Come closer to delight it will raise ARPU says e&
European telcos seeking ARPU-raising inspiration could take heed of a crop of new customer-pleasing inventions coming from the United Arab Emirates, where flagship telco Etisalat by e& (e&) has formed a pact with Circles to deliver ‘delightful digital’ experiences across international markets. Early telco adopters of Circles creativity, such as KDDI, have seen their earnings per user instantly rise, it’s claimed. Now the results of their joint venture will be available to all mobile networks across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
The creative monetising brief has been given to its e& International division which is to embark on a joint venture with technology company Circles. Their mission is to deliver digital experiences across e&’s operating markets and beyond. At present there is no description of any of this ground shaking digital experiences, but this new move will allow its network of mobile network operators (MNOs), as well as other regional operators, to launch digital telco brands offering a range of technologies, the UAE-based telco claimed on its statement.
According to e&, the partnership will use Circles’ digital expertise and global operations across 13 markets in the Asia Pacific and European regions, “bringing the best in digital solutions to e&’s footprint across 16 markets and beyond”. Additionally, the telco group will use a cloud-native, digital software-as-a-services (SaaS) platform called Circles X. This, it claims, will helps MNOs to launch their digital telco brands from any location. The average revenue per user on European and African mobile networks cold be revitalised, it is claimed, by using this cloud native tool to unlock a lithe and lively digital-first revenue growth engine, at a fraction of the operating cost that hinders a traditional telco.
What exactly is this revenue growth engine? Circles is a global technology company with a software service (SaaS) system, Circles X, that helps is designed to help operators launch and operate successful digital brands. After it launched its own digital telco, Circles.Life that gave it a successful blueprint for telcos including M1 in Singapore, Chunghwa in Taiwan and Optus in Australia. Circles has also partnered with other national MNOs such as XL Axiata in Indonesia to launch Live.On and KDDI Corporation in Japan. In Japan it claimed that POVO 2 helped KDDI expand its market share almost instantly.
“Built for operators by an operator, Circles X empowers MNOs to drive seamless and personalized digital experiences, thus achieving a net-promoter-score (NPS) that is higher than industry standards,” said the release. Sadly, no examples of these digital experiences were given.
“Our transformation from a reputed telco giant to a global technology and investment group, [makes us] confident that we will continue to enhance our customers’ digital journey according to their needs,” said Mikhail Gerchuk, CEO, e& international. “Our partnership with Circles is solid proof of our commitment to heralding a new digital era, one that is filled with limitless possibilities where we can collaborate and accomplish more for a brighter, digital future.”
Rameez Ansar, CEO & Co-Founder of Circles, also said a lot about deepening the partnership, but offered no clues over these exciting digital experiences. “Our Circles X technology demonstrates our continuous commitment to help the MNOs connect with the digitally savvy generation and deliver the delightful digital experiences that they want and need. Our operator and digital expertise from powering successful digital telcos allows us to transfer our knowledge and experience to our partnership with e&.”