Can you give us a quick overview of Telecom CG and its main financial figures?
Telecom CG is the only fixed line telecommunication company in Montenegro. We have 185 000 subscribers, 80 % of the switches are digital. We have the resources to increase the number of subscribers with an additional 50 000 and to transform all the switches into digitals. 15 % of the suscribers are businesses and 85% are private users. Telecom CG has free special sectors, like a service for automatic calls, emergency calls, etc.
We have 1300 employees and 21 telecom stations, that is to say, we have a station in all our municipalities. The European standard is 200 subscribers per employee as the minimum. We want to reach this level, bu t not by cutting jobs. We want to increase the number of subscribers and keep the number of employees and I think we can do it since our company is in a stable financial situation.
Talking about financial results, last year the revenue of the company was 75 mlnDM.
This year in the first six month we had 45 mlnDM, which makes us very optimistic.
The next major project will be the modernization of facilities, what will be the key projects?
We have three key projects. The first one would be the development of the local network which is also one of the main projects in the business policy. We plan to have the whole system digitalized, and all our subscribers to have a digital connection. This will be the first major step and we plan to have it done by the end of 2003.
The other major project is the modernization of the billing system which we hope to finalize by the end of next year.
The third project is the renewal of the whole network. We intend to have a modern network for both, voice and data transfer. We don't know if it will be an ATM or, what I personally hope, an IP network.
We will be a monopoly for the next years in the market of fixed line communication, but we will offer our subscribers modern services. The main goal is to show the subscriber that even though we are the only company on the market, but we care for them, we are here for them and we want to win their confidence.
This will be the main strategy for the year ahead, we must prepare ourselves for a hard competition in the next two years.
As you may know, two years ago Telecom CG did not have any direct access to international networks, only through Belgrade. Now we have four accesses, one through Croatia, the other one through Bar - Greece, the third one in Podgorica - Scadar and the forth one is the optical cable to Belgrade.
We have built up a very modern infrastructure and we are in the process of finishing our NBH network, which means that all towns in Montenegro will be connected to each other by fiber optical cable and as a plus, they will have an additional, alternative line.
Telecom CG is building a completely new infrastructure. We can say that we are in the family of Western European telecom operators. We are working on new projects; we are equipped by the Western European standards.
Please tell us something about last year's development, with MONET being created. What is the situation as to rates and services?
More then two years ago we started thinking about building our own mobile network and finally in June last year we started a new GSM operator. We have opened the first Montenegrian GSM company in Montenegro. There is another GSM company in Montenegro, that was created a few years ago, it is called Promonte. I think it is healthy to have a competitor.
| I will talk about the differences between Promonte and Monet. Monet had a great success during the last 13 months; they have more then 100 000 subscribers. Just to make a comparison, there are 650 000 citizens in Montenegro, 450 000 adults and 100 thousand of them are our customers. Promonte has around 150 000 subscribers, 25 000 of them are post-paid subscribers and the rest are on the pre-paid system. We have had great interest in developing the post-paid segment of the market. Monet has built a network that covers 80 % of the population territory. We will have it done to 100 % in a few years.
Could you tell us something about your expectations concerning the privatization process and who would be your ideal partner as an investor?
As you may know we have offered for privatization 51% of the company, the major part. We are ready for privatization, because we think that it will do a lot of good both to the company and to Montenegro. Privatizing the Telecom sector means that we are a secure country for an investment, because we have good investment possibilities. Telecom CR is the most profitable company in Montenegro. If you only take a look at the figures you can already see that we had 2 million-DM of profit only last year, we have invested into our mobile operator around 35 million-DM, that was built completely with our money.
We are expecting to be very popular in this region, we want to offer a great variability of services, and we want to follow this corporate strategy, to be here for our subscribers and not to have them here for us, to have investments and new projects.
As a chess player you always have to predict your next move, what will be your next move now?
My next move is to prepare the company for privatization and to create a good relationship with our investors. To create everything we needed but did not do so far: to have a new management with young, dynamic, strong people who will be able to lead Telekom Montenegro. We have big plans for this company and I think that only a good team of skilled professionals can achieve the goals we have set for ourselves. We have a very good technical staff in the company, I am completely satisfied with them and I do not plan to change anything on this field.
So far though, we did not have a strong advertising, marketing department, and we still do not have it. In this field I expect to have considerable changes, and I hope to have a strong advertising presence in the future, apart of the new services for our subscribers.
What would be your final message to the readers of "Forbes" magazine?
I would have a very short message: come to Montenegro! We have the best coast in the world and you will have a good telecom service. Trust me!
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