Asian Telecom 2022

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FROM THE EDITOR

Telecommunications providers believe that the 5G technology still has a long way to go in Asia, so industry players must double their efforts in developing infrastructures that will bolster 5G employment. As Asia’s telecom operators roll out 5G services, there is a glaring gap between their role as a carrier of data and voice and their need to evolve to deliver the next generation of tech ecosystems.

Top telecom experts Darren Yong, Joongshik Wang, Wilson Chow, and Michinori Sato are part of the elite panel of judges at the inaugural Asian Telecom Awards 2022. We sat down with them discussing their insights on the current trends in and the future of telecom in Asia.

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KPMG’s Darren Yong provided his thoughts on how the telecom industry needs to transform. See the interview on page 18. Joongshik Wang of EY-Parthenon talked about his guiding principles as an advisor in the telecom sector. Read the interview on page 20. Michinori Sato of Deloitte also shared his insights on how companies can position themselves amidst digital adoption to create their competitive edge. Read the interview on page 22.

Read on and enjoy!

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Asian Telecom is a proud media partner and host of the following events and expos:

Daily news from Asian Telecom

The three best companies

in for 2022: RHB

RHB listed three companies that will be best to invest in this 2022, putting emphasis on their ESG score. Three companies in SG were included in Frencken Group, HRnet Group, and ST Engineering. All three have an ROE of 15% and above, and an ESG score above the country median.

Digitalisation vs digitisation: What’s the difference?

Digitalisation and digitisation are interchanged when talking about the evolution of the banking industry— but there is a huge difference between the two. Digitisation simply means converting analogue to digital, whilst digitalisation is the process of taking this converted digital to the next level.

What are the four traits of digitally mature organisations?

A study conducted by Deloitte Southeast Asia and the Singapore Management University said there are four traits that could identify digitally mature organisations based on how they manage the governance, risk, and compliance aspects of digital transformation.

An Equinix market study revealed that the digital growth in companies is four times more than that of the pre-pandemic levels. Digitally mature businesses in APAC deployed their digital infrastructure to multiple regions, expand to multiple edge locations, and integrate multiple clouds in six months.

5G ranks 3rd amongst most important feature wanted in buying phone

As its adoption amongst smartphone users increases, 5G ranked third amongst the most important feature considered by consumers when they buy a new phone, following battery life and storage.“As the refresh cycle for smartphones enters 2023, it’s likely that most users will have 5G phones and services,” Deloitte said.

5G, edge computing ecosystem in 5 industries to reach $517b in 2023

The widespread digitalisation will bring the 5G and edge computing ecosystem worth in industrial manufacturing, connected healthcare, intelligent transportation, environmental monitoring, and gaming to $517b by 2023.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

to invest

How fast do businesses digitally expand today vs pre-pandemic?

MARKETS & INVESTING

BANKING TECHNOLOGY

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

CHINA’S TMT INDUSTRY IPO DIPS IN H1

The public listing of Chinese technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) companies went down slightly in the first half of the year to 68, PwC noted in a report.

This is down from 74 initial public offerings (IPOs) seen in the second half of 2021.

Despite this, the PwC noted that the total amount of financing increased to RMB160.4b.

“Driven by the domestic STAR and ChiNext markets, Chinese TMT enterprises remained relatively active in the capital market in the first half of 2022,” Jianbin Gao, PwC Mainland China TMT Industry Leader, said. According to PwC, the domestic capital market remained as the preferred option for Mainland TMT IPOs.

Of the TMT IPOs in Mainland China that listed in the domestic market, 30 opted for the STAR Market, accounting for 44% of the overall number.

TMT enterprises

A total of 19 enterprises, meanwhile, listed on the ChiNext Market in Shenzhen, making up 28% of the overall listing.

The 30 enterprises that listed on the STAR Market raised a total amount of roughly RMB70.9b, making up 44% of the total raised, whilst the 19 IPOs on the ChiNext Market in Shenzhen raised an estimated RMB27.8b. This made up 17% of all financing.

Moreover, 6 Mainland TMT enterprises or 9% chose to list on the Beijing Stock Exchange, receiving about RMB1.1b, accounting for 1% of the total financing.

Another four entities, equating to 6% listed on the main board, also raised RMB55.9b in financing, and 9 enterprises or 13% chose to list in Hong Kong and overseas. They received around RMB4.7 billion in financing.

Asian telcos lag behind other regions: BCG

The sustainability index of Asian telcos rose by one point to 34 in 2021, lower than the median for the overall score globally at 53, according to Boston Consulting Group.

In its Telco Sustainability Index 2021 report, the overall score of telcos from Europe and other locations rose by six points to 72, European telcos improved by four points to 62, whilst telcos from North America grew by four points to 48.

“Telco executives have become far more aware of the importance of sustainability, thanks largely to increased pressure from stakeholders,” BCG said.

“Yet like companies in other industries, telco operators have been slow to practice what they preach. Research shows that more than 80% of executives across industries say their company has a formal ESG program in place, but less than 50% say their company is performing well against its ESG metrics,” it added.

BCG said the overall ICT industry is expected to contribute around 3% of the total carbon dioxide emissions.

The sustainability index is based on

four indicators namely: commitment to sustainability, carbon dioxide (CO2) emission and energy intensity, circular economy and waste, and customer enablement. A total of 21 telcos were involved: eight from Europe, four with headquarters in Europe and some operations outside the region, four from North America, and nine from Asia, including Australia.

European telcos were at the forefront in better reporting and in focussing on reducing emissions reductions and waste management.

Aside from this, Europe and North America reduced total energy consumption and total energy required to transport data, according to BCG. Their energy use declined by 22% and 5%, respectively, whilst Asia was up by 4%.

Meanwhile, Asia and North America led in the decline in waste intensity with their total in 2021 declining 28% and 24%, respectively, whilst Europe saw a 1% rise. Europe led in recycling ration, with its recycled-waste share up to 81% from 72%, whilst Asia rose to 58% from 57%, and North America to 54% from 48%.

On customer enablement, BCG said the number of telcos calculating customer enablement factor rose to 11 in 2021 from 8 in 2021, whilst the number of those providing transparency on the calculation of customer enablement factor increased to 10 from five. There were also 10 telcos that launched green bonds in 2021 from none last year.

“The telco industry’s execution on sustainability goals has not matched its commitment,” BCG said.

Challenge for telcos

Telcos would need to accurately measure their emissions and materialise their commitments to reduce carbon footprint, according to BCG. This would require “a more systematic, automated, repeatable approach to establishing an end-to-end GHG emissions baseline, including upstream and downstream emissions across the entire telco supply chain.”

