Vodafone’s new shareholders plan a complete communications service with major investment in infrastructure. Fiona Galea Debono spoke to its CEO. 

Vodafone Malta will be investing €40 million in infrastructure over the next two to three years, moving it on from “being merely a mobile operator”, its new CEO said in an interview.

The plan is part of the long-term vision of its new shareholders, Monaco Telecom, which took over the company in April.

Vodafone’s transformation into an infrastructure company is a “critical priority” for CEO Tamas Banyai. His goal is to develop broadband and fixed services for consumers and businesses, turning the company into a “total telecommunications service provider”.

It is even looking at television, which is not currently part of its portfolio.

“On the mobile side, we are talking about continued investment in the network, but also digitising services and facilitating customers’ interaction with us,” said Banyai.

Infrastructure is expected to include anything from fibre optic cabling to data servers and cell towers. 

5G on the backburner

However, 5G, the next-generation communications network, with its near-instantaneous data transfers, remains on the backburner. While the company believes in the game-changing technology, it is not yet considered an urgent need in Malta.

Current technology – the 4.5G network – already offers huge potential to consumers, providing the applications that make their everyday lives easier, although 5G plans are being revised, the CEO said.

While pointing towards scientific evidence that shows the super-fast new network to be just as safe as any other technology used today, he did not brush aside concerns related to cybersecurity and health hazards, saying they needed to be addressed.

“Our position is that we see it as a safe technology, and it is an important part of our mission that these concerns are discussed in the run-up to 5G. Consumers of any new technology need to be properly informed.”

Britain has just approved the phased removal of the controversial Chinese telecoms giant Huawei, the world’s top 5G supplier, from its  network, following a ban by the US due to security concerns, while the EU has warned member states to screen operators carefully.

But Banyai said his telecoms company did not have a political point of view in terms of vendors and the matter was considered purely from the consumer, technical and services aspect.

“Security concerns are the same for any vendor,” he said, cautioning that the major 5G players are already very limited and not on the same level of technological maturity.

It an important part of our mission that concerns are discussed in the run-up to 5G

“Further limiting vendor choice is definitely a risky move when operators are able to roll out technically advanced and affordable networks. It could result in hiking up the price of infrastructure, which can have repercussions on the end consumer,” he said.

“We are working with the regulator and happy to engage with the government to share our experience working with vendors.”

The roll-out of 5G requires upgrades across the network in a major investment from the operators’ end, but Banyai is not worried about Malta’s infrastructure and the company has no plans to have a completely independent electricity supply.

Following the €250 million buyout on April 1, it is business as usual in a sense at Vodafone Malta, which will continue to navigate under a brand that is a household name – no timeframes have been set for the creation of a completely new identity.

“We understand the value and strength around the brand we have built,” said Banyai, who has been with Vodafone Malta since 2014, leading its consumer business unit.

Acknowledging the rebranding challenge ahead, he said “the most important thing is to do it right and ensure that our customers understand the transition.

“This is the same team, built on local talent, with an all-Maltese (barring himself) leadership… and this is why our customers have nothing to worry about,” he insisted.

The company has opened a voluntary exit plan but the CEO did not disclose how many of its 350-strong workforce have taken that up.

Meanwhile, the company has started recruitment into 15 key positions, with vacancies already open.

What is certain is that it is going through a transformation and will emerge “more agile and lighter”. The focus on “creating an efficient operation” is a mandatory value for the new shareholder to be able to ensure competitiveness in the market and investment in technology that will unlock new opportunities for customers.

Celebrating 30 years from when Telecel, the first mobile network in Malta, was set up, Banyai said the company is now part of a strong international network of operators, with extensive experience in state-of-the-art and innovative services.

The new partner, owned by the government of Monaco and French billionaire Xavier Niel’s firm NJJ Holding, “thinks long term and really believes in the Maltese market,” he said.

These were “exciting, challenging and turbulent” times.

“The new shareholders came at the right time because the business needed this focus on efficiency and on long-term investment in broadband infrastructure.”

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