Telenor: Carriers Must Simplify Their Business Plans And Re-Engage With Customers

Telenor’s CEO warned that carriers also need to dramatically reduce the costs associated with providing key services.

Operators in the carriers and wholesale telecoms community must simplify their business models and re-engage with their customers, if they are to halt rapidly declining profitability in the industry, according to industry experts.

Speaking exclusively at the Carriers World event in London on Tuesday, the head of Telenor’s Global Wholesale unit, Harald Krohg, said that after many years of strong growth, the industry was now witnessing a rapid decline in revenues.

“The question is how can we transform the role of carriers to reverse that trend,” he said.

“Digitalisation has become something of a buzz word. The carriers’ industry needs to focus on what the customer actually wants and what services we can provide to meet their needs. We must dramatically reduce the cost of providing services. We have lost sight of what our customers need and want.”

Krohg said that the industry had become too entrenched in its work processes and had lost touch with the needs of its clients. He urged carriers to evolve their business plans and simplify their strategies, in an attempt to boost ailing profit margins.

“We need to evolve our strategy and get rid of the costly processes that do not add any value for the customer. Simplifying the way we work is an absolute necessity for the industry right now.”

“It’s an opportunity for this industry to change and simplify our business models  in terms of the services that we offer and the way that we charge for those services. We need to leave the complex models behind us and move towards more simplified strategies,” he concluded. – Total Telecom