BCG said Scope 3 emissions or emissions from the purchase of goods and services, transportation and distribution, and business travel, amongst others, outweigh Scope 1 or direct emissions and Scope 2 or indirect emissions from purchased electricity steam, heating and cooling for own use.

The ICT industry will contribute around 3% of the total CO2 emissions

ASIA PACIFIC

CHINA

Telco operators have been slow to practice what they preach

Time for businesses to go beyond WiFi and connect to private 5G

When businesses rely on WiFi, they are at risk of not being able to make fast and accurate decisions in critical situations given its higher latency, meaning data is transferred and received slower than other types of connection. This risk can be eliminated if companies adopt a private 5G connection.

According to John Lombard, CEO, Asia Pacific, NTT Ltd., a private 5G network allows for loads of information or data from different IoT devices to be “collected at the edge” or be processed in real-time—a feature which they said a WiFi network is “not cut” to do.

“It’s ultra-high bandwidth, super-low latency, and really ensuring that decisions can be made at the edge in real-time,” Lombard told Asian Telecom

Given that a private 5G network allows for real-time processing of data and thus faster decision-making, adopting such technology can make “any organisation more competitive and invite multiple opportunities to their business,” said Lombard.

“The success and savings derived from

these benefits will then ripple out to the rest of the organisation, all the way to the customer,” Lombard added.

Another feature of a private 5G which is sought after by businesses is network security, which seven in 10 executives surveyed by research and insight provider, Economist Impact, said is not being provided by current connectivity and communications platforms.

Economist Impact added that a private 5G network can also provide “coverage in strategic locations, both indoors or outdoors, such as at manufacturing plants or ports” as well as “spaces with metal obstructions.”

“In contrast with relying on public mobile networks, access is limited to authorised devices, which not only allows for improved security standards but also limits network saturation, benefitting performance and reliability,” added the company.

Reaping the benefits

For companies to reap the benefits of a private 5G network, Lombard said they should undergo a mindset shift and be really “eager”

to adopt new solutions.

Lombard cited that several companies are still adamant to adopt a private 5G network given challenges such as infrastructure complexity and lack of technical skills and expertise available to deploy the technology.

For 44% of businesses, the main challenge in implementing a private 5G network is how to integrate it with their legacy systems and networks.

Connectivity technology trends in 2022

McKinsey estimated a global GDP impact of up to $2t from new tech trends in 4 industries alone.

Technological advancements changed perhaps too rapidly before our eyes in the past couple of years. It is unlikely that technology stops here, but how exactly will this evolve in 2022 and more importantly, why should businesses care?

In its Technology Trends Outlook 2022: Advanced Connectivity report, McKinsey identified five connectivity technologies that open box full of new cases for businesses to innovate. These include optical fiber, LPWA1 networks, Wi-Fi 6, 5G/6G cellular, LEO2 satellite constellations.

“Enhanced connectivity is an enabler for new and upcoming technologies,” McKinsey noted.

For instance, IoT applications will increase the need for 5G,

Wi-Fi 6, and LPWAN; whilst edge and cloud computing technologies, coupled with advanced connectivity, are expected to allow consumers and industrial verticals to tap into the full-benefits of nextgeneration computing.

New trends that utilise this new connectivity technology are expected to have a global GDP impact worth between $1.2t and $2t, covering just four industries— automotive and assembly, healthcare systems and services, aerospace and defense, and retail.

“With broader 5G, optic fiber, and satellite internet coverage, the digital divide for the next billion internet users is being bridged,” the report also read.

“Current users will also see their experiences improve significantly as network speeds and latency

The digital divide for the next billion internet users is being bridged

improve, enabling use cases previously considered unfeasible.”

These trends will likely affect telecommunication as it improves cellular services for retail customers and private 5G solutions for enterprise customers; and aviation, travel, and logistics as it paves the way for tracking and tracing products. It also provides access to data that will help customers optimise supply chains.

Technological trends are also seen to change the game in construction and building materials with onsite 3-D printing, and expansive connectivity networks. Other industries that will benefit from technological disruptions are IT and electronics, media and entertainment, metals and mining, electric power, natural gas, and utilities, and oil and gas.

What is the trend about, and what are the most noteworthy technologies?

5G/6G cellular, wireless low-power networks, low-Earth-orbit satellites, and other technologies support a host of digital solutions that can help networks increase geographic coverage, reduce latency, reduce energy consumption, increase data throughput, and increase spectrum efficiency. This has led to higher-quality network access for consumers and unlocked new use cases for industrial players

Why should leaders pay attention?

As advanced connectivity becomes broadly available, industries will find innovative use cases

We compared the current generation of advanced connectivity technologies with their predecessors

Why are advanced connectivity technologies interesting, compared with what already exists?

telcos to reasonably monetise the temporarily scarce resource of premium connectivity,” it said, adding that an option for this is to buy Wi-Fi on an aeroplane.

McKinsey said telcos can gain from this as 7% of the consumers surveyed are willing to pay for 5G boosters and would avail them an average of seven times a month at $1 per boost. Impulse purchases can raise the APRU by 1% to 2%.

Pay-per-use 5G

Three ways telco operators could monetise 5G

These include offering connectivity speed in line with a customer’s need.

Telcos may not be getting their return on investment from 4G because the technology limits the providers in offering plans specifically aligned to their customer’s demands. But with 5G, they can differentiate offerings through various ways backed by network slicing, or the ability to charge customers more for parts of a network that will offer premium performance.

In a report, McKinsey said 5G allows telcos to drop the traditional one-size-fits-all model and create different offerings that will use the same physical infrastructure. Network slicing will enable telcos to launch “sophisticated ‘speed tiering’” and support the three innovative models to monetise 5G. Doing so, could increase their average revenue per user (ARPU) between 16% and 20%.

“We believe that the shift to 5G core is inevitable and that early movers will benefit. They will be able to skim the market to attract early-adopting customers. It is unclear whether the robust wholesale market that arose for 4G networks will also exist for 5G networks,” the report read.

“If early movers choose not to wholesale parts of their 5G networks, lest they erode the value, late movers seeking wholesale agreements could find themselves shut out of the market,” it added.

In a survey conducted in April 2021

amongst 2,400 customers across six countries, McKinsey found that speed is correlated with higher customer satisfaction even if a larger bill is needed. Around 74% of customers have a “positive or neutral feeling” toward the offering of different speeds to various mobile users.

However, around two-thirds of customers are unwilling to pay more than EUR5 every month for 10 times higher speed, and 49% are expecting consistently high speed. Around 43% are also expecting new applications and services. But by upselling traditional portfolios with 5G speed, McKinsey said telcos can increase their ARPU by 3% to 6%.

