8.9.2017
- Investment up by 17.6% compared with the first half of 2016
- By the end of this year, 58% of households will be provided with Internet access speeds exceeding 30 Mbit/s, whilst by 2020, HT will independently achieve 70% of the aims of the Digital Agenda
- Accelerated modernisation throughout the segments of IT system and telecommunications network
Successful business operations of Hrvatski Telekom during the mandate of the current Management Board have enabled the company to rank as the largest private investor in Croatia. Through the acquisition of Crnogorski Telekom (Montenegrin Telekom), HT has made the first step in the implementation of its expansion strategy in the region, and, consequently, it plays a significant role in the digital transformation process in the entire region, as was pointed out during the conference organised by Hrvatski Telekom held in Montenegro.
The Management Board of HT highlighted the fact that this year, the company has provided an additional momentum to the previously launched investment cycle, which enabled it to boost both its capacity and coverage on its mobile 4G network. HT currently provides the highest data transfer speeds in mobile telephony in the four largest Croatian cities, whereas the average speed on 4G signal throughout the country exceeds 40 Mbit/s.
Moreover, by the end of the year, the company is planning to significantly improve the coverage of landline broadband Internet. Consequently, Internet access speeds exceeding 30 Mbit/s will be provided for 876,000 households, or 58% of the total number of Croatian households. Fibre-optic Internet access will be provided for 378,000 households, or 25%.
Continuous infrastructure investment has resulted in modernisation of 70% of aggregation network and a fourfold increase of capacity in core network, and hence the stability of services provided has skyrocketed by a remarkable 80%. By 2020, HT will independently achieve 70% of the aims of the Digital Agenda.
Furthermore, the preliminary results following the acquisition of Crnogorski Telekom were also presented, as well as the plans for further development on that market. During the first six months after the acquisition, HT stabilised the business operations of Crnogorski Telekom and created the prerequisites for the strengthening of its position on the Montenegrin market.
"The entry on the Montenegrin market has confirmed our position of the regional leader and opened new opportunities for development of Hrvatski Telekom and all its employees. We are aware of the fact that this position implies a huge responsibility. During the forthcoming period, our focus on both markets will be on the improvement of user experience and development of new services. I believe this can be achieved through investment in STEM generations, digital and business transformation of the company, and infrastructure and next generation technologies for our users", concluded Davor Tomašković, President of the Management Board of Hrvatski Telekom.
Hrvatski Telekom has also presented two strategic development concepts which have provided the foundations for its corporate vision in digital society.
The first concept concerns smart city solutions and development of business models for their implementation. In co-operation with the widest partner network, HT provides a vast array of innovative solutions in the area of the so-called Internet of Things. It is a type of technology that transforms life in the cities, whilst the solution is partially provided support and financed through EU funding. An example can be provided by EV charging stations, in whose management HT currently accounts for 70% in Croatia and whose use has increased by 100% only in relation to last year. Amongst the other services are a solution for smart waste management, through which the services are automatized and waste collection costs are reduced by 40%, as well as smart payment and smart parking systems and air control system, to name a few.
The second concept focuses on improvement of user experience through a faster and a simplified communication with the users who are provided a wider choice of personalised services of a higher quality. Moj Telekom app plays a fundamental role concerning this issue, since it provides a one-stop shop and an overview and management of all the services in the palm of your hand. Moj Telekom is currently the only app on the market that provides the opportunity of payment of user invoices, and it will soon be the only app with integrated chat and smart notification system.
Further development of both concepts concerns both business and digital transformation of HT launched in May 2017, where the value of investment to be implemented over the next three years reaches HRK 210 million. The transformation implies a large-scale intervention into HT system and includes a full closure of the existing 20 IT systems and a launch of 9 new IT systems. Such a large-scale transformation is expected to alter the very core of the company and reduce the business processes by 70%, as well as increase the number of automatic steps by 57% and simplify the portfolio of services by as much as 50%. The specific objective of the transformation is positioning of HT as the frontrunner concerning user experience throughout the markets it currently operates on.