Gold Magazine April - May 2013, Issue 25 | Page 16

interview

five minutes with...
Cyprus is
a dynamic
European country
and it will continue
to be a key business
centre at the
heart of the
Mediterranean

Philip van Dalsen
CEO, MTN Cyprus

Y

ou have been appointed
at a crucial time for
Cyprus. How much of an
extra challenge does this
mean for you?
One of the main reasons that made me
accept this position is the challenge that
comes with it. I fully understand the
difficult, changing times Cyprus is going through. And of course it takes a
lot of teamwork, expertise and effort to
emerge winners from this situation. At
the same time, however, we need to work
unconventionally, making moves that
will pleasantly surprise the market and
the consumer. My personal experience in
issues such as market growth initiatives,
network extension, product innovations
and the aggressive market introduction of
value offers makes me feel safe and confident that MTN will emerge stronger
and consumers will benefit from this
competition.
How would you describe the Cyprus
telecommunications market, compared to those you have previously
worked in?
Cyprus is a dynamic European country
and it will continue to be a key business
centre at the heart of the Mediterranean.

It is also laying the foundations to become a major energy centre, which will
be valuable to European energy security.
It is a mature telecoms market and one
of the most developed markets for the
MTN Group, which has just announced
that it will utilize the country as a springboard for innovative products and services. Definitely, these are unique characteristics that constitute an interesting
professional challenge for me. So I am
very happy to have opened a new page in
my career here.
The Cypriots have traditionally embraced technology, especially mobile
telephony and Internet products. How
do you intend to keep their attention
beyond selling the latest phones?
As MTN, we share the Cypriots’ love of
technology and innovation. Our mission is to lead the delivery of a bold, new
Digital World to our customers and, at
the same time, always offer more to our
subscribers. MTN has proven that it lives
up to its promises, having a track record
of leads in the country: We were the first
to bring in 3G, the first to totally revamp
its network which is now the most modern in Cyprus (an investment worth €20
million), the first to bring MTN HSPA+,

16 Gold the international investment, finance & professional services magazine of cyprus

the fastest mobile network, to Cyprus.
Today, in the era of mobility and connectivity, high-speed Internet and data,
we are here to always offer more. This
will be reflected to our upcoming market
proposition.
Earlier this month people were marking the 40th anniversary of the first
mobile phone. Aren’t you glad that
you are involved in the industry now
rather than then?
You bet I am! We are grateful to the telecoms pioneers but we now live a brave
new, connected world with endless possibilities. We have bold visions, which
were unthinkable in the past, and this is
getting more and more exciting.
What do you foresee as the next trends
in telecommunications?
There will be an explosion of demand
for data from both business and personal
users, as people get used to the convenience of always having the Internet close
by. The cause of the expansion of mobile
broadband is the increased demand for
of smartphones and tablets. So, we will
be launching more and more exciting
products and plans to meet the growing
demand.