WE WANT OUR CUSTOMERS TO FEEL THEY’RE IN GOOD HANDS

STJEPAN UDOVIČIĆ, CEO, Crnogorski Telekom

We are leading the society in the direction of digitalisation as a company that enables any customer in the country to connect to all available online services. The knowhow drawn by our experts from the experiences of Telekom and Deutsche Telekom Group enables us to provide our partners with the right answers to their questions regarding digitalisation

Crnogorski Telekom finds itself in a unique market position, because it is backed by the knowhow and experience of the entire Deutsche Telekom Group. According to the company’s CEO, this is what makes Telekom unique on the market. “We are moving in step with the leading European and world trends in the domains of mobile and landline networks, support technologies for these networks and innovations, which only makes sense if the benefits are felt by customers,” explains our interlocutor. Telekom is this year dedicated to improving the customer experience, which ensures that its work is resulting in growth of the client base and revenue, and confirms that the company is on the right track.

How do you provide support to companies that are undergoing the digital transformation process?

- Digital transformation helps companies to reduce their costs, simplify and speed up processes, and increase their productivity. However, if this process is entered into without planning, it may result in greater harm than good. That’s why it is important for us to be available to customers – from the Montenegrin public sector and interested members of public – firstly as advisors, through the broadening of perspectives, and then also as service providers.

It is in that sense that I would like to mention eTrust – Telekom’s trust services, thanks to which electronic signatures and stamps have been made available to citizens, businesses and the public sector. This service has been developed in accordance with all relevant laws, and our data centre – which has been built according to the most demanding standards of the industry and DT Group – ensures even greater security and, of course, data storage in Montenegro.

What changes to the market will be brought by 5G?

- It was in June this year that Telekom became the first operator in Montenegro to successfully test the 5G network under so-called “real conditions” in the north of the country. The road to full implementation could be longer or shorter, depending on the development of the regulatory framework, i.e. the conditions set for operators when it comes to the commercial launch of 5G services.

As was the case in EU countries, major investments from operators are required for 5G to be made commercially available. As such, we are hopeful that frequency spectrum fees will be much lower, in order for us to be able to dedicate ourselves to investing in equipment and speeding up the process of ensuring the entire country has 5G network coverage.

What kind of business results will you end 2021 with; and what are your expectations for 2022?

- According to current indicators, we will end this year with growth in revenue and profitability compared to the results from year’s end 2020. We recorded an excellent third quarter and good results in the wholesale sector, due to the influence of a good tourist season in Montenegro, as well as significant growth in both the mobile and landline segments.

Next year will be an interesting one. We are living in times when making any kind of prediction is difficult. I hope that the COVID-19 pandemic will abate and I’m hopeful of a good tourist season that will be even better than this year’s. I hope for a stable and predictable regulatory environment that will enable us to make plans – as is currently the case – and I hope that, together with our colleagues from industry and public administration, we will plan and launch the 5G story in Montenegro in a unique way.