Orange eyes 40% market share
Mar 21, 2009
ORANGE Telecom is the newest entrant and fifth mobile phone operator onto the Uganda market. <b>Marc Rennard</b>, the executive vice-president for Africa, Middle East and Asia, told <b>David Muwanga</b> their plans for the next five years.
ORANGE Telecom is the newest entrant and fifth mobile phone operator onto the Uganda market. Marc Rennard, the executive vice-president for Africa, Middle East and Asia, told David Muwanga their plans for the next five years.
QUESTION: What is your strategy for Uganda?
We intend to deliver good services at fair rates for both voice and data.
We also plan to bring down the costs of Internet and provide the same services throughout the country.
In Uganda, there is a lot of room for expansion. That is why we are not worried about competition.
Every Ugandan wants to communicate but not all Ugandans have managed to access these services.
We shall be able to reach every corner of the country now that we have agreed to share the masts with Warid Telecom.
How insulated is Orange from the global financial crisis?
We have not experienced the impact of the global financial crisis in Africa because more people consider use of mobile services as an important aspect.
We anticipate that there will be growth despite the crisis.
However, we cannot rule out the fact that the crisis might affect the prices of the services especially the Internet but people will continue using mobile phones.
Where do you see Orange in the next five years?
There are five operators on the Ugandan market which means the market is split but our ambition is to have between 30% and 40% market share in the next five years.
We know it’s going to be difficult and we are not taking anything for granted but with good customer care, we shall be able to achieve our targets.
In addition, we have got Orange Kenya that has already got an infrastructure laid from Malaba to Mombasa. We are planning to upgrade this network after which we shall connect Uganda’s national fibre optic cable to the network in Kenya and ultimately Uganda will get connected to the undersea cables that will have landed in Mombasa.
What challenges does the sector face?
Some competitors are making it difficult for us to link up with their networks and some areas do not have electricity. There is also the problem of poor roads. However, we have agreed to share masts with Warid Telecom. This will make it easy for us to get more people connected.
We are ready to share masts with other companies for the interest of the public although some have refused. In some countries, sharing masts is mandatory.
QUESTION: What is your strategy for Uganda?
We intend to deliver good services at fair rates for both voice and data.
We also plan to bring down the costs of Internet and provide the same services throughout the country.
In Uganda, there is a lot of room for expansion. That is why we are not worried about competition.
Every Ugandan wants to communicate but not all Ugandans have managed to access these services.
We shall be able to reach every corner of the country now that we have agreed to share the masts with Warid Telecom.
How insulated is Orange from the global financial crisis?
We have not experienced the impact of the global financial crisis in Africa because more people consider use of mobile services as an important aspect.
We anticipate that there will be growth despite the crisis.
However, we cannot rule out the fact that the crisis might affect the prices of the services especially the Internet but people will continue using mobile phones.
Where do you see Orange in the next five years?
There are five operators on the Ugandan market which means the market is split but our ambition is to have between 30% and 40% market share in the next five years.
We know it’s going to be difficult and we are not taking anything for granted but with good customer care, we shall be able to achieve our targets.
In addition, we have got Orange Kenya that has already got an infrastructure laid from Malaba to Mombasa. We are planning to upgrade this network after which we shall connect Uganda’s national fibre optic cable to the network in Kenya and ultimately Uganda will get connected to the undersea cables that will have landed in Mombasa.
What challenges does the sector face?
Some competitors are making it difficult for us to link up with their networks and some areas do not have electricity. There is also the problem of poor roads. However, we have agreed to share masts with Warid Telecom. This will make it easy for us to get more people connected.
We are ready to share masts with other companies for the interest of the public although some have refused. In some countries, sharing masts is mandatory.