelerator programs and has worked directly with start-up for various projects. This led us to the conclusion that we needed an accelerator program for tech start-ups, with business objectives that would best suit Orange, our clients and, of course, the start-ups themselves.
Thus Orange Fab was born – a one year accelerator for start-ups with a focus on 4 tracks. The Smart Territories one covers areas such as smart city, agritech, energy and retail. The Future of Life track tackles artificial intelligence, biotech, digital life, health and smart mobility; whereas Networks of the Future seeks for products that will fundamentally change the communication networks and help create the ultimate smart network. The Security track focuses on security innovations, be it in the digital or the physical world.
In the first year of the program, in 2017, we’ve had 6 start-ups joining the program.
This September, we’ve had a second wave of start-ups that joined the program. The start-ups from the first year edition continue to work with Orange on various projects, R&D or for B2B segment services. Once the first year of the program is finalized, the collaboration between Orange and the participant companies moves to a new level. Until now, the efforts have gone into developing and testing pilot projects. Orange Romania has invested 500.000 EUR in the program supporting startups, investing in moving new products towards production, developing new functionalities and even directly acquiring equipment and products developed by startups. At the next stage, our focus moves to sales efforts and on accelerating the speed of the projects’ development.
For example, through BOX2M, one of the first start-ups to join the program, Orange tested the LTE-M network capabilities in the cities of Alba Iulia and Constanta. The two projects are addressed to the utility networks (lighting, water, gas, energy) as well as to the industrial and retail sectors.
Also, we’ve integrated in our cyber security solution, Business Internet Security, a security penetration test tool developed by Orange Fab start-up, Pentest-Tools, that is used by visitors of the platform for testing their websites for vulnerabilities. Now Orange is working on developing a new functionality for the platform with Dekeneas, a 2018 Orange Fab start-up, for identifying zero day threats.
On the eve of a very busy 2018-2019 season, especially given the European elections under the Romanian Presidency, what message do you wish to convey to your teams and your current and future customers?
We have a long term commitment concerning our presence in Romania. Orange will do its best to continue investments and to further help the country on its journey to digitalization. The telecommunications infrastructure poses a great potential for the development of all other industries, from energy to services, thanks to their countrywide span and speeds that place Romania among the top 5 countries with the best Internet connections in the world.
I am proud of these results and of the teams that make this possible day in and day out.
We aim to continue to bring positive impact through technology and we also understand the importance that education plays here. This is an area that is essential for us, where we invest in tomorrow’s generation of engineers and developers through programs like SuperCorders or Orange Educational Program or with help from the Orange Foundation. On such example from the Foundation is Digitaliada, a project aimed on fighting digital divide and on bringing technology and digital educational content to schools from rural areas across the country.
ORANGE ROMANIA
Europe House building,
no 47-53 Lascăr Catargiu Boulevard,
Bucharest, Romania
https://www.orange.ro/
