The paradigm shift to digital is fully underway, as players continue to see shrinking revenue streams driven by over-the-top competitors, and finding new areas of growth to remain relevant becomes a crucial step, going forward.
on smart metering, as well as national carmaker Proton Holdings Bhd on providing network connectivity to their vehicles. Banking on more than 25 years of experience in the telecommunications industry, Idham tells StarBizWeek that a crucial step the telco operator is embarking on is turning around Celcom into a 32-year-old startup.
One of the key startup traits shown by Celcom is providing IoT solutions to a government agency using the fifth-generation mobile network on trial in Langkawi. However, Idham is looking forward to a new source of revenue for Celcom in the next few months after the commercial availability of the 5G cellular network in the second-half of the year.
He says the revenue growth from the 5G network will only contribute and materialise in the financial results of 2021 and 2022. “This figure is a general guidance we have given to analysts. This year, we are focusing more on the quality of the network and better customer experience rather than the expansion of the network, ” he adds.
Given the “hyper competition” between telco players, Idham notes that Celcom is focusing on improving its profitability and efficiency while reducing costs and redundancies this year. On the industry outlook, most brokerage firms have a neutral stance on the telecommunications sector, given the weak mobile and fixed revenue growth prospects.