 Interview with Serif Beykoz
Telekom Dunyasi
July, 2009
TELEKOM DÜNYASI: Mr. Beykoz, you have many global operator
partners. What kind of services do you provide them?
 BEYKOZ: The basic need of GSM operators is to use their hardware investments
in a best way, to increase the number of their subscribers and to be
one step ahead all the time. In today’s crisis environment, these gain more importance.
Mobile operators diversifying their services in the best way and
strengthening their corporate identities expedite their growth by saving the
number of subscribers and getting new subscribers. The ability for understanding
the needs of subscribers, answering their needs in the best way and with
a high service quality increases dependence on operators.
Operators need firstly innovative, reliable and high capacity value added
services and applications to be succesful. Competition for one way service
operators is harder now. GSM operators aim to distribute their services and
contents over integrated mobile and fix networks, between different platforms.
The capacity to distribute and to provide content and service between platforms
(Internet, TV, Mobile, Fix Line) will make operators collaborate with the
best content/ service provider companies. So values for subscribers provided
by operators will increase and operators will not let their subscribers choose another operator by creating difference and by increasing efficiency.
Next Generation Services and applications needed by GSM operators
are affected by culture, economical development, education
level, environment of a country and differ from each other. For instance,
in many regions of Africa mobile collect call services are in fashion
but in India location based services gain importance. The global
success of Telenity is derived from being a market focused company,
taking the countries’ pulse well and shaping the solutions in accordance
with it and providing them swiftly to the operators.
Telenity acts in global market with its three product group. Messaging
product group includes value added services such as SMSC,
USSD, MMSC. We have an infrastructure having the ability to send ten thousands of messages. In Integrated Value Added Services product
group, we have mobile collect call, ringback tone, missed call
notification, voice/video mail and location based services. We brought
Video Ringback tone to service in the world. SDP (Service Delivery
Platform) product group provides an infrastructure letting created
services come to the market easily and swiftly. Mobile operators
always generate new service ideas to increase ARPU (Average Revenue
per User). If they do not have flexible infrastructures such as SDP,
these ideas can not be realized in a short term and this affects the giro
negatively. In this field we have significant references and we aim
to take place between global leader companies.
Our products are used in many countries, from Alaska to Madagascar,
from Thailand to Mexico. Telenity is a world brand in 31 countries,
in more than 35 communication networks with its portfolio
supporting more than 300 million subscribers. These countries also
include India having more than 100 billion dollars export in ICT sector
and being described as the heart of software. Our 14 location based
services run in Indian government operator BSNL’ s communication
network. Also the biggest Indian GSM operator Airtel and other
2 operators are between our customers. We are strong especially in
Caucasus, Middle East and Africa regions and our operation area
grows in these regions, day by day.
TELEKOM DÜNYASI: What kind of innovations will end
users meet after 3G service, especially considering your SMS
based products?
 BEYKOZ: Broadband technologies have many advantages. For
instance, mobile operators will provide better subsriber experience,
availability and multimedia aided service portfolio. One of the most
important features that 3G will bring is rapid data transmission and
access. Across the globe, we see that operators have added video
messaging, video mail, video based data services, mobile marketing,
mobile social interaction, mobile TV and location based services into
their value added service portfolio after 3G.
Also the expectation in Turkey is mobile internet usage to increase
and video based value added services to gain importance considering
the young population. Along with operators, different firms
such as infrastructure and service providers will have new business
opportunities. Service softwares, video contents, mobile advertisement
issues will be at the forefront. Also need for 3G specialists will
arise in the sector, operators being in the first place.
We had followed developments in global market, determined
our 3G and IMS strategy a few years ago and reflected it to our product
portfolio. In the scope of this strategy, we aim to add new 3G
services to our portfolio, to contribute ARPU of operators by also pre-paring
corporate and individual video and location based new services.
We believe that R&D investment obligations of 3G bid will help
the sector to develop substantially. Here, initiative of Information and
Communication Technologies Authority is so vital. As Telenity, we
are ready for any kind of cooperation for R&D. Thanks to the experience
we got in global market 3G sector, we believe that we will be a
leader mobile service software company in Turkey, too.
TELEKOM DÜNYASI: Economic downturn is on the agenda.
It is said that crisis did not affect telecommunication sector.
How do you evaluate the issue in global meaning and in
terms of Turkey?
BEYKOZ: Especially in second half of the year we have seen that
operators are more prudent about their infrastructural investments
because of rising concerns as the natural consequence of global financial
crisis and so great and small telecom hardware and mobile
device providers are affected by crisis with a certain extent.
Everybody is in "wait-see" psychology. On the other side effects
of global crisis are felt less in telecom operator firms. The reason is
so simple. Mobile communication has turned to be one of the basic
needs of people to manage their works and and to regulate their daily
lives. Sure everyone is trying for finding and using the most economic
service, during the crisis but it is not possible to keep mobile
communication under a lower level because it is a basic need. So it
is not wrong to say that operators will survive the crisis without a serious decrease in their income considering decrease in their investment.
