Demola Eleso, CEO designate, Starcomms Plc is a seasoned telecoms professional of more than 20 years.
Eleso was formally chief executive officer of Multi-Links Telecommunications Limited and has also held same position at MTS First Wireless.
His life revolves around telecommunications because he was also chairman of Contact Solutions , the premiere contact & call centre services provider in Nigeria and chief technical officer , MTN Nigeria, where he was responsible for designing, planning, implementation and the operation of a nationwide GSM network in Nigeria.
He believes that a new Starcomms Plc with the right mix of technology, fund and expertise will give better returns on investment and deliver world class services.
Our Venture into Starcomms
We believe that this is a compelling requirement and we are going to be successful with it. We are trying to satisfy a demand that is already there. We are not trying to create demand.
Nigerians, of course want to be connected to the worldwide networks of various transactions, information databases and e-commerce sites.
And today, our networks are charged towards making that delivery. What we have is an opportunity to put together the technical ingredients that create a data connectivity network that can satisfy the urgent demand.
And we believe that once we put that together, a large share of customers will join, enjoy and stay on the boosted network.
That’s the reason why we think that this deal and amalgamation will yield result.
Dwindling Fortunes of CDMAs and Strategies to Grow the New Deal
It will be somewhat risky to divide the market into non-CDMA successful and successful ones.
The CDMA operators that failed, as we identify them, they failed for many reasons.
Most of which has to do with their business modules and not really technology. I think we need to be careful, because the label that we place on the networks in Nigeria is like giving the dog a bad name.
There is actually nothing wrong with the CDMA technology. The technologies are well proven and have been used extensively around the world. They satisfy many communities in a profitable manner.
So the failure or lack of success with the CDMAs sector has more to do with the modules than the actual technology.
Now, what we want to do is that we are simply getting the valuable resources from the operators, extracting the value which is principally the spectrum and putting that on new technology to satisfy our customers.
And we are doing so and learning from the failure of the past and the advantage of the strong management that will be put in place so that we have a sound company that will take advantages of the opportunities that are out there.
So, I believe those are the ingredients that will make us viable and successful.
Efforts towards Voice Services
We will continue to support all the existing products, voice services inclusive.
So, in terms of where we have customers making use of those services we will continue to maintain the products and we will even inject some parts of our funds to make sure that those services get better over time.
It is true that our main business focus is on mobile broadband data services, because that is where the huge demand is.
Also, in the telecomm sector, the big GSM operators are dominate in the voice segment. Thus, looking at areas we have to achieve success, we don’t have to put ourselves like David, engaging in fight with the Goliath, every week.
We can do that once or twice, but we have to focus our energies where we have unique advantage.
Foreseen Technological Challenges
If you examine the aggregation of spectrum that we have put on the NCC spectrum line, you will observe that either of luck or hard work, we are actually putting together spectrum that is contiguous.
It is in a straight line, we are not crossing various bands of spectrum. The companies we are putting together happen to be next to each other.
So, it is a very simply technology integration for us to harmonise the spectrum and create one company, one service through a seamless technology provision.
In other words, we are blessed in that regards, certainly on the 1900 band.
Unified Licences and Business Opportunities
We are listening to experts of national and international proportions. Apparently, there is an evolution in the sector.
And due to the evolution we have moved from one 1G services to 2G services, which is about GSM and we have now moved to 4G services.
So, Starcomms and the new deal will embrace new technology platform and it is following evolution on which we are going to deliver services that meet demand.
I don’t see us back tracking towards a GSM service; just like I said the dominant GSM service providers already occupy that space.
Using Mobility as Competing Edge
Yes, we are going to use every opportunity in our licence regime to enhance the services we deliver same so that voice customers who have mobility today will have extended mobility in the future.
Both our existing and future technology will enable us to do that.
Will Starcomms still be Quoted on the Stock Exchange?
