'We have plans to double our subscriber base'

Anastasia Bondar, marketing director of Spice Nepal, a part of Stockholm-based telecom giant TeliaSonera that operates Mero Mobile brand of cell phone service, has worked with global telecommunication companies like Ericsson. Based on her experience, she thinks Nepal lacks skilful manpower in telecommunication sector but still the potential is huge. Myrepublica.com sat down with Bondar to talk about Mero Mobile´s performance and future plans.



Excerpts:



Myrepublica.com: What is Mero Mobile´s current standing in the market?



Anastasia Bondar: Our current subscriber base is around two million and we enjoy the market share of around 20 to 25 percent here. Our service quality is also unmatched with our competitors. We offer services like Free Missed Call Notifications through which people can know about calls they received during busy hours or when they switched off their phones. Some of the other unique services include call waiting, call forwarding, voicemail, fax and conference calls. We have a wide network of Customer Care service points. We have also offered SIM cards at discounted rate. During the New Year, we offered SIM card for Rs 350, with free talk time equivalent to the entire amount. We also have the cheapest rates our customers to connect within their network of friends and family.



Myrepublica.com: What are your expansion plans?



Bondar: We do have a plan to double our subscriber base within 2010 with world-class network quality. We want to expand our networks. We have some aggressive plans to strengthen our position in the market. We want to give offers in On Net services that will be exclusive for our subscribers. We will continue to give new services. We are also introducing different services for different segments of people. Spice Nepal is eager to spread its network in the rural areas as well. We are introducing more products and services for rural folks soon.







Myrepublica.com: Do you have plans to introduce other networks like 3G and bring contract packages?



Bondar: 3G and other services are definitely in our plans. This requires more efforts and time. 3G allows high-speed internet and video calling as well as television services. So we would like to bring really a high-level of quality here. Contracts is something we are looking at, but at the moment we have found that people here are not very keen to be tied up and pay for contracts that go for one or two yeas. This is something we are going to take care of in a bit different way. We are working on it.



Myrepublica.com: Are there any plans for tie up with phone companies to bring phones like the iPhone?



Bondar: We are targeting and looking for it. It is not very easy to come up with big names like the iPhone or Blackberry. It is the business of calculating and we are working on it. If there is a segment which want to use iPhone and Blackberry, then why not.



Myrepublica.com: What are the challenges that you are facing currently?



Bondar: We are working hard on our coverage area. We entered the market a bit later so we have to work hard. Competitors have already been much tougher in this market. The vendors are working days and night to penetrate into new areas. We also have the challenge of network quality.

Related story

Ishwar Giri wins TV under Nagarik daily’s subscriber scheme