Montenegro, Achieving political stability is the basis for further investments

Published on 21. February 2023., News

Achieving political stability is the basis for further investments and the creation of a greater number of jobs in the private sector, and this should be the primary task of decision makers in Montenegro, said the Executive Director of One Montenegro, Branko Mitrović.

He said that last year brought a significant recovery in the overall market through a positive business trend, but that significant impacts of global instability are still present.

“There is also the influence of strong inflation and the rise in the prices of a part of the inputs that telecommunications companies need for their work, which affects business both domestically and internationally,” Mitrović said in an interview with the Mina-business agency.

However, as he stated, it seems that in addition to the figures that speak of a slight recovery, the reason to be optimistic is also the fact that after the stagnation of investments, which usually happens at the transition between generations of technologies, they are now moving towards the network of the future.

– Certainly, one of the most significant points of development was the successfully completed spectrum auction in December of last year, where the company One, with an investment of almost EUR 3 million, secured the spectrum to cover the whole of Montenegro with a 5G signal – explained Mitrović.

By purchasing frequencies at 700 megahertz (MHz) and 3600 MHz for a period of 15 years, they opened, as he specified, a dynamic and exciting period in which they will provide their users with a superior 5G experience, but also open up new opportunities for the growth of their business.

– 4iG’s willingness to invest in ideal resources for the implementation of 5G, as well as in other related investments, motivates us to strive for success, and for the sake of our users, for innovation and quality – said Mitrović.

According to him, this year could not have started in a better way.

– We are proud that 4iG has signed a historic agreement on the purchase of Vodafone Hungary. In this way, 4iG becomes an important name when it comes to the global telecommunications market. When it comes to our region, after the purchase of One Montenegro and two operators in Albania, the leaders of the Group expressed their interest in new investments both in Montenegro and in the region – said Mitrović.

Speaking about One’s operations in the previous year, he said that the largest investment activity was achieved, compared to the period of the previous five years.
– When it comes to the plans for this year, we promise that the planned investments will significantly exceed those of last year – added Mitrović.

All this, as he assessed, shows 4iG’s strong commitment to invest in our market, and that it has long-term plans related to Montenegro.

– We are extremely satisfied with the achieved business results in the previous year. The basis for such a result is, first of all, a strong and stable base of users who have chosen One as their mobile operator, and thus our key, postpaid segment of natural persons, has seen a growth of almost ten thousand new users in the past year – specified Mitrović.

They also achieved, as he stated, great results in the tourist season, with over 111,000 prepaid cards sold and a record number of travelers who chose their network and contributed to achieving a positive result.

– The success of the season is best illustrated by the fact that in the peak of one day, as many as 150,000 tourists chose the roaming service in the One network, which is 19% more compared to 2021, and even 25% more compared to the record year 2019 – Mitrović reminded.

According to him, the trend of digitization of business has accelerated, they have a record number of users of the MojOne application, 30% more compared to last year, growth in the number of paid bills through the MojOne application, which has increased by 60% compared to last year, and an increase in the number of online prepaid 85% increase compared to last year.

– We believe that this trend will accelerate even more this year – Mitrović added.

Part of that successful puzzle, as he said, is certainly the fact that in the past year they significantly expanded their team and employed a large number of professionals from different fields, who got the opportunity to contribute their knowledge and skills to the success of their company.

– In addition to the opening of new jobs, we also provided a large number of newly graduated students with the chance to take their first professional steps, which makes us especially happy – announced Mitrović.

Speaking about the commercial use of the 5G network, he recalled that the One company had recently provided ideal resources for the implementation of a high-performance and high-capacity 5G mobile network.

– What certainly left a mark on the previous period were our efforts to build a network for the future today. After we put the One 5G network into commercial use in Podgorica, Tivat, Bijelo Polje, Cetinje and Nikšić, we are continuing even more strongly with our plan to cover the whole of Montenegro with the network of the future, so that our users can feel the real benefits of the 5G network – Mitrović said.
5G technology, as he explained, first of all means a better and more stable connection, shorter time to access content, better conversation quality and, of course, higher data transfer speeds, on the order of one gigabit per second (Gb/s) in areas that will be covered by ultra-fast 5G signal.

– All in all, this year will be marked by 5G development. The first half will be devoted to the development of the network infrastructure, which is a demanding and complex undertaking, after which we will work on the development of the 5G offer for certain segments – Mitrović said.

Speaking about the One brand, which was presented on March 1 last year, he said that in a short time he managed to position himself on the market as a recognizable local brand.

– He brought freshness, a new way of communication and promoted transparency as one of his key values – Mitrović assessed.

He said that they listened to their users, followed their requests and needs during the past period and worked on identifying segments of the offer where they could do more.

– In addition to the planned improvements to the offer itself, we expect users to feel visible benefits from the digitalization of business. In this context, they have the MojOne application available in their network, where they can fulfill most of their requests – explained Mitrović.

Also, with the launch of the WebChat platform, through which users can get in touch with One agents within a minute in order to solve problems or get information, it is by far the fastest and most direct access to customer support.

– Since we can say that these ideas of ours were successfully implemented, we can also freely say that we managed to fulfill the promise we made when introducing the brand – said Mitrović. But, as Mitrović said, it doesn’t end there.

– We promise that we will continue with improvements and development this year, and consistently focus on the best quality of service for our users – Mitrović added.

When asked whether the company’s name is increasingly present in the wider social context after the brand change, showing its social responsibility, he replied that One, as a socially responsible company, continued to contribute to the community in which they operate.

– We have provided students all over Montenegro with the means to work in accordance with the digital age in which we live – added Mitrović.

In the previous year, as he said, they supported young people, but by signing a significant sponsorship contract with the Montenegrin Olympic Committee, they became the Olympic Network of Montenegro.

– We look forward to that cooperation in the coming period through the implementation of socially responsible projects – Mitrović said. He said that in the company they carefully chose cultural projects that they linked to their name and thus made the company’s image even brighter.

– This commitment of ours did not go unnoticed, which is why, according to the Union of Employers of Montenegro, One is this year’s winner of the award for socially responsible business in the Care for the Community category – said Mitrović. When it comes to that part of their identity, that’s where, as he concluded, they continue to start their journey, with new ideas and even greater motivation.