Maxis was named Service Provider of the Year in the Frost & Sullivan 2008 Malaysia Telecoms Awards. MW speaks to CEO Sandip Das on what keeps Malaysia’s leading telco ticking.

 

You joined Maxis after leading a telecoms company in India. What is your impression of the Malaysian mobile communications scene?

One obvious difference is the size of the Indian telecoms market compared to the Malaysian market. India is adding about eight million new subscribers a month. The size, the scale, the speed, and the “cost to serve” model in India is staggering!

What is also fascinating about Malaysia is the advancement of society and the depth of her technology infrastructure. For instance, I understand 14-16 million people use the internet here. Malaysian internet users are among the top five nationalities worldwide who are regularly visiting and using popular internet websites such as MySpace and Friendster. Malaysia has complementary networks such as 3G, HSDPA, WiMax, the latest 3G products and mobile TV that are available to consumers in real time. This is very much in step with the rest of the developed world.

I also feel that the combination of the state, the regulator and the operator is in good accord in Malaysia, and this expedites decision-making. There is also good alignment on the national objective to bring digital benefits to the consumer at a faster pace.

When did you join Maxis and what did you do before that?
I started India’s first privately owned telecoms company, Hutchison Max Telecom, in 1994 when India was privatising its telecommunications industry. We first provided paging services; and a year later our cellular business started. It was again among the first cellular services in the country.

Eventually, we became a very big cellular company in India that is respected for its panache and great brand of service.

Two months after I left in 2006, it was sold to Vodafone for a record sum which was one of the biggest deals in the Indian telecoms history. It was regarded as the finest telecom brand in India and I was there for 13 years. I am very proud of that effort!

I joined Maxis on 15 January 2007.

How do you see mobile number portability (MNP) affecting Maxis?
I’ll answer that in several ways. We have to go by how MNP evolved in other countries. In some countries, it happened in a low impact manner because operators were rational, while in other countries, there was a bloodbath.

In those countries with irrational competition, price wars were rampant as incumbents tried to protect their customer base while new operators tried to grab a market foothold at all costs. While it’s a good time for consumers but it’s a very hard time for all these operators. New operators struggled to duplicate the quality of service, the experience and the range of products of the incumbent. On the other hand, incumbents see years of their investments and toil of business build-up eroded by irrational short term pricing.

However, we must not underestimate the maturity of customers to make sensible choices. I expect them to weigh their options as there are benefits to remain with the operator they have been for a long time. Consumers will likely take into careful consideration the trade-off between short term prices versus other service benefits.
I hope competition will make all operators more efficient and accountable. I also sincerely hope that a good service provider’s objective is to give top class services to the consumer at fair prices. Price is the easiest thing to slash, but it is the long term value of the service that is harder to appreciate.

What are the challenges facing Maxis and how do you plan to face them?
With MNP around the corner and the arrival of new players, all operators are facing the challenge of fiercer competition. However, as the market leader with a large lead over the competition in terms of market share, innovation and service quality are two key areas. However, MNP notwithstanding, I believe the biggest challenge facing Maxis today and which we will continue to face in the near future is competition with our own past.

Maxis customers expect more from us, perhaps even more than what non-Maxis customers are accustomed to with other operators. We have to always do better today than what we did yesterday to serve our customers; as they rightly expect only the best from us.

It is really not about changing for the sake of MNP. Maxis has not built its businesses on a quirk of fate to be the leader. We have worked very hard to bring the best to our customers – evidently not only our tariff packages, network investments and customer service but also our world class innovative products. We have to continue to do the same and more, keeping our customers at the centre of everything we do. This has been Maxis’ forte and we are confident that for this reason, our customers who made us Malaysia’s leading mobile operator will keep us in good shape during MNP.

What are the most well received mobile content, applications and services by end users?
People are using internet browsing in a big way on the mobile phone. Our mobile portal is quite an enabler. We have about 3.7 million active data users today, which is about a third of our total subscriber base. They’re accessing our entertainment and information portal; social networking sites and search engines – all on their mobile phones.

What services do you yourself use on the mobile?
I catch up on my favourite sport cricket, on my phone browser when I’m away from my PC or the TV. I also check my email while on the go and I also SMS a lot as I need to be on top of my business. Sometimes I go through You Tube but I do a fair bit of Googling. I don’t have much time for other content.

My children access Facebook, MySpace and music downloads on their phones a lot, to the extent that I feel like a dinosaur. My wife has recently started using the Blackberry as well for her emails and the internet.

Mr Sandip, what combinations of factors do you attribute Maxis being awarded the Service Provider of the Year for?
I can’t comment on the criteria used by Frost & Sullivan to select the Service Provider of the Year award. We never actively try to solicit awards but it is nice when we get them. It shows us where we are versus others. It is also an endorsement of the efforts of our people and they feel proud and inspired when they walk past our corridors lined with trophy displays.

However, Maxis is a fundamentally strong company with a brand of service that is consistently innovative. We provide applications for consumers, add value, and at the same time, we have a fine track record in the region. Our track record, especially in innovation, is well documented; we have consistently come up with world firsts and do things which are contemporary by global standards. Maxis was among the first in the world to provide a residential wireless broadband HSPA service and it was a case study discussed at the GSM Association’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in 2007. Also, our Near Field Communication (NFC) “Wave and Pay” payment trial in 2007 is one of the first in the world.

I feel it is a combination of all these factors, besides our all sound strong market performance, be it market share, revenues or profitability that has contributed to Maxis winning the award.

We have a pedigree for excellence and strong corporate governance. For a 13-year old company, we have the maturity and the grace of a company that has been around for over 100 years.

(Sandip also spoke to MW about WiMAX and other industry issues. Read the full interview at www.commtechasia.net )