Starcomms is listed on the stock market and we are going to be listed. We have a play that within three years the minimum requirement in terms of quantum of shares is listed to have enough turn over.
Therefore, we are still in the market. In fact, part of the attractiveness of this whole transaction into Starcomms as a vehicle was the fact that it is the only listed telecommunication stock on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
That shows the level of transparency and opportunities in our national and international businesses. The valuation is clear, there is no dispute.
And we believe the shareholders recognized these facts and expressed optimism that somewhat a 50kobo dormant can actually appreciate.
Even the right issues being planned for the existing shareholders will be tradable on the Nigeria Stock market.
Rumours of Retrenchment and Closure of Business Units
First and foremost, Starcomms did not sack any staff. That does not preclude that if a staff cannot be sacked for one reason or the other, or even disciplined.
Probably, it was a misinformation, because in the last 14 months we have not sacked any staff.
On the closing down of some of our shops, our plan is to migrate the existing subscribers of MultiLinks into Starcomms platform.
So nobody loses out. We planned that in the next five years, we will have minimum of 2 million subscribers on data.
We hope to get to a level where anybody who talks to us does that free. That is talk on-net free once you are using our service, which is even different from Skype.
Once we migrate to the new platform we should be able to have the apparatus.
Challenging Business Environment
Definitely, the major factor for the declining fortunes of the CDMAs was due to distress. We all know how many CDMAs have left now.
The two that we all recognized to full deliver they are not full running. They suffered distress.
Secondly, business environment has been a limitation. With the advent of GSM operators and with protection they had for five years, before other CDMAs started scrambling for a national licence, everybody had a phone and it is the same subscriber that the CDMA operator hoped on to come on board.
Now, for you to bring a CDMA operator to come to your network you must part with a phone or you configure that phone.
So, it put additional pressure on working capital requirement of CDMA operators. And consequently, the kind of competition they can pose for GSM operators who only put SIM card.
Also, in some quarters, the CDMAs are being tagged the alternate networks.
Be that as it may, what we intend to do is to grow the network, optimize it in such a way that wherever you are you can have access or get connected.
We know how bad GSM operators are doing, if we provide better service to the public, even though it is an alternative platform, it will become a network of preference over time.
We may not cover the entire nation, but wherever we are people will enjoy the network in terms of voice.
Arrangement for Shareholders
Currently, Starcomms carries 6.9 billion shares, if you want to issue 90 per cent of that to Capcom, then you we to consider the number of share we have to issue; so we are trying to do is to reorganize the shares in the ration of 100:1. That is for every hundred shares you have you get one.
Thus, the real value of each share is 50 kobo. And with that, it collapses the number of shares that will be calculated and we can issue new 90per cent percent of whatever we want to give to Capcom.
The key thing is that they are not losing value. We have heard discussion with the shareholders and have also gotten support from them.
And we are positive that once everybody is enlightened, no doubt we will get the best result. That flows from knowing what is being done.
They have been engaged from the time of AGM and several shareholder meetings. The institutional investors were also engaged.
Expected Dividends from the New Business
Our business calls for a better positive outcome in about three years depending on the market dynamics.
And we hope to return over $100 million into the business by 2017.
All is in reaction to the subscribers.
Before now, the drumming have been top get to them, now we have gotten to a level where we want to hear from them what they want and that we will deliver.
That might change, it’s is something we have worked on in the last one year.
Tackling Labour Issues
Well, I am glad that our workforces are glad to have a job. They know that sacrifices in forms of rendering required services to vendors and subscribers will keep us going.
They know that Capcom is coming to give us all a new future, so, a body of employees that are very vast as to what is going on and know what is in stake will be very supportive.
They are keen for this transaction to get concluded so that we can get into business. We have seen a tremendous support from the workforce.
Technical Changes?
We will start by undergoing technical repairs to the existing Starcomms business.
Our launch of new network will be by next year.
The new board emergence will debate on keeping Starcomms as the Business Name or a new brand that reflects a new style.
