Orange Brochure Jan 2021

ORANGE CAMEROON

DIGITAL REPORT 2021

Digital & data drive Orange Cameroon’s virtual growth

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

Digital & data drive Orange Cameroon’s virtual growth 02

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ORANGE CAMEROON

Abdallah Nassar, Director of Engineering and Network Development, explains how a focus on data and strategic partnerships are driving growth

O

range Cameroon has been at the forefront of technological changes in west Africa for the last 20 years. Abdallah Nassar,

Director of Engineering and Network Development, 04

chronicles the key telco periods as “voice, data and virtualisation” and, in line with the group’s wider African strategy, highlights four key priorities for the next five years – digitisation, data, rural and ‘green’.

During our online meeting, we talk through each of the key areas. But it is a comment he makes halfway through which resonates and may explain why Orange Cameroon continues to see marked growth and receive prestigious network and coverage awards, most recently winning the nPerf (Best Network Performance for year 2019 and H1-2020 and Ookla Speedtest Awards for Best Mobile Network Coverage for H1-2020.

“Orange Cameroon is not only an operator – it’s also a Foundation,” he said. Established in 2009, the Orange Cameroon as operator and foundation

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ORANGE CAMEROON

€42bn 2019 sales

26

Countries in network

143,000

Number of employees worldwide 06

EX EC U TIV E PROFILE:

Abdallah Nassar Title: Director of Engineering & Network Development Company: Orange Cameroon Industry: Mobile, data, communications 21 years of experience in the telecom domain, holding senior positions in Africa, MEA and Asia Pacific. assigned as CTO with key operators in West and Central Africa, CTO with Digicel Pacific, CTO with Vodafone and Chief Engineering and Network Development with Orange Cameroon. Assigned as Technical Operational Consultant for a governmental projects in North Africa, Middle East and Asia.

Holding a Management Information System degree, Chartered Computer Engineering from Manchester University. Certified as Executive Business Administration from Wharton School Pennsylvania.

Holding certificates such as MCP, MCDBA and MEP from Microsoft, UNIX certified, IT project with an I-Net and CIW certificates.

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09 has played a pivotal role investing in the country’s development, channelling investment into basic education, healthcare for people with communication-related disabilities, professional training and culture.

Having an unwavering socio-economic outlook has definitely stood the company in good stead.

Two Cameroon concepts were

“Before the customer was following the operator, now the operator must follow the customer ” — Abdallah Nassar, Director of Engineering and Network Development, Orange

recently among 13 digital projects selected for the 2020 Solidarity FabLabs challenge, while the Orange Africa and Middle East Social Entrepreneur Prize cele