In touch with… Vodafone’s CEO | Balesh Sharma

You joined the Malta branch of Vodafone over a year ago. How would you describe the Maltese market when compared to other markets you have worked in, one year down the line?

"I can assure you that even though the market here in Malta is much smaller than the market in India, certain challenges remain the same. Having said that, in Malta, there exists an issue related to scale due to our small market size. The telecommunications industry requires high-cost investment which does not necessarily provide the return that other operational companies in other countries do get.

"Moreover, in other markets you can grow by adding more subscribers, or by having more usage, however in Malta's case the situation is different because the market is saturated in terms of number of subscribers, but our subscribers use mobile differently. People today want internet access everywhere, while they're out with friends or moving around enjoying themselves. This is where we place our emphasis and why we constantly work hard to provide the best Smartphone experience on the islands."

How would you describe your experience with Vodafone Malta since your joining the company?

"It has been a pleasant and an exciting experience so far. I'm lucky enough to have found an energetic team which is willing to participate actively in everything that the company does. I have also found a consumer base which is loyal to the Vodafone brand. 

"Vodafone is known in Malta for being the market leader in the provision of mobile electronic communication service, for innovation and for providing the best value available on the market. It is this position that we are working hard to sustain. We will continue to always place our customers' needs as our main focus by offering them the products and services that they require."

Telecom is a tightly-regulated sector. How does IT help keep pace with dynamic norms?
IT is of paramount importance to our industry and investing in IT is an absolute necessity. We are currently investing €11 million to take our Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems to an even higher level. This investment is helping us to work on providing all our customers the best next-generation user experience.

How are you ensuring quality with cost-effectiveness?

"While quality is of supreme importance in everything we do, we always work hard to make sure that we strike the right balance between quality and cost-effectiveness. Both are important to the well-being of Vodafone as a business. To achieve this balance we have embarked on an internal drive to promote simplicity in everything we do. Together with all Vodafone team members we are looking at our working methods to make life simpler to our employees and to our customers alike."

Success is measured in many ways, how do you measure personal success and the success of Vodafone Malta?

"Success is a multi-faceted issue. I consider Vodafone Malta successful because our customers tell us that we provide them with the best customer experience and they do this through surveys which consistently place us in the number 1 position - well above our competitors.

"Moreover, surveys we carry out always rate us number one in customer satisfaction. Personally I measure my success as a Vodafone CEO when I see the high customer satisfaction levels along with team satisfaction levels which show that Vodafone Malta's team members have a high level of pride and job-satisfaction.

What differs Vodafone Malta from other telecom companies?

"We are a global company and this provides us with access to cutting-edge technology. Our relentless focus on mobile telephony and Vodafone's people help us offer a very very good service."

What does the future hold for Vodafone Malta?

"Vodafone positioned itself as the home for Smartphones with Smartphone sales now making up an increasing percentage of our handset sales. We will continue building on this success to deliver a truly outstanding mobile internet experience by staying at the forefront of innovation and by introducing new products and services.

"We currently offer the best speeds for tablets and Smartphones and we are committed to continue offering our customers the best speeds to meet their demands. This year we embarked on a project which will lay the foundation for 4th Generation network to which we are committing our long term plans.

"We want customers to continue recognising that Vodafone has the best network, the best devices, the best plans and a quality customer care, all of which are critical to enjoy a superior experience. We want to continue creating customer admiration.

"At the same time, we will continue to strive to have a level playing field in the market so that we will be able to offer a wide portfolio of telecommunication services to our customers."

How have Smartphones and Apps changed people's lives?

"There are some fantastic Apps which have improved people's experience while using their Smartphones. Personally, I find the Gozo Ferry App and the Yahoo Weather App for local weather extremely useful. Super mobile is enabling people's lives in a way that we never imagined before. Mobile technology has made it possible for people to consume and interact with social media anywhere and anytime through the use of their Smartphones or tablets. Moreover, mobile technology enables the interactive dialogue that takes place over social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, MySpace, Hi5, etc."

Is the current crisis changing the mobile communications industry?

"Due to the international economic crisis both consumers and businesses alike are focusing much more on controlling expenses and this definitely impacts us as a major player in the industry. This brings along an opportunity for us since we are in the business of bringing efficiency and helping people to optimise better their resources. For example, people can avoid travelling-induced costs by switching to video conferencing for their meetings. This will help them save both time and money."

As a relatively newly-appointed CEO for Vodafone Malta, how are you leading Vodafone through this challenging economic transitional time?

"It is in times like this that one needs to think of different ways how to do business. It is no longer an issue of increasing the company's market share but of how much existing and new clients will be using Vodafone's services.

"We are trying to increase revenue while at the same time being cost-effective and making sure that our money is invested well.

"Furthermore, we are constantly challenging the Vodafone team members to act with simplicity and with this aim in mind we launched an internal initiative to promote simplicity in everything we do."

What are the major challenges you are facing?

"I would say that the major challenges are those of regulatory nature considering that we are competing against two quad players. As a company we have been working and focusing our efforts to ensure that there exist the right regulatory environment for us as a company to have viable access to the fixed network. In this regard we are following very closely the government's plans for nationwide fibre to the home and we are currently analysing the expression of interest recently issued by the Ministry of Information, Transport and Communication."

What can we expect from the mobile technologies in the future? Is there any new trend or is the development going to be the same/similar?

"The future is exciting is the short answer. We are constantly seeing more people using more data for their mobile devices. I see an exciting future for Malta as well where mobile technology can make life easier to the vast majority of people. Today the use of the sim-card is well spread and a sim-card is not only being used for mobile lines but it is also used for tablets and Smartphones. Its future also lies in other equipment such as smart meters for electricity, kitchen equipment and security systems."

What is your opinion on roaming tariffs, EU regulations?

"Irrespective of EU regulations, Vodafone was the first mobile operator to introduce tariffs that significantly reduced and simplified roaming costs. A case in point was our Vodafone Passport product which meant that customers could go abroad while controlling their mobile bills in a manner that significantly reduced and simplified roaming costs.

"We're constantly being innovative when it comes to roaming products, particularly since data penetration is increasing."

What is your personal opinion about the local regulator, the Malta Communications Authority as a whole?

"I have found the Malta Communications Authority to be always open to dialogue and consultation. The MCA is an important stakeholder and luckily for us this Authority has always shown its willingness to work closer to the industry.

"Having said that, I think that there are certain areas where true competition and a level playing field should have been ensured. For example, whilst a lot of competition was ensured in the mobile telephony sector, we believe that competition has been diminished in fixed telephony and fixed broadband markets.

"I believe that access to a fixed network for other operators is paramount to the development of this vital economic sector."