Innovative models

First way telcos can monetise 5G is by leveraging impulse purchases and “business class” plans by tapping into yield-management strategies. According to McKinsey, operators can move from standard monthly subscriptions to flexible plans allowing customers to upgrade their network performance when needed.

If they want stronger connectivity for streaming, gaming, or making important calls, they can pay $1 or $2 to avail of better performance temporarily.

“This pay-per-use 5G will be especially valuable to customers when networks are congested, allowing

Several Hong Kong telcos have increased ARPU amongst the highest-paying customers by 20% to 30% with the adoption of this strategy, resulting in expected revenue growth of 5% in the next three years.

Meanwhile, 5G “business class plans” will ensure users of unlimited premium network performance in terms of speed, latency, stability, and network access. This may bring a 2% to 4% increase in ARPU, as 15% to 20% of customers are willing to pay between 7.5% to 15% more.

Second, telcos can sell 5G-enabled experiences instead of selling connectivity only for additional revenue streams.

Customers are willing to pay for some 5G-enabled experiential use cases such as low-latency multiplayer gaming which feature an alternative reality and high degrees of interaction. Other areas customers are willing to pay extra for were immersive entertainment, smart stadiums, fixed wireless access hybrid plan, and real-time translation. These markets could potentially raise the ARPU by 8% to 9.5%, McKinsey said.

“To adopt this model, operators will need to develop an ecosystem of partners that provide an expansive, enticing catalogue of user experiences. These partners will provide coveted, high-quality experiences, whilst telcos will provide connectivity and customer access,” it said, adding that, the challenge would be in explaining to customers why they are paying for premium connectivity.

Lastly, telcos could enter partnerships to deliver 5G-enabled experiences, as more consumers are open to paying content providers directly for better network performance.

For more on this story, go to https:// asiantelecom.com/

“This pay-per-use 5G will be valuable to customers when networks are congested (Photo by Shiwa ID from Unsplash)

We believe that the shift to 5G core is inevitable and that early movers will benefit

Outstanding telco firms lauded in Asian Telecom Awards 2022

No organisation was left untouched by the events of the past two years, pushing the demand for innovation in the area of telecommunications to extraordinary heights. Organisations were driven to develop and launch new features and plan to keep serving consumers and stay competitive.

To recognise these extraordinary organisations in the Asia Pacific that showed resilience and outstanding performance, the Asian Telecom Awards 2022 honoured these companies who were able to navigate their way despite various challenges in the market whilst providing relevant and award-winning products and services to their clients.

Tracing its heritage from Asian Mobile News which started in 2003, the awards programme aims to honour top telco companies that pioneered ground-breaking products and solutions in the past year. Telco companies were invited to nominate their organisations in the following categories: Carrier, Customer Initiative, Technology Initiative, Operations, Executive/CEO of the Year.

ASIANTELECOMAWARDS 2022

Advanced Info Service (AIS) PLC

Mobile Operator of the Year - Thailand Telecom Company of the Year - Thailand Digital Initiative of the Year - Thailand

Allo Technology Sdn Bhd Broadband Telecom Company of the Year - Malaysia

Converge ICT Solutions Inc. Broadband Telecom Company of the Year - Philippines Marketing & Brand Initiative of the Year - Philippines

DZS with Rakuten Mobile Infrastructure Initiative of the Year - Korea

EAGER COMMUNICATIONS GROUP CO., LTD

Digital Initiative of the Year - Myanmar Infrastructure Initiative of the Year - Myanmar Infinix Mobility. Ltd Technology Innovation of the Year - China Marketing & Brand Initiative of the Year - China

Kacific Broadband Satellites Ltd Satellite Telecom Company of the Year - Singapore

KDDI Digital Life Corporation Telecom Company of the Year - Japan

Monty Mobile

International A2P SMS Monetization of the Year - Indonesia International A2P SMS Monetization of the Year - Sri Lanka Technology Innovation of the Year - Indonesia

Ncell Axiata Limited Telecom Company of the Year - Nepal Infrastructure Initiative of the Year - Nepal

OCK Telecom Network Services Provider of the Year - Malaysia

PLINTRON Cloud Initiative of the Year - India

Progresif Sdn Bhd

Mobile Operator of the Year - Brunei Darussalam Marketing & Brand Initiative of the Year - Brunei Darussalam

The awards were handed via digital presentations to the winners on the second and third week of March. Candidates were given the chance to share their journey via interviews and article features on the Asian Business Review website, social media, and other online platforms. Industry leaders were invited to judge the entries and select winners. Comprising the awards’ elite panel of judges were Darren Yong, Head of Technology, Media and Telecommunications and Head of Clients & Markets Development at KPMG Asia Pacific; Joongshik Wang, EY-Parthenon Asean Leader and EY Asean Technology, Media & Entertainment and Telecommunications Sector Market Segment Leader at EY; Wilson Chow, Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications Industry Leader at PwC China; Michinori Sato, Asia Pacific Telecom, Media, and Entertainment Sector Leader at Deloitte.

Below is a list of all the winning companies. Congratulations!

RED ONE NETWORK SDN BHD

Digital Initiative of the Year - Malaysia Singtel

B2B Client Initiative of the Year - Singapore Cybersecurity Initiative of the Year - Singapore Cloud Initiative of the Year - Singapore

Singapore Telecommunications Limited Technology Innovation of the Year - Singapore smartfren. BUSINESS B2B Client Initiative of the Year - Indonesia IOT Initiative of the Year - Indonesia

PT. Telkom Indonesia (Persero), Tbk. Digital Initiative of the Year - Indonesia Mobile App of the Year - Indonesia

Tune Talk

Mobile Virtual Network Operator of the Year - Malaysia Mobile App of the Year - Malaysia

Advanced Info Service (AIS) PLC

Christian Patouraux, Kacific Broadband Satellites Ltd CEO of the Year

Allo Technology Sdn Bhd

DZS with Rakuten Mobile

Infinix Mobility. Ltd

Kacific Broadband Satellites Ltd

KDDI Digital Life Corporation

Monty Mobile

Ncell Axiata Limited PLINTRON

PT. Telkom Indonesia (Persero), Tbk

Progresif Sdn Bhd

RED ONE NETWORK SDN BHD Singtel

smartfren. BUSINESS

Asian telcos operators risk 5G opportunities on failure to adopt ‘big tech mindset’

Top telecom experts Darren Yong, Joongshik Wang, and Michinori Sato are part of this year’s elite panel of judges at the inaugural 2022 Asian Telecom Awards.

