Convergence Plus Journal

What is your overview about the Indian Telecom market? How big is the Indian market for a company like MACH?

We are seeing a clear trend in India whereby operators are looking for inspiration to achieve their objectives by outsourcing a great deal of their routine functionalities to MACH. In this way, they can implement a very speedy go to market process and at the same time secure the scalability they need from our Cloud based managed services.

We are also seeing emerging operators looking to maximise their roaming coverage regardless of technology, to allow roaming from CDMA to GSM to WiMAX to WiFi networks. We have a solution - MACH’s Pre-Paid Inter-Standard Roaming (ISR) solution – that allows an operator to enhance the coverage offered to its subscribers, reducing the need for overlapping solutions and consequent increased cost. For the end user it removes the need for multiple SIM solutions, a where users regularly carry a CDMA SIM for their home network and a GSM SIM for other areas.

We are seeing a shift to smart phone usage in the market and an explosion of subscriber connections in India. We are also seeing a trend whereby operators are starting to use the assets that they have, such as subscriber billing relationships, to insert themselves into the application and content explosion that is occurring in the market place. When companies like Apple first launched the iPhone, operators did not receive any revenue for purchases of ‘Apps’. Now it is possible for subscribers to pay for ‘Apps’ on their mobile phone bills. Studies have shown this to be more than 13X as successful as people trying to pay for apps and content using a credit card.

MACH sees India as one of its key markets and is investing heavily to navigate its uniquely complex communications environment. India has one of the fastest growing telecommunications markets globally, despite its use of multiple technologies and its unique national roaming requirements, in addition to the more typical international roaming requirements. It also has one of the largest prepaid markets in the world. MACH has been operating in India for more than ten years now and enjoys unparalleled relationships with all of India’s mobile network operators. The introduction of Mobile Number Portability and the launches of 3G and WiFi make it an even more attractive market for us.

What are the kinds of services being offered by MACH? What strategies does the company apply to remain competitive in India?

MACH is the leading provider of hub-based mobile communication solutions that connect and monetize the telecom world. Our portfolio of solutions includes:

Wholesale Roaming - integrating Data Clearing, Financial Clearing and business modeling to provide operators with one view of their roaming business and manage the increasingly complex wholesale tariff process between operators.

Retail Roaming - performing micro segmentation of an operator’s customer base, allowing it to target enterprises and high value consumers with tailored roaming packages across voice, SMS, and Data.

Coverage Expansion - providing CDMA to GSM coverage for Voice, SMS and Data, both in post and pre paid scenarios, without the need for complex signaling interworking solutions. This is particularly important in India where there are some CDMA islands. (The solution also covers roaming to and from WiFi, WiMAX and LTE.)

Link2One - developed in partnership with Telefonica, is the largest and fastest growing Open Connectivity Roaming Hub with more than 220 networks connected. Each is looking to significantly simplify access to the ‘long tail’ of destinations.

Roaming & Implementation - providing operators with a flexible outsourcing solution, from partial to complete outsourcing (which involves an operator’s entire roaming operation). We are finding these services are of particular interest in India where operators want to focus on the subscriber and hence outsourcing allows them to deload some of their non-core activities.

Revenue Protection – providing operators with a full range of Roaming Fraud Protection solutions - from NRTRDE, where MACH has 65% market share, to the older High Usage Report (HUR) standard, to full Fraud prevention.

Interconnect Billing – providing individual operators as well as operator groups with a solution that removes the need for CAPEX investment and smooths OPEX, and also caters for operators wishing to combine their interconnect and roaming procedures into a single wholesale business.

Mobile Messaging - operating a Global SMS hub for P2P International Messaging traffic and a market leading A2P Messaging business which serves both the reseller and wholesaler communities.

Direct Operator Billing - inserting operators in the Application and Content value chain with its Direct Billing Gateway by allowing users to purchase applications from their mobile, placing the payment on their mobile phone bill.

MACH is committed to the Indian market and has pioneered roaming services from the start. Now we are engaged in the markets evolution. We are the undisputed leader in the roaming space and will continue to build on our leadership position by being innovative and by offering more value added services for our customers.

How does MACH position itself in the market? What are the new products and technologies in the pipeline?

In India, MACH is the leading provider of national and international roaming solutions. We provide data and financial clearing solutions to mobile operators in India, and offer a full portfolio of roaming, interconnect billing, mobile messaging and direct billing solutions. We are planning continued growth in the country.

Globally, MACH has achieved leadership status in the following areas:

It is the leading clearing and settlement partner for mobile based transactions, with more than 50% of the Financial & Data Clearing services market
It operates the globe’s largest and fastest growing open connectivity roaming hub, Link2One
It inserts the operator in the content and application value chain though its unique direct billing solution, which bills mobile phone users for applications, purchased on their mobile phone bills
It is a world leader in A2P and P2P messaging with 40% annual growth

In Q2 this year, we plan to launch the MACH Data Roaming Engine which will be available to mobile operators wishing to boost the uptake of data services by subscribers who roam. These operators will be able to offer services highly tailored to the needs of their subscribers, driving uptake, and therefore revenues, while reducing the final cost to the end user and empowering them to select the services they want to use abroad.

Subscribers will find it easier and more cost effective to use data services while roaming. They will be secure in knowing which services they are using while roaming and how much they will cost. In summary, we can enable operators to unlock potentially very large revenue streams from data roaming, by providing clear and easily understood tailor-made price plans and by removing the fear of bill-shock. We are already engaged with operators in the Indian market to roll this solution out to India.

Does the recent announcement of change in CEO going to have any impact in the company?

Yes – a very positive impact! When he assumes the role of CEO on 1st April 2011, Morten Brøgger plans to build on MACH’s achievements by delivering on its strategy of product innovation, growing its client base and continuing to offer outstanding customer service. MACH is strategically positioned at the heart of the fast growing and changing world of international telecommunications, and under Morten Brøgger’s leadership the company will be committed to creating and delivering the best solutions for its customers in India and around the globe.

What are your long term plans, especially with regard to the rural market in India?

MACH is committed to advancing progress in India as evidenced by the establishment of its R&D centre and its dedication to servicing customers there. MACH plans to continue its future investment in India and these plans include the establishment of a Network Operations Centre in Bangalore later this year. MACH sees India as a critical market for growth and investment and plans to continually invest to grow its customer base in India.

While India unarguably represents one of world's fastest growing mobile markets, the 65% of its population residing in rural areas presents an even higher scope for mobile penetration. This makes it a highly attractive market for investors and communication providers alike. MACH is aggressively pushing for prepaid solutions in these rural markets and is partnering with mobile operators to help them interact agnostically in technical terms. This will greatly benefit the rural population base.

MACH is also uniquely positioned to support Mobile Banking, Mobile Education, to name a few, that would usher in new development in rural areas. MACH plays a vital role in uniting and empowering the market place and players alike to bring similar benefits to the rural markets that are currently experienced in the urban markets.