Etisalat’s CCO Highlights Strategies To Transform Telecoms Sector

Etisalat Nigeria’s Chief Commercial Officer, Mr. Wael Ammar, has highlighted strategies for transforming the telecommunications industry in the face of new competition at the Nigeria Com Conference and Exhibition organised by Informa Telecoms and Media in Lagos last week.

The conference with the theme, ‘‘Driving Monetisation of Services in a Fast Changing Market” was held at the Eko Hotel and Suites and had in attendance, industry experts, regulators and stakeholders in the telecoms industry.

Wael Ammar who was the keynote speaker on the first day of the conference explained the role that mobile platforms are playing in driving growth and improving the communications needs of the average Nigerian consumer as well as the growing popularity of low-end smartphones in the telecommunications industry.

He said: “Statistics show that low-end smartphones are increasingly becoming popular because of their affordability. This ongoing trend will overtake high-end smartphones by 2014 and will further increase the consumption of data. Etisalat as an innovative brand currently offers data bundles segmented by volume and time suitable for customer use in addition to data bundles segmented by user interests and type of devices suitable for youths as well as special smartphone bundles and tariffs”.

Ammar gave an overview of Etisalat’s performance in the last four years, stating that the company being the fourth entrant in to the Nigerian telecoms industry has performed well, especially in a highly competitive market such as Nigeria’s. Comparing the performance of Etisalat to that of a fifth entrant in another country, Ammar said Etisalat has performed above average, amassing a subscriber base of over 14 million in about four years, and has continued to lead in the area of innovation, quality of service and customer focus.

The Research Director, Informa Telecoms and Media, Julie Rey, said the objective of the Nigeria Com conference is to engage stakeholders in the market to meet and discuss changing trends and opportunities in the Nigerian telecoms industry. According to her, “this year’s conference involved more key stakeholders in the ICT industry including regulators, with the aim of brainstorming to create a friendlier environment to enhance better performance in the Nigeria telecommunications industry as well as contribute to its development.

The Nigeria Com Conference and Exhibition is part of a series of mobile events targeted at bringing together the entire digital ecosystem to discuss opportunities and development of the system. The series also include Africa Com, Enterprise ICT Africa, Africa Cast and AfricApps, among others, Etisalat Nigeria will also be participating at the upcoming Africa Com scheduled to hold on 13 – 14 November in Cape Town, South Africa.