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2nd Business Forum “Communications in a Big City” Successfully Held in Moscow on 15 September
More than 150 small and medium operators from across Russia met at Azimut Moscow Olympic Hotel on Thursday, 15 September, to discuss the current aspects of alternative carriers’ work and cooperation. Some players of the telecommunications market noted that telecom assets have become cheaper in Russia. The experts are sure that the telecommunications market will continue to consolidate.
The forum was endorsed by the Federal Agency of Communications (Rossvyaz), the non-profit organization "The National Association of house communications and information networks" (NADIKS), the Association of Regional Telecom Operators (ARTO), the International Telecommunications Academy (MAC), the Russian Association for Electronic Communications (RAEC). The registration sponsor was Research & Development Partners (RDP.ru). The forum was held with the participation of VAS Experts, OS Group, Lifestream (SmotrEshka).
The opening speech of the 2nd Business Forum “Communications in a Big City” was made by Alexander Gorbatko, Deputy Head of the Department of Information Technology of the Government of Moscow. He noted that Moscow offers ample opportunities for telecommunication companies to cooperate with OTT players and provide IoT services for citizens. Apart from expanding the range of security services, the operators could start promoting other services, for example, robotic cleaners working when their owners are not home, as the expert explained. One more idea is to work together with hypermarkets and offer the population private grocery shopping services.
The round table “Strategies and opportunities for operators in a big city” was chaired by Leonid Konik, Editor-in-Chief at ComNews. The participants of the discussion expressed their views on current operator’s development options in a highly competitive market, ways to attract funds and resources, cost reduction strategies, and finding the opportunities for extra financing. The speakers who joined the discussion included Victor Barantsev, Head of Mobile Operator Relations, Department of Information Technology of the Government of Moscow; Vyacheslav Troshin, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Alfa (Celecom); Alexander Ivanov, Executive Director, NK-Net; Gennady Kiryushin, Chairman of the Board, SMARTS; Anton Sviridov, CEO, MOSNET; Anton Kamynin, Technical Director, Morton Telecom.
The second round table focused on operators’ non-discriminatory access to business centers and residential apartment buildings. Its moderator was Nikita Danilov, Deputy Head of the Legal Committee at Media and Communication Union. The round table was attended by Alexey Leontyev, Executive Director, Union of Alternative Telecom Operators; Dmitry Petrov, General Director, Comfortel; Mikhail Pashkov, Vice President of Legal Affairs, NADIKS; Maxim Chernov, Deputy General Director for Commercial Activities, Akado-Telecom; Ivan Nikitin, Director of Legal Affairs, MGTS.
The first session “Transformation of operator’s business driven by IT, new solutions and innovations” was opened by Sergey Nikulin, CEO, RDP.RU, who highlighted the new opportunities for carrier business. Complete solutions for communications providers were described by Artem Tereshchenko, Project Manager, VAS Experts. The topic of promoting data center services was addressed by Ekaterina Nikishina, Director of Operators Interaction Department, Moscow City Telephone Network (MGTS). Other speakers at this session were Dmitry Zuev, Commercial Director, OS Group, and Dmitry Goverdovsky, Business Development Manager, Russia & CIS, InfiNet Wireless.
The second session “Growth during recession. Telecom infrastructure optimization and effective ways to raise the profitability of operator business” started with a speech about the competition in telecom market of Russia today and achieving competitive advantage. This speech was made by Alexander Samodurov, General Manager, MosCityTeleNet. This session’s speakers also included Zharkyn Tursynov, Managing Partner, Lifestream (SmotrEshka); Nikita Petukhov, Advisor to General Director, Central Telegraph; Michael Nagaytsev, Vice President for Development, Top Telecom; Nikolay Napalkov, Project Executive, T8.
The round table “Telecom M&A market from a consolidator’s point of view: is there any possibility for new deals?” was chaired by Grigory Nikolsky, Partner, Constanta Capital. Apart from the main M&A trends, the participants of this round table discussed the factors leading to the sale of your business to a competitor; M&A as one of the tools for implementing the company’s strategy; the “fair” price for a broadband network customer, and other issues. The round table was joined by Sergey Fomichev, Business Development Director, Mastertel; Vyacheslav Reshetko, Director of Integration, Merges and Absorption, Trivon Netvorks (Virgin Connect); Alexander Gadalov, CEO, Alma Group; Sergey Vasin, Leading Analyst, Gazprombank; Alexander Zinko, Commercial Director, Nauka-Svyaz.
Answering the questions of COMNEWS reporters, the delegates pointed out that “Communications in a Big City” forum was vital and brought great practical benefits to all Russian operators.
