The ongoing Digital Transformation World 2022 (DTW) by TM Forum unveils some of the biggest and most influential transformation journeys in telecoms. The event, which ends on the 22nd of September is expected to see more than 3000 attendees discussing technologies and business strategies that are highly pertinent in shaping the transformation agenda of the industry. One of such journeys is that of Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (IOH)’s, Indonesia’s second largest mobile operator. Jointly owned by Ooredoo and Hutchison Asia Telecom Group, IOH has more than 97 million mobile subscribers and operates under the IM3 and Three (3) mobile brands.
Leading growth from the top
Spearheading IOH’s transformation from within is its CEO, Vikram Sinha. Vikram joined the Ooredoo family in 2014 from Bharti Airtel and has served in various senior roles including CEO and board member before assuming the role of President Director and CEO of IOH in December 2021. An experienced industry leader, Vikram played an instrumental role in steering IOH through a three-year turnaround journey to become the second top telecom operator in the country and a major force of growth in the local and regional economy. IOH’s successful turnaround strategy is underpinned by a series of digital transformation initiatives led by Vikram, resulting in significant improvements in its operational efficiencies and enhancements in network agility and intelligence. These initiatives paved the way for a superior network and a world-class experience for its subscribers, which led to the operator recording the highest growth in both revenue and EBITDA among APAC operators in the last year.
Vikram Sinha, President Director and CEO of Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (IOH)
Speaking at DTW’s headliner session ‘A Blueprint for Growth’, Vikram shared IOH’s turnaround strategy and its contribution to the Indonesian Internet economy, which is expected to grow to USD146 billion by 2025. In his presentation, Vikram highlighted IOH’s network and distribution strengths including 4200 physical sites, increased fiberization and a rapidly growing network of retail outlets. He also pointed out the company’s strong brand equity which builds on Indosat’s 50-year tradition.
The session, which looks at approaches to revising existing operating strategies, also highlighted the importance of identifying core and non-core business areas and establishing their inter-dependencies. It also assessed the adoption of an asset light strategy among operators.
IOH 5G vision
In his address, Vikram also shared the rapid expansion of IOH’s 5G network, including the latest launch of the service in the island of Bali. The launch which is powered by IOH’s partnership with global ICT provider, Huawei, brings the total number of cities with IOH 5G to six. The service enables mobile data speeds of 1 Gbps in Bali and the cities of Surakarta, Jakarta, Surabaya, Makassar and Balikpapan. Based on the FDD 5G Massive MIMO technology, IOH 5G will enable significant growth in traffic capacity to power the data needs of these cities, and at the same time fuel new use cases that leverage high-speed, low latency connectivity. The rollout of IOH 5G in Bali comes ahead of the G20 Presidency Heads of State and Government Summit, an event that is expected to contribute to the revival of the island’s tourism economy. The service is also expected to push the recovery of the island’s agriculture, health, urban planning and enterprise sectors.
Expanding the spirit of ‘Gotong Royong’
Supporting IOH’s successful turnaround strategy is the spirit of ‘Gotong Royong’. "IOH was born with a purpose to connect and empower every Indonesian. And there’s only one way to achieve this through the power of collaboration, or in Indonesia, we call it Gotong Royong, a win-win collaboration spirit to reach a larger purpose together,” said Vikram.
In April, the operator entered into a strategic partnership with Huawei to tap into the global ICT provider’s RAN integration capabilities. The collaboration which is aimed at expediting the end-to-end integration of the operator’s 4G and 5G RAN will enable high quality network assurance, while driving customer experience and delivering long-term cost savings. This follows an earlier MoU with Inligo Network on the Asia Connect Cable System (ACC-1) which grants IOH an exclusive partnership with Inligo Submarine, enabling it to provide high-capacity connectivity within Indonesia and the wider region. More recently, IOH joined hands with Tech Mahindra to merge the latter’s expertise in system integration, IT and network managed services with IOH’s 5G and enterprise connectivity services across domains such as Industry 4.0, cloud adoption and data analysis.
With a rapidly expanding partner ecosystem, including its joint venture with BDx and Lintasara to establish the BDx Indonesia data center as well as its partnership with Google Cloud to provide cost-efficient solutions for MSMEs in Indonesia, IOH is playing the critical role of enhancing synergies between players and expediting transformation initiatives in the industry. This has not only spurred IOH’s own business success, but has also positioned the digital telco on the frontlines of Indonesia’s transformation towards becoming the next digital powerhouse.
To learn more about Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison, please click here.