However we should mention the possibility of negative changes
in service quality because of insufficient investment. The balances
should be kept here.
Sure, it is a little bit different for Turkey. 3G concession agreements
that were signed between three operators on April, 30 and 3G
services that will be provided in the end of June cause to increase in
3G infrastructural investments. Here one of the points needed to be
underlined is R&D conditions taking place in concession agreements.
These decisions made and applied with leadership of Information
and Communication Technologies Authority is a revolution for Turkish
Telecommunication sector. There can be some application
problems but they can be solved easily in cooperation. All the sector
should stand behind these applications.
All world telecom sectors will be so active in the second half of
the year, it is another important point. This can be the reason, in my
opinion: As the result of unmade investments in the first half of the year
as a provision against the crisis, the companies can be below the
budget targets. I mean, the planned expenses are not made and some
budget is left over. Because budget performance is an important
success criteria for business managers, unanticipated budget surplus
is also a negative performance as much as budget deficit. No one of
the managers want to lose the budget they have so budget surplus
will create serious activation in the second half of the year.
Generally, energy and telecommunication sectors weather the
crisis in lightest damages anytime and anywhere. So the last measure
that can be taken by operators can be limiting a service that can make
direct positive effects on giros of operators. When right value
added services are applied on time and with an efficient marketing
strategy, they contribute the income of operators directly, from the
beginning and help to weather the crisis or have light damages. Consequently,
the companies producing these sofwares have chance to
weather the crisis in light damages, too. As Telenity, we follow positive
effects of value added services on operators and we do not propose
decrease in possible investments in this field. The companies
producing both locally and globally, such as Telenity, have chance to
minimize the risks of crisis.
In Turkey’s Telecom sector, we observed a certain increase in
usage and subscription especially in Value Added Services field, in
2008. These 3 vital issues go on shaping the market also in 2009; these
can be ranked as 3G mobile technologies, number portability and
MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator).
Because Value Added Services infrastructural products provided
by Telenity include these 3 issues, we feel ourselves ready for possible
changes in Turkey mobile market in the rest of 2009 and in
2010.
The points that can shape the Turkey Telecom market in 2009
and 2010 are as follows:
- 3G concession agreements have been signed, the service will
start in 3 months. This will be positive for the sector, it will attract attention
and create new excitement. An important market for 3G services
providers will exist.
- Number portability started to be applied and the results are
pushing the statistics. We hope that number portability will also initiate
infrastructure portability.
- MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator), MVNE (Mobile Virtual
Network Enabler) licences will be issued. Already now, some football
clubs warm to the issue, infrastructures are constructed.
- WiMAX licences will be issued, it is compared with 3G Technologies
but it will be a coloring application for the sector, too.
- 4G and LTE Technologies are talked about, these will be in the
agenda, inevitably.
- Other Telecom infrastructure licences will be issued by Information
and Communication Technologies and obstacles before competition
will be removed with a considerable extent.
TELEKOM DÜNYASI: What are your final assertions?
BEYKOZ: As I always mention in many forums, interviews and in
many writings, if we are only technology users but not technology
producers, unfortunately we can not take place between modern civilizations.
Using technology does not mean owning it. Also it is not
possible to have any kind of technology. Future technology plans
should be made and some sectors should be determined by the state
and those sectors should be invested under the leadership of the
government. We must see this as a long term investment. Also some
strategical technologies for our national presence should be invested
without considering their expenses. In terms of GDP, we are the 15th biggest country in the world but unfortunately in terms of technological
creativeness and efficiency criterias we are at unbecoming levels
except some companies. This situation worries us, as country and nation
lovers.
Also along the world software sector is so matured. For a few years,
developments in Internet field encourage software sector, positively.
Although software sector in Turkey is just at development stage, it contributes the economy and especially the export increasingly.
The software sector is one of the sectors having the highest value added.
Value added level reachs 90%-95%. In addition to this, we should
improve ourselves in many particular issues such as intellectual
property right, skilled labor and software projects management to
gain concrete results.
In Turkey we have engineers above world standards in terms of
creativeness and abilities. This potential should be brought to open
by the help of encouragement and investment, beginning with universities.
High value added in software is a good opportunity for Turkey
and software sector should be a prior sector as a state policy. Tax
incidences on software producing companies should be omitted, these
sources should be transfered into employment and production,
software and software oriented value added export should be encouraged.
Thanks to these support of state, employment in sofware sector
will increase in a qualified way and value added will stay in Turkey.
There are many instances of it abroad, this is also possible for
Turkey. To support and take all measures for increasing number of
companies creating intellectual property rights on their own and reflecting
it to their products, exporting and creating world brands, such
as Telenity, is very important. Besides, Turkey having the 15th biggest
economy of the world should be at the same levels also in ICT
sector and for creating value added at these levels a broad participation,
a broad horizon strategy should be determined and applied
immediately.
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