As Asia’s telecom operators roll out 5G services, there is a glaring gap between their role as a carrier of data and voice and their need to evolve to deliver the next generation of tech ecosystems. This was the consensus of the region’s top telecom experts, with Michinori Sato, Leader of Deloitte’s Asia Pacific Telecom, Media, and Entertainment Sector, arguing that for telcos to shift to digital technologies, there are major challenges in terms of corporate culture and human resources.

Certain company departments have become more customer-oriented after many years of marketing and CRM activities, but providing services to users encompasses the network infrastructure, sales, customer service, and several other business units. The difference in the degree of customer orientation between these departments often has a negative effect.

“Changing the mindset in telecom companies is a pressing issue. One of the biggest roadblocks facing telcos in their digital transformation journey is the entrenched corporate-centric mindset,” commented Joongshik Wang, Managing Partner of EY Parthenon and Technology, Media and Entertainment, and Telecommunications market segment for ASEAN.

As internal business operations increasingly become digitalised, Deloitte’s Sato said that telecom carriers today must collaborate with companies in

One of the biggest roadblocks facing telcos is the entrenched corporate-centric mindset

other industries—and they cannot get away without strengthening the digital capabilities of their employees. “It is difficult to address this challenge only through in-house recruitment and training. A more effective approach will be for telecommunications carriers to grasp this challenge from a broad perspective and effectively implement measures together with society,” he said.

Telcos and operators who are able to exemplary address these challenges and are successfully making the digital transition were revealed at the inaugural 2022 Asian Telecom Awards.

Darren Yong, Asia Pacific Head of Technology, Media, and Telecommunications at KPMG in Singapore, agreed, saying: “Given there is not the luxury to start from scratch, they need to evolve their way of working into organisations that can develop new products, make decisions, and innovate at the same speed as a tech company. This change also requires a shift internally around the future skills and capabilities that the company needs as they look at being more data-driven to provide real-time insights and opportunities.”

Building a digital ecosystem

Yong said that with technologies such as 5G, IoT, and the connected home, the need for a telecom company to operate more like a technology company has resulted

Top telecom experts (from L-R) Darren Yong, Joongshik Wang, Wilson Chow, and Michinori Sato are part of the elite panel of judges at the 2022 Asian Telecom Awards.

in many telcos moving into adjacent spaces such as banking, insurance, health, and other platforms.

Deloitte’s Sato said that building a digital ecosystem around itself, or one where it is one of the core players, and engaging its users are very important points. How it positions the financial and payment functions will also have a significant impact on its future customer retention and acquisition in any country, even as the positions of telcos, OTT players, and popular digital ecosystems differ from country to country.

A carrier with financial and payment capabilities, such as Singapore’s Singtel Dash and the Philippines’ Globe G-Cash, will obtain overwhelmingly more information about its users, and with effective digital ecosystem design, receive payments from users for their digital lives.

Telcos are struggling to create these new digital businesses because they are focused on their old businesses. According to an EY survey, companies that are preoccupied with housekeeping issues, such as data consistency or legacy system problems, are struggling to generate returns. On the other hand, leading companies

Telcos,

of the ecosystem that comprises the virtual space will the telecommunications carriers occupy? There is a wide range of strategic options, from infrastructure that supports high-speed communications to metaverse platforms to content design to business operations within the virtual space, but the competition amongst operators will also accelerate,” he said.

One of the most promising options is to develop businesses that incorporate elements related to user experience, living and business spaces, and the construction of economic infrastructure in virtual space, such as metaverse/XR, NFT, and gamification. “For example, social tipping is getting more popular amongst people on SNS live performance, professional sports teams are adopting NFT for fan engagement, and so on,” EY’s Wang said.

“We also see ESG trends linked to the environment and carbon goals gaining more prominence. In a world where data will continue to grow exponentially, the need for energy to cool the data centres that store this data will continue to increase. Telecom companies, as one of the biggest users of energy, will need to act more

THE FUTURE IS NOW

Targeting today’s youth with first in class technology, Infinix Mobility, founded in 2013, is a rapidly emerging brand that designs, manufactures and markets an expanding portfolio of smart devices worldwide.

as one of the biggest users of energy, will need to act more socially responsible

Telecom firms need agility to innovate: KPMG

As an energy guzzler, the industry must address its impact on the environment and society.

Darren Yong is the Asia Pacific Head of Technology, Media & Telecommunications at KPMG in Singapore. He is also the Asia Pacific Head of Clients & Market Development and part of the ASPAC Leadership team. A highly accomplished executive with over 20 years of experience in telecom and information technology, Darren is passionate about emerging technologies that enable clients’ digital transformation.

Darren has led key technology engagements at KPMG covering strategy, data migration, cloud, blockchain, and use case builds. He also advises C-suite clients across the telecom, technology, banking, insurance, life sciences, energy and resources, consumer industries on strategy, transformation, cyber security, data and analytics, and cloud.

Prior to joining KPMG, Darren worked in industryleading companies, such as Orange Business Services, Verizon Business, Sprint International, Lucent Worldwide Services, Siemens, and Nortel, where he held key positions.

As a judge in the Asian Telecom Awards, Yong provided his thoughts on how the telecom industry needs to transform and his personal goals of bridging the digital gap and supporting education for the less privileged.

What are the trends that you are currently seeing in the telecommunications sector?

We are seeing an increasing trend with telecom players focusing on new emerging revenue streams. With technologies such as 5G, IoT, and the connected home, the need for a telco to operate more like a technology company has resulted in many telcos moving into adjacent spaces such as banking, insurance, health, and other platforms. As telcos look at being a smart city enabler, capitalising on smart home revenue or moving into payments and micro-insurance, we see an increasing focus on how telco monetise and democratise data within and outside their business. This focus takes telcos “beyond connectivity” and has resulted in a number of telcos taking clear steps towards this new way of working.

What challenges do you typically foresee amongst telcos that undergo digital transformation and what is your advice for them to resolve those challenges?

The typical challenges we see for telecom companies in digitally transforming themselves link back to the tech giants and rising digital natives. With these new tech companies starting to challenge telecom revenues, there is a need for telecos to look to reinvent how they work. The biggest challenge relates to the fundamental way telecom organisations think, organise, and operate. Given there isn’t the luxury to start from scratch, they need to evolve their way of working into organisations that can develop new products, make decisions, and innovate at the same speed as a tech

company. This change also requires a shift internally around the future skills and capabilities that the company needs as they look at being more data-driven to provide real-time insights and opportunities to drive enhanced efficiencies internally as well as externally in how telcos operate.

As a judge in the Asian Telecom Awards, what do you think sets the winners apart from other contenders? Those that show innovation and thoughtfulness in applying their ideas to real-world problems would be at the top of my list. We know technology alone can’t solve world problems. Those that have connected this to solve a major need or targeting a specific opportunity would be high up on my list. Extra brownie points if it has a social or environmental impact!

