In line with Orange Egypt’s relentless efforts to play a vital role in providing cutting-edge digital solutions that best serve the state’s digital transformation, the leading telecom network participates in ICT with the aim of showcasing a wide range of its latest solutions that support smart cities, artificial intelligence, and securing major technological projects.
On the sidelines of ICT, Hisham Mahran, Chief Business Officer at Orange Egypt shares a lot of insights on the company’s future investment and long-term strategy in providing modern telecom services that support the establishment of smart cities.
What are the company's priorities and long-term strategy in 2024?
Our 2024 plan focuses primarily on improving our services and solutions in the areas of digital payment and smart cities, while also committing to making progress towards our environmental goals, which aim to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2040.
We also intend to maintain the revenue and operational activity growth that we have achieved, as well as to strengthen our position in the Egyptian market as a comprehensive and integrated provider of technology services in all technical fields, as a result of the massive investment that we have pumped into data solutions, digital services, and smart infrastructure, which has been matched by tremendous growth in technical consumption in Egypt, especially in light of the digital transformation strategy adopted by the Egypt. Of course, we will continue strengthening our position in social responsibility by supporting educational and health sectors, entrepreneur projects and new firms, and providing material and emotional assistance to women and the most vulnerable groups through initiatives and events.
How, in your opinion, can our cities achieve the notion of smart cities?
Smart cities are the future that will impose itself on every culture, like how any other technology begins dimly and then becomes dominant within a few years. However, Egypt appears to be more equipped this time around to execute and disseminate the notion of smart cities, according to Egypt's Vision 2030 and the state's digital transformation agenda. The Company's goal is to increase Egypt's competitiveness and residents' quality of life. Furthermore, smart cities are now the best solution for increasing efficiency, rationalizing energy, assuring security, and lowering urban community running expenses. As a result, real estate development businesses must supply these technologies in order to retain consumer loyalty and preserve their market position.
What about partnering with gated communities to provide modern telecom services?
We acquire a leading market share in Triple Play services provided in various residential communities, which include high-speed Internet service, high-definition digital TV channels, and fixed telephone, using fiber optics through private internal networks to many real estate developers in the Egyptian market, including, but not limited to, Orascom Development, Emaar Misr, Sodic, New Giza, Tatweer Misr, and a number of others. This is in addition to the negotiations that is currently ongoing with a group of new real estate developers.
What are the most visible industries in which you invest and provide the most to the company's revenue?
Orange is focusing on increasing its investments in the communications and information technology sector, particularly in the fields of digital data, financial services, and smart cities, in light of the significant growth in the Internet sector and the record high rates of its use, as well as supporting our services with fourth generation mobile technology in light of the noticeable growth rates in Internet use on our network.
What role will Orange Egypt play at the Cairo ICT 2023 expo?
During the exhibition, the company will present a wide range of its most recent solutions and technologies aimed at assisting digital transformation processes, smart cities, artificial intelligence, and securing major technological projects, as well as digital services and services for individuals in a variety of important sectors. The company also displays at its pavilion the most recent initiatives and significant projects that it has developed to foster innovation and creativity, particularly among entrepreneurs, such as the "Orange Digital Centre."
What is the company's strategy for providing digital solutions in urban areas?
Orange Egypt recognized the importance of this field early on and developed a tremendous strategy to ensure building its capabilities in a competitive manner that provides technical solutions for smart cities in accordance with the highest international standards. The company possesses the necessary local and international expertise and cadres that qualify it to provide these services with high efficiency, as well as manage and operate these projects in accordance with international standards. Orange also collaborates with the parent company to improve work effectiveness and transfer modern technological expertise to the Egyptian market, in addition to benefiting from the Orange Group's cadres and technical strength in the fields of research, innovation, and information security.
Orange managed to form alliances with a number of enterprises in these industries, through which it supplied work site automation services, measurement devices, vehicle fleet management, and other technical solutions tailored to new urban communities.
This strategy has resulted in being the most dependable digital services partner for many well-known urban projects, culminating in the construction of the largest data center in the Administrative Capital, which is regarded as the beating heart of all smart services that will be provided in the capital at the infrastructure, transportation, utilities, energy, and other levels.
What prospects do you anticipate for growth in the telecoms sector this year? In light of the current economic repercussions?
The Egyptian telecommunications sector, like other sectors, is facing the repercussions of the economic crisis, which include increased costs for products and services and growing inflation rates. Despite these limitations, there is potential for expansion in this area, particularly now that the sector's importance has become evident. Communications and its critical role in developing services and solutions that assist individuals in communicating and carrying out their everyday needs have clearly emerged. Reliance on communications sector services has grown dramatically in recent years in areas such as education, health, and remote business management, necessitating increasing efforts and expenditures to meet the growing demand for communication services and expanding network capabilities.
Furthermore, there are significant potential prospects in the telecommunications industry in the areas of digital transformation services in many industries, mobile money transfer, cloud computing, smart city services, and the Internet of Things in the near time.
What is new in the conversation between telecoms providers and the Telecoms Regulatory Authority regarding adjusting mobile service prices?
The increase in expenses caused by the growth in the price of the dollar, gasoline prices, and inflation puts pressure on companies’ profitability, since the dollar accounts for most of the costs of maintaining, installing, and operating the mobile network. Fuel is also an important component in the operation of mobile stations. As a result, Orange has submitted a request to the NTRA to raise the rates of its services in a way that keeps up with market developments while also partially compensating for the ongoing rise in operating and maintenance costs. We are still expecting a response to the request from the National Telecommunications Authority.
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