The leading operator in Russia, VimpelCom has rebranded itself to VEON as part of its efforts to transform from a telco to a global tech company.
The Operators has launched a OTT services platform by the same name in Italy last year and it plans to expand it across its footprint this year. The Veon platform offers an app for messaging, VoIP and a range of often zero-rated offers from the company and partners.
"In the past few years, the telecom industry’s performance has been lackluster in many markets across the world. Growth has been elusive, even in emerging markets, and the industry has failed to reinvent itself. Our industry is at a crossroads and in desperate need of reinvention. The sector has lacked meaningful engagement with customers, particularly in prepaid markets where customer loyalty has been limited at best. It risks simply becoming dumb pipes for others, as consumers and businesses communicate, share and socialise for free through fast-growing OTT players," wrote Jean-Yves Charlier, CEO of VimpelCom in a blog post. "Technology is revolutionising the way users communicate, travel, bank, shop, consume, and are entertained, presenting VEON with a unique opportunity, given our reach and penetration in the mobile markets of tomorrow. Other telcos have acquired tech companies, announced mergers with media players, or set up innovation units in the race to reinvent themselves."
VEON, headquartered in Amsterdam and serving over 235 million customers worldwide, also announced partnerships with some of the world’s most popular, proven brands such as Deezer, STUDIO+ (Vivendi) and Mastercard to transform the personal internet experience.
VEON is the name for both the company and its new personal internet platform, which integrates powerful data analytics and artificial intelligence to put the user in control. It tears down the archaic and inefficient bricks-and-mortar service model and replaces it with a smooth, easy, fun, contextual and intuitive experience where everything users need is at their fingertips.