What can you advise tech professionals and students who aspire to have a similar career as yours?

Always stay open to new ideas, be agile in how you learn and never lose sight of the customer. The world will continue to move at a pace, so being able to adapt and keep up will be a critical skill. Above all, do something you enjoy and love and find purpose in it!

For more on this interview, go to https:// asianbusinessreview.com/

There is a need for telcos to reinvent how they work

Darren Yong, Asia

Pacific Head of Technology, Media & Telecommunications, KPMG

Satellite Telecom Company of the Year - Singapore Asian Telecom Awards '2022

of the Year Christian Patouraux Asian Telecom Awards '2022

Customer-centric digitisation keeps telcos relevant

Catering to customer demands with the latest tech gives telcos an edge in the New Economy.

Joongshik Wang is a Managing Partner of EY-Parthenon and Technology, Media & Entertainment and Telecommunications (TMT) market segment for ASEAN. With over 25 years of experience as a management consultant at leading global strategy consulting firms in Southeast Asia, China, and Korea, Wang has served a wide variety of clients within the technologies, digital media, and telecom industries.

His experience spans across corporate strategy, M&A, portfolio optimisation, innovation and digital customer experience. Wang has worked with Private Equity (PE) clients to develop investment hypotheses, advise transactions, and improve their portfolio companies’ performance. Most recently, Wang helped telecom companies to restructure their businesses with the ‘rightasset-model’ approach and rebuild their portfolio to adapt to the New Economy.

Beyond his corporate roles, Wang is a well-known, trusted commercial tech advisor through his engagements on emerging Southeast Asian technology unicorns. Prior to joining EY-Parthenon, his professional career included a stint as a partner of Kearney Singapore, focusing on strategy, TMT, and PE practice. Now based in Singapore, he previously served as a Managing Partner of Kearney Korea.

Wang’s extensive professional experience and expertise have brought him to the judging panel of the 2022 Asian Telecom Awards. Asian Business Review sat with the Yonsei University and University of Chicago Booth School of Business alum to talk about his guiding principles as an advisor in the telecom sector, as well as insights into the industry, its challenges and opportunities.

In your role as a commercial tech advisor, how do you build trust with your clients? What values do you live by that guides you in your work?

Building trust demands perfect execution every single time. It also requires absolute fact-based objectivity and an uncompromising commitment to safeguarding stakeholders’ interests – both present and future.

Successfully grappling with this duality dilemma – whether to optimise for today’s success or plan for tomorrow’s disruption – is increasingly moving up as a critical boardroom agenda. To help organisations successfully navigate the heightened pressures to balance both current and future needs, business leaders need to move beyond short- and mid-term thinking. I work with clients to help them to reframe perspectives and adopt a future-back strategy approach – where we challenge current paradigms and identify the many potential futures and implications, and work backwards to understand the strategic and tactical issues of today that have long-term implications.

Our clients value the deep sector knowledge and technical

Business leaders need to move beyond shortand midterm thinking

experience that our worldwide team of TMT industryfocused professionals possess to help them address these myriad changes. Our geographic hub structure, including a strong team based in Asia-Pacific, enables us to quickly mobilise teams to meet the needs of clients in this region.

What challenges do you typically foresee amongst telecommunication companies that undergo digital transformation and what do you advise for them to resolve those challenges?

A future-back approach that is tuned in to the megatrends in the environment will help organisations to avoid being inward-looking. According to an EY survey of global TMT executives on their capital investment strategies, companies that are preoccupied with housekeeping issues such as data consistency or legacy system problems are struggling to generate returns. On the other hand, leading companies are prioritising investments in digital capabilities in areas that will enable them to monetise existing assets, for example by strengthening their data analytics capabilities for customer insights. These leading companies understand that digital transformation goes beyond exploring the latest technological opportunities. Organisations with the ability to identify new revenue-generating opportunities in the new economy, particularly in innovative services for B2B enterprises, will gain an edge.

Building trust demands perfect execution every single time (Photo: Joongshik Wang, Managing Partner, ASEAN EY-Parthenon)

How digital adoption creates competitive edge

TM&E leader Michinori Sato shares insights on trends in the telecom space and more.

As the leader of Deloitte’s Asia Pacific Telecom, Media, and Entertainment (TM&E) Sector, TM&E consulting practice, and 5G specialist team in Japan, Michinori Sato has deep expertise in the telecommunications business, including new business development (B2C/B2B), B2B sales and marketing, branding of services, customer experience, DX strategy, finance operation, HR system, and talent and corporate organisational design.

He also served recently as a board member of Deloitte’s subsidiary company in cloud engineering.

Michinori has 20+ years of consulting experience to support major telecom, media, and electronics clients in the Strategy & Operation, Technology, and Human Capital areas. Before joining Deloitte, he worked for other consulting firms in the technology, media, and telecom (TMT) space.

As one of the judges at the Asian Telecom Awards, Asian Business Review spoke with Michinori as he shares his insights on the trends in the telecom space and how companies can position themselves amidst digital adoption to create their competitive edge.

With digitalisation taking place, how can the telecom sector stay relevant to attract new customers and maintain current ones?

As our lives and businesses become increasingly digital, users are gradually demanding that all digital experiences be “natural” to them. A “natural” state or experience means that you are unconsciously comfortable and feeling less stress or burden compared to when you are experiencing real activities and feelings.

To achieve this, a telecommunications carrier needs to: (1) deeply understand its customers; (2) win and maintain the position of the primary digital touchpoint for its customers; and (3) instill a common infrastructure and tools for engaging their digital lives in its ecosystem. Thanks to the evolution of digital technology, the level of implementation of each of these in advanced players have evolved significantly over the last few years. Carriers are constantly aware of best practices, including those in other industries, as they strive to create their competitive edge.

What are the challenges in catching up with the technology shift to digital?

For telcos to shift to digital technologies, there are major challenges in terms of corporate culture and human resources. A typical example is customer-driven business generation. Certain departments have become more customer-oriented after many years of marketing and CRM activities, but providing services to users is a company-wide effort, encompassing the network infrastructure, sales, customer service, and several online business units. The difference in the degree of customer orientation and the

Users are demanding that all digital experiences be ‘natural’ to them

walls between departments often have a negative effect on users. Moreover, the culture of many carriers is somewhat conservative because they are responsible for important social infrastructure, and whilst digital businesses do require Agile business development, taking the agile approach in software development alone may not result in the company’s internal gears meshing smoothly. These cultural challenges are difficult to solve with a single measure, but things can change when strategic change-management initiatives and continuous strong leadership at the top are combined.

In telecom, what trends are expected this year as the pandemic continues to affect consumer behaviour? As was the case until last year, teleworking from home is taking root at a certain rate, and the importance of real communication will be reconsidered. This trend could result in a demand for an improved network environment, including backhaul lines that contribute to making the traditional telework environment more comfortable and an enhancement across the overall IT infrastructure that supports virtual work environment, and may accelerate the trend of people moving out of congested big cities to regional cities to work.

For more on this interview, go to https:// asianbusinessreview.com/

Michinori Sato, APAC TM&E Leader, Deloitte

How this telco centralises healthcare data

Telkom Indonesia’s first step was its One Data System for COVID-19 vaccination.

Indonesia’s plan to achieve herd immunity by the end of 2021 seemed impossible when it was first announced given that it will take one million injections a day to attain its target. But with the help of Telkom Indonesia’s Satu Data Vaksinasi COVID-19 (SDVC), the country was able to achieve its goal.

Through the SDVC or the One Data System for COVID-19 vaccination, Telkom Indonesia was able to integrate, validate, and filter data from various institutions responsible for the vaccination rollout.

Telkom Indonesia’s Head of Health Ecosystem for Digital Business and Technology, Joddy Hernady, revealed that the company plans to improve the platform to become the central database of Indonesians’ healthcare information.

“We want it to be used as a place where all the health stakeholders in Indonesia can exchange health information,” Telkom Indonesia’s Hernady told Asian Telecom in an exclusive interview.

As of writing, the data being recorded by SDVC are just COVID-19 vaccination information. As per Telkom, the platform has over 600 million COVID-19 vaccination data.

In the future, Hernady said Telkom Indonesia hopes to add other health-related data such as an individual’s general vaccination record and insurance.

“In the future, the Ministry of Health can leverage SDVC to become a national health information exchange and health information services so that we can provide better health services in Indonesia,” Hernady said.

A superapp for healthcare

Apart from SDVC, Telkom Indonesia also plans to upgrade its contact tracing app, PeduliLindungi, which also played an important role in Indonesia’s COVID fight.

According to Hernady, the company wants to turn PeduliLindungi into a super app which can offer preventative and curative healthcare solutions to its users.

Amongst preventive solutions that Telkom Indonesia will add to its app are related to wellness programmes.

“We can integrate the feature with a wellness app called Fita which was developed by Telkomsel, or other similar apps,” Hernady said.

At the moment, the app has proactive solutions with more than 10 telemedicine providers on board. Hernady said the company will also add other proactive solutions such as e-prescription, and medicine delivery to PeduliLindungi.

“PeduliLindungi can also be connected with health insurance providers and third-party administrators to offer more benefits to insurance members who are also now PeduliLindungi users,” Hernady added.

For better centralisation of data, Telkom Indonesia will integrate PeduliLindungi with SDVC and the Indonesia Health Services (IHS) Platform owned by the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia for the app to have information on its users’ personal health records and other related health data.

“PeduliLindungi, in the end, will provide an end-to-end patient journey,” said Hernady.

“We will transform PeduliLindungi into a super app that provides promotive, preventive, corrective, and rehabilitative solutions. We will do this by collaborating with players in those areas, and leveraging their offers,” he added.

PeduliLindungi has more than 93 million registered users and around 52 million monthly active users. The app and SDVC were recognised in the inaugural Asian Telecom Awards as Indonesia’s Mobile App of the Year and Digital Initiative of the Year.

“Winning these two categories from the Asian Telecom Awards is an important achievement for us. This shows that we are on the right track and we need to continue with what we have done so far in digital transformation,” Hernady said.

“These two awards will also emphasise Telkom’s position as the leading digital telco in Indonesia, and also one of the leading digital telcos in the Asia Pacific,” he added.

We want it to be a place where health stakeholders in Indonesia can exchange health information

We will transform PeduliLindungi into a super app that provides promotive, preventive, corrective, and rehabilitative solutions (Photo: Joddy Hernady, Head, Telkom)

SDVC (The One Data System for COVID-19 Vaccination) is an integrated information system used to support the Government of Indonesia for preparation, implementation, reporting, monitoring and evaluating COVID-19 Vaccination Program in Indonesia.

PH-based broadband’s first orders of business

More than providing internet service, Converge ICT also aims to venture into video production.

The Philippines’ internet speed, although improving, still lags behind its neighbouring markets. In a July 2022 survey by Ookla, a broadband network intelligence company, the country placed 14th for fixed broadband median amongst 50 Asian markets and 45th out of 182 countries. To enhance the Philippines’ internet market, one of the local fixed broadband service providers aimed to advance digitalisation in the country for faster internet access.

Jesus Romero, COO of Converge ICT Solutions, said they seek to make government and businesses compete on a global scale. This led Converge to launch its Yan Ang Internet Programme, which means the “Kind of internet that people deserve.” This increased the cost of its internet plan, FiberXPlans, by merely PHP100 (around US$2), but the effect on its consumers is a doubled internet bandwidth.

“We were not selective. We informed all our customers [of this new programme], knowing that some of them may even potentially downgrade. To us, it’s okay, because the whole message is about providing the best value,” Romero further explained.

This was rolled out at the year-end of 2021 as it marked more than a million subscribers.

“On a short-term basis, we also offered some customers a discount on the first bill, meaning, if you avail of the plan, we will waive your first month’s bill,” Romero said.

Its entry-level plan was also upgraded by about 50% internet speed from 35 megabits (Mbps) to 50 Mbps, which means customers can do multiple online tasks.

“It allows them to do multiple things at the same time doing zoom meetings for business, school, online schooling for children, and streaming video services for entertainment,” said Romero.

Its most affordable and speedy internet plan is the higherend plan, which is around 800 Mbps per second.

“The higher end plan, we not only reduced the rate, but we almost tripled the speed. For about US$70, that’s 800 Mbps per second. That is the fastest and most affordable high-speed package in the country today,” said Romero.

Experience centres for customers

Converge, which runs a pure end-to-end fibre internet network, won the Marketing and Brand Initiative of the Year Award for the Philippines in the Asian Telecom Awards 2022.

It seeks to deploy “world-class” internet service to underserved Filipino customers as 68% of the Philippine population are using the internet, according to a 2022 report of marketing research firms, Hootsuite and We Are Social. The report also found that Filipinos spend an average of 10 hours and 27 minutes on the internet on any device.

To connect more with customers, Romero said they revamped their digital platforms for billing and support systems, with the first installations being the GoFiber

website and mobile app. “When you open the app, you can see the situation with your line: the signal level is good, the modem temperature okay, or too many users connected to it. We’re the first one with that, and we improved it,” said Romero.

Aside from advancing digital plans on the internet, Converge improved its services with physical stores as some Filipinos still prefer face-to-face interactions to address their concerns.

“They want to go to a business centre, they want to interact person to person and pay and apply. We’re also expanding our physical presence,” said the Converge COO.

“We’re launching the next generation of business centres. They are not going to be your traditional brick-and-mortar. We’re calling them experience centres,” Romero also said.

Beyond internet services

They are also seeking to offer services beyond reliable and speedy internet by providing television programming and other video content services through an internet protocol suite, which is more modern than cable or broadcast which is more modern than cable or broadcast television.

“Now that we have about 1.7 million total broadband customers, that’s a lot of eyeballs so we are also thinking about what are the other important services that they need,” Romero said.

For more on this interview, go to https:// asianbusinessreview.com/

We’re launching the next generation of business centres. We’re calling them experience centres

Converge seeks to deploy “world-class” internet service to underserved Filipinos (Jesus Romero, COO, Converge. Photo from https://www.convergeict.com/)

CONVERGE: GOING THE DISTANCE TO FIBER-POWER THE FILIPINO NATION

In the American folktale, “The Little Engine that Could”, a train gets stuck at the bottom of a high mountain, unable to climb up the steep incline. The train asks for help from large locomotives - they refuse, citing one reason or another. A smaller engine comes along, and agrees to help. The little engine chugs up the mountain, repeating the phrase “ I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!” as it heaves the train.

It’s a children’s story on hard work and captures what Converge has been doing the past 15 years. Carrying the load - giving quality connection to millions of Filipinos - is a heavy task indeed, but Converge said “Yes, we can!”. Just how did this little engine become the roaring locomotive it is today?

Laying Down the Tracks

In 2019, Converge gathered speed to pull the train forward. It began building the fiber network that now runs through the major islands of the Philippines. From Central Luzon, where it started, it expanded to the shores of Visayas and Mindanao in 2021.

“Failure was not an option for us. We needed to do the hard work and persevere to provide world-class connectivity to the unserved and underserved communities,” said Dennis Anthony H. Uy, CEO and Co-Founder of Converge.

Going the Distance

Converge also heavily invested in a robust international network.

Converge invested in the Bifrost Cable System to accommodate transatlantic demand for data, and recently in the Southeast Asia HainanHong Kong Express Cable (SEA-H2X), to meet the demand for data within

Asia.

Hainan

With a resilient domestic network and a well-capacitated international one, Converge is equipped to serve the huge connectivity needs of Filipinos that for so long, has been unmet.

one, Converge is equipped to serve the huge connectivity needs of

Preventing revenue leakages caused by cyberthreats

It helps retain revenue in A2P SMS by blocking threats such as spam messages and flash calls.

Monetising international application-to-person (A2P) short message service (SMS) contributes to the earning streams of mobile network operators, but threats like fraud and spam messages should be blocked to avoid revenue leakages in earnings.

Razan Itani, product manager of Monty Mobile, said that to monetise A2P SMS, it is crucial to bring a “solid network” or a firewall into the network that will secure them from such threats.

Monty Mobile’s Smartwall monetises SMS traffic and shields networks from fraud including sim farms and grey routes. It also filters spam messages and blocks unwanted texts in real-time. This leads to preventing revenue leakage as it protects and monetises SMS traffic.

“Our system is capable of protecting against all in addition to our experience and how to customise the rules, protect any network from any types of threats,” Itani told Asian Telecom

“We are always putting in new technologies in our system, we are always adapting to protect the network from any type of threats. We are introducing machine learning, and artificial intelligence techniques, in order to ensure the full production of any mobile operating network,” she added.

Monty Mobile earned three recognitions in the Asian Telecom Awards hosted by the Asian Business Review, two of which were for the International A2P SMS Monetization of the Year for Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

The company won the award in Indonesia as the judges recognised its achievement of having four of the top Mobile Network Operators in the country as its clients. Monty Mobile was also acclaimed for offering good service for a reasonable price, and its quality customer service.

For Sri Lanka, it won the same award as the judges took note of its exclusive partnership with the national mobile network Operator in the country which signed the exclusive SMS Gateway management deal with Monty Mobile in 2021.

Preventing flash calls

Another type of threat network operators face is flash calls, which are automated missed calls used to verify the users when they download an application and enter their mobile operator by default.

Applications and over-the-top services used this method with the last few digits of the number to bypass the typical SMS verification code. Flash calls not only pose security risks but also lead to revenue loss and non-monetised channels for international A2P verification traffic as there are no charges made through the calls.

“[Our solution] is based on smart criteria. It is based on an advanced criteria protocol to protect, against any flash calling threats, to maintain the monetisation of international A2P SMS and to maintain the revenues that the mobile operators are

said.

Monty Mobile’s solution for flash calls also won Asian Telecom’s Technology Innovation of the Year - Indonesia.

Retaining clients

Sarah Barakat, Deputy Operator and Partnership Director, said the Asia Pacific region plays an important role in their operations as they have deals with mobile network operators in Indonesia and Sri Lanka to monetise their A2P SMS.

Despite innovating its services, Monty Mobile is facing a challenge in retaining its client, Barakat said.

She said that it is vital to be always on top of technology development of solutions that are required to maintain network stability and security.

“We retain our clients by ensuring that they are always getting the best maximised possible revenues. We also retain them by maintaining the security of the network by developing any new solution needed to keep them protected,” she said.

conducting from the International A2P SMS,” she

We retain our clients by ensuring that they are always getting the best maximised possible revenues

Our system is capable of protecting against any types of threats (Photo: Sarah Barakat, Deputy Operator and Partnership Director and Razan Itani, Product Manager, Monty Mobile)

Telco sites evolve to set the stage for 5G network

5G networks are being built in nontraditional cell sites.

Telecommunications providers believe that the 5G technology still has a long way to go in Asia despite its commercial availability in 14 countries, including India and Vietnam. But in the global scene, the telecommunications industry is already preparing for the entry of 6G. This leaves Asian industry players no choice but to double their efforts in developing infrastructures that will bolster 5G employment.

GSMA projected that by 2025, there will be more than 400 million 5G connections in the region, representing 14% of the total mobile connections. This is higher in developed economies, in Asia Pacific such as Australia, Japan, Singapore, and South Korea.

“We’re still in the early early stages of many 5G deployments throughout the world. There are new spectrum bands, and new technologies still to be built out,” Andrew Bender, the Chief Technology Officer at DZS, told Asian Telecom

“In DZS, we are already working with standard bodies, industry groups, and others to define the path to 6G. Not that we’re done with 5G yet, but over the next five to eight years, we’ll start to see another wave of technology emerge in how we build mobile networks. We’ll have to get ready for that, as well,” Bender said.

Innovation driver

Bender sees Asia as the key market driving innovation in 5G networks, particularly in Japan, Korea, and some parts of Southeast Asia. He deemed these Asian markets as the “first movers” in the operator community seeking to advance 5G adoption.

“There is a vibrant market activity there in terms of communications and innovation. We are seeing a lot of growth there as we communicate publicly to the market,” he said. In this light, DZS views Asia as a key strategic region for the deployment of 5G in OpenRAN space amongst others.

“We’re going to continue to invest in this area, not just with C1216RO, but a range of solutions for indoor, for outdoor in the carrier networks, but also on-premises, in buildings, in inland scenarios, all providing that connection with optical connectivity from the radios into the core of the network to enable those 5G experiences.”

Bender said with 5G technology, an improved speed, faster compared to wired networks and even optical networks can be expected. It will also bring new applications that will change the way consumers live, work, and play.

“There are some exciting new concepts emerging related to 5G—low latency services, vertical enterprise type services, and industrial applications for control, private networks for the enterprise using the 5G network,” he said, noting that for their part, DZS has included technology that will enable these new concepts in its portfolio.

In DZS, we are already working with standard bodies, indus try groups, to define the path to 6G

Rakuten Mobile

In pursuit of advancing 5G adoption, Bender said DZS is working to bring the market new technology that will provide a new suite of solutions. Through the Chronos C1216RO, DZS provides the flexibility, mobility, and ease of deployment necessary for the successful rollout of 5G across the world.

“We’re starting to build new 5G networks. There are nontraditional cell sites, which are places that are not in ordinary base stations. [This is] related to the idea of densification of more and more cell sites being deployed closer to subscribers to get more performance, more capacity to the network,” Bender explained.

“Our products support a key enabling technology called packet-based fronthaul.”

The Open RAN fronthaul gateway (FHG) was deployed at Rakuten Mobile’s network, with over 17,000 units, serving more than 5 million Rakuten subscribers.

Through this, Rakuten was able to match, if not exceed, their competitor’s upload and download speeds, giving users a better experience in video streaming, gaming, and voice application experiences to subscribers.

It also paved the way for Rakuten to quickly and efficiently expand its reach to support millions of subscribers and allow more room for expansion at no cost to the quality of its service.

There is a vibrant market activity in Asia in terms of communications and innovation (Photo: Andrew Bender, Chief Technology Officer, DZS - DZSI.com)

LAWRENCE CHIA

How your business can get the most out of the metaverse

From the MTR’s launch of a ‘Web3’ (an internet service using decentralised blockchains) metaverse partnership with The Sandbox platform to K11 MUSEA’s METAVISION NFT showcase on HSBC’s Main Building façade back in June 2022, signs of metaverse are proliferating in our lives, and proliferating fast.

It seems only yesterday that ‘metaverse’ was just an ill-defined buzzword mostly used by tech giants and innovators. Now metaverse is a real, blossoming ecosystem that is a must-have for the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions) industry and many others.

Whilst doubts and hesitancy about its longevity and potential have largely dissipated, the urgent question remains: ‘How can we actually create value from the metaverse?’ With many different versions now available, businesses might ask ‘which metaverse?’ as well.Having recently launched our own metaverse platform, I can share some tips from experience on how to find ‘real business’ in the virtual world.

It’s now or never

Let’s start with the obvious: The time to enter the metaverse is now, if you haven’t already. The market has already started to transition from theorising to actively exploring the metaverse, and more shillyshallying will only result in being left behind.

According to PICO’s annual market survey released in August, less than 30% of businesses have yet to even consider metaverse activity. Being amongst the first companies in the metaverse does not necessarily mean profits; but being late to the party will likely make profits harder to achieve.

What’s your ultimate purpose?

Your business’ metaverse goal might be to stimulate demand across new and existing market segments, for which you will need engaging content. Or you may be aiming to build brand experiences and communities, for which an immersive experience is necessary.

In short, whether you are attempting to create experiences, foster interaction or spur engagement, you must clearly identify your goals and develop a value-focused strategy.

Some common business opportunities in the metaverse include sales of products and spaces, creation of experiences and events, provision of distance work and training, or marketing services.

For example, The Sandbox, one of the most popular metaverse platforms, launched with the clearly defined goal of serving as “community-driven platform where creators can monetise voxel ASSETS and gaming experiences on the blockchain”. The Sandbox have since found great success via cryptocurrency and land transactions by corporations and other users.

The China-based YAOLAND metaverse platform, on the other hand, has positioned itself as a marketing and NFT (non-fungible token) platform for brands. It generates revenue by offering a virtual marketing platform and services to corporations, and has launched

LAWRENCE CHIA Group Chairman,CEO Pico Far East Holdings Limited

NFTs in collaboration with museums and artists, including the National Gallery in the UK.

Find your place

Some of the more common business activities surrounding the metaverse ecosystem involve delivering immersive content and experiences in existing platforms, and developing a proprietary comprehensive platform for marketing, entertainment, etcetera.

By building your metaverse presence around your business’s strengths, you are taking a cost-efficient shortcut to capturing value.

YAOLAND is a good example: Its founders – China Unicom subsidiary Shanghai Wocheng, Net263 Ltd, and Pico – have contributed their respective expertise in experiential marketing, 3D virtual streaming, cloud gaming and rendering, along with a large existing mobile user base. Capitalising on this know-how and array of resources, YAOLAND positions itself as a HTML5 immersive gamified virtual marketing platform, providing both engaging content to users and brand activation platform for corporations.

Steps to success

There can be no one-size-fits-all solution to your metaverse ambitions. Finding what will work in relation to your company’s strengths, market trends and audience preferences is to some extent a matter of trial-and-error, testing and adaptation.

That doesn’t mean launching new initiatives with a reckless abandon; instead, develop your new ideas thoughtfully to explore opportunities such as NFTs, immersive experiences or native advertising, and to establish a solid yet flexible metaverse presence.

All your activities should contribute to understanding your audience. Data gained from users will enable you to analyse their behaviours and experiences and further narrow down what works, what doesn’t, and what might hold potential. Creating or adopting an effective data-driven analytics solution is therefore essential for business in the metaverse.

Finally, be prepared to scale your metaverse capabilities, as market conditions there can change fast. Source the talent you need and establish the technology infrastructure and tooling in advance, whether through expanding your talent acquisition and development programme or by establishing a partnership with a technological powerhouse.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you can form a clearer picture of your place in the metaverse and where the monetisation and business opportunities lie.

But this is far from being the last word on the metaverse. It’s early days yet, and we have barely scratched the surface of its full potential. My best advice is to dip your toe in now; the sooner you do, the sooner you’ll find what awaits you.