Indosat Ooredoo - Company of the Year - Telecommunications

Company: Ooredoo Group / Indosat Ooredoo
Entry Submitted By: FTI Consulting (Singapore)
Company Description: Ooredoo Group is a leading international communications company delivering the leading data experience across the Middle East, North Africa and Southeast Asia.
Nomination Category: Company / Organization Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Company of the Year - Telecommunications - Large

Nomination Title: Indosat Ooredoo

Indosat Ooredoo operates in Indonesia, one of the largest emerging markets in the world, and through a full range of end-to-end telecommunications services helps its customers to enjoy the internet.

In 2019, Indosat Ooredoo focused on end-to-end network enhancement upgrades to enable the provision of reliable and affordable connectivity in both populated and rural parts of Indonesia. The network transformation project increased throughput, decreased latency and grew capacity and build Indosat Ooredoo’s 4G capabilities with a view to eventually rolling out 5G capabilities.

In 2020, Indosat Ooredoo focused on strengthening its network through digitalization and simplifying the consumer experience. Despite challenges brought on by the global pandemic, this contributed to Indosat Ooredoo becoming the fastest-growing company in the Indonesian telecommunications sector. In line with its strategy to transform customer experiences, Indosat Ooredoo also entered several new partnerships to enhance innovation. This included partnering with global digital players such as Google, Facebook, Snap, Cisco and Ericsson to fast-track digitalisation of the customer experience and deliver network improvements to Indonesia.

Through the years, Indosat Ooredoo has significantly innovated and grown its product portfolio with 4G-services and network solutions in ICT security, cloud computing, enterprise mobility, analytics, IoT and digital infrastructure services.

Partnerships with Global Digital Players

In 2019, Indosat Ooredoo became the first operator in Indonesia to partner with Google. Leveraging Google Assistant, ‘IM3 Ooredoo 696’ enables customers with limited internet connectivity to easily access information through a phone call. In 2021, Indosat Ooredoo also signed an agreement to expand its partnership with Snap to accelerate the use of augmented reality (AR). Indosat Ooredoo and Snap will soon launch an AR Creator Fund, which will boost funding opportunities for Indonesian creatives working with AR.

Digital Operating Model

In 2020, Indosat Ooredoo, together with Ericsson and Huawei, started its transformation journey towards a Full Digital Operating Model. This will ensure a cutting edge Digital Operating Model combining the latest developments in Analytics, Automation, Artificial Intelligence, and Fault Predictability to deliver the greatest customer experience.

Indosat Ooredoo Digital Camp

In 2019, Indosat Ooredoo launched IDCamp – a scholarship offering certified online coding training that aims to generate 10,000 young Indonesian programmers and developers each year who are ready to compete in the digital economy.

COVID-19

In 2020, to ensure the safety of employees, Indosat Ooredoo became one of the first companies in Indonesia to institute a work from home policy in addition to strict sanitation protocols across all offices. Customers were also offered free SIM deliveries, 30GB of free data to access online education tools, and discounts of up to 50% to enroll in educational programs. Further, Indosat Ooredoo distributed face masks and hand sanitizer supplies in COVID-19 red zones across Indonesia.

Indosat Ooredoo’s 4G improvements are driving a new innovative digital era for Southeast Asia’s biggest digital economy and building an interconnected future with digitally enhanced shops, more online functionality, and increased data connectivity. In terms of 4G coverage, in 2019, Indosat Ooredoo increased its number of sites by 25%, while expanding capacity on more than 8000 sites. Moreover, consistent upgrades throughout the year brought Indosat Ooredoo to #2 in terms of 4G download speed by the end of 2019, while the gap from the market leader was reduced to 20% from over 60% a year prior.

Another core part of Indosat Ooredoo’s mission to innovate is its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program, which comprises Digital Talent, Women Empowerment, the Environment, alongside a wider corporate goal to enrich people’s digital lives. Since 2019, IDCamp – a core feature of Indosat Ooredoo’s CSR program – has benefited more than 112,000 young Indonesian talents, including 1,318 persons with disabilities. Approximately 23% of participants have been women. In 2020, 40,085 scholarships were distributed, and 23,565 developers were certified.

Moving forward, Indosat Ooredoo plans to build on the success of its current strategy and focus on bringing a superior network experience to customers. Indosat Ooredoo will also expand its B2B offering, utilizing its existing capabilities to capture an increasing share of this growing segment, while leveraging its expertise and resources to help communities in Indonesia build better futures.

Indosat Ooredoo’s efforts to innovate and improve telecommunications services have been recognized on multiple occasions. During OpenSignal’s Global Mobile Network Experience Award 2020, Indosat Ooredoo was identified as a Global Rising Star for the most improved video experience and the most improved download speed. Indosat Ooredoo more than doubled its download speed experience, and improved video experience by close to 60%, both within the top three improved operators globally.

Further, as reported by Brand Finance Telecoms 150 2021, Indosat Ooredoo was named the sixth fastest growing telecommunications brand globally as its brand value increased by 31% in 2020 – the second consecutive year with double digit growth.

Indosat Ooredoo’s commitment to the community was also recognized by the MORS Group as one of the ‘Top Community Care Companies in Asia’ at the Asia Corporate Excellence & Sustainability (ACES) Awards 2020.

Finally, in 2020, Indosat Ooredo recorded solid performance despite challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic. The company’s revenue grew 6.9% to IDR27.9 trillion, while EBITBA increased to IDR11.4 trillion, up 16% as compared to the previous year. Not only does this signal strong operational performance, but also ongoing support from customers who have encouraged to Indosat Ooredoo to continue launching innovative digital offerings for even better mobile experiences.