WinWin High-end Interview: How Does Smart Axiata in Cambodia Implement Network Innovation Strategy?

Text/Huang Haifeng's correspondence life

The world's first FDD GigaGreen mid-tri-band 8T8R solution has been commercially deployed in Smart Axiata, a Cambodian telecom operator, which has attracted great attention. Smart Axiata is a subsidiary of Axiata Group Berhad, Asia's largest telecommunications group, and a leading mobile communications provider in Cambodia with 8 million subscribers.

Smart Axiata is considered to have the highest Net Promoter Score (NPS) among Cambodian telecom companies and has always placed sustainability at the heart of its organizational, product, and corporate responsibility activities.

In the latest polls given by consulting firm Frost & Sullivan, Smart Axiata won the 2023 Best Company of the Year awards in the mobile data services industry and the mobile services industry in Cambodia.

Recently, during MWC24, Mila Jivkova Kusheva, CMO of Smart Axiata, shared the above questions with WinWin High-end Interview @Barcelona.

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Define your sustainability strategy

As "carbon neutrality" moves from global consensus to global action, telecom operators have also embarked on a further path of sustainable development. At the same time, the rapid development of business applications such as XR and short video has driven a surge in mobile network traffic, and the number of IoT connections has increased tenfold in the era of the Internet of Everything.

New trends bring new challenges. Smart Axiata needs to use new technologies to meet the needs of network speed, signal coverage, and traffic growth, promote the network to the core production link of manufacturing enterprises, achieve flexible production, and also need to take into account energy conservation and emission reduction, and achieve green development. It seems that you can't have it both ways, so how can Smart Axiata overcome these challenges and move towards sustainability?

"Sustainability is more than just a slogan for us, it's part of our daily work. When it comes to sustainability, Mila Jivkova Kusheva said.

It is reported that Smart Axiata divides its sustainable strategy into four major sectors: promoting a digital society, promoting a green economy, promoting humanistic progress, and promoting risk supervision.

At the same time, Smart Axiata actively participates in the "Five Corners Strategy" implemented by the Cambodian government, focusing on social and economic diversification, enhancing national competitiveness, educational support and skills training.

After years of hard work, Smart Axiata has achieved remarkable results in sustainable development. Moreover, Mila Jivkova Kusheva introduced that in 2022, Smart Axiata will contribute more than 225 million US dollars to Cambodia's economy and create a total output value of more than 370 million US dollars, accounting for 1.3% of Cambodia's GDP.

Four major measures to implement the sustainable development strategy

What are the initiatives of Smart Axiata in the process of achieving a sustainable strategy? Mila Jivkova Kusheva introduced the four main sections.

First, to promote the digital social dimension, Smart Axiata and other operators are aware that building a network infrastructure that connects the whole country is its mission. Smart Axiata combines technologies such as 4G networks, microwaves, and fixed internet to provide more flexible solutions and products for consumers and home users.

At the same time, Smart Axiata has launched various services to help Cambodian people and businesses improve efficiency and achieve automation.

For example, Mila Jivkova Kusheva said that last year, Smart Axiata launched the "Smart for Business" package, which includes more than 15 services designed for small and medium-sized businesses to meet the needs of different business verticals, helping them to be more efficient, convenient and digital in their daily production.

Second, in terms of promoting risk supervision, Smart Axiata has successfully launched two new technologies, the signaling firewall NGSF and the intrusion detection system IDS, to protect the network and customer data. Among them, firewall NGSF covers protocols such as Signaling 7 (SS7), Diameter, and GTP.

Third, in promoting the green economy, Smart Axiata has completed the commercial deployment of the world's first FDD GigaGreen mid-triband 8T8R solution. According to Mila Jivkova Kusheva, the solution is based on the existing frequency bands of Smart Axiata, which realizes efficient power sharing on the FDD spectrum, reduces spectrum power waste caused by service fluctuations, improves service availability, and adopts a breakthrough antenna design to achieve a 20% increase in coverage with the same energy consumption.

It is understood that the FDD GigaGreen mid-tri-band 8T8R solution is a solution released by Huawei in 2023, which achieves 1.8GHz + 2.1GHz + 2.6GHz three-band integration through GHz-level ultra-large bandwidth, and works with FDD Beamforming technology to greatly improve FDD spectral efficiency and energy efficiency, improve basic service experience, and optimize performance and energy efficiency.

After Smart Axiata deployed the FDD GigaGreen mid-triband 8T8R solution, the network speed was increased by 2.5 times, and the network traffic was stimulated by about 30%. It is reported that with Huawei's leading ultra-wideband and multi-antenna FDD beamforming technology, it can achieve both 4G and 5G benefits, and greatly improve the user experience.

The Smart Axiata also uses technologies such as PowerStar 2.0. This technology uses an intelligent shutdown strategy to significantly reduce the energy consumption of the base station.

Fourth, in the dimension of promoting cultural progress, Smart Axiata has raised people's awareness of environmental protection and met the key needs of the community through a series of activities. Mila Jivkova Kusheva talks about Smart Axiata's e-SIM card, which can have a positive impact on Cambodia's natural environment and carbon emissions.

Smart Axiata also provides training to equip employees with the new skills they need to transform into the digital economy.

Achieve business success with new technologies

How does Smart Axiata achieve commercial success in the highly competitive carrier market?New technology is the key to Smart Axiata's product and service enhancements and ultimately commercial success.

First, AI technology. During MWC24, AI was a hot topic. Smart Axiata also plans to move towards AI technology. According to Mila Jivkova Kusheva, AI can help Smart Axiata improve customer service and better understand customer needs. "AI can provide users with the right products and services at the right time and on the right channel. Mila Jivkova Kusheva noted.

Second, advanced analytics. Advanced analytics can help Smart Axiata gain a more complete picture of customers, network performance, and service utilization.

"We still have many areas to explore and further explore. Mila Jivkova Kusheva said about the future of advanced analytics. Smart Axiata, for example, is exploring how advanced analytics can be used to design more proactive and tailored solutions for its customers.

Third, the app continues to innovate. Based on continuous learning and deep analytics, Smart Axiata has launched a next-generation Self Care app based on customer status, location, and personal parameter information. Based on the app, customers can decide for themselves what services to choose and enjoy the convenience of digital technology without having to rely on a carrier.

Finally, build a strong security barrier. Smart Axiata wants to play a leading role in protecting the online information security of customers of all ages and types. Mila Jivkova Kusheva emphasized that Smart Axiata takes strong measures to protect the safety and interests of its users and ensure that all customers can enjoy the opportunities brought by technological advancements.

The author's observation: a balance between sustainability and innovation will achieve business success

In the face of new opportunities brought about by digitalization and intelligence driven by new technologies such as AI and big data, operators around the world are looking forward to business success. But how to achieve business success, many operators do not have a clear methodology.

From the successful business experience of Smart Axiata shared by Mila Jivkova Kusheva, Haifeng Kan Technology summarized two points. On the one hand, operators need to clarify their sustainability strategies and integrate sustainability concepts into every aspect of their operations.

On the other hand, operators need to use new technologies such as ultra-wideband, multi-antenna, and artificial intelligence to improve their products and services in terms of network performance, operational capabilities, application innovation, and data security.

There is a Cambodian proverb: "Straighten the wood so that it will last for a long time, and build a bridge to connect two mountains." This proverb reflects the need to be organized and prepared to achieve the best results. Smart Axiata's experience shows that operators can only achieve real and lasting business success if they insist on both sustainability and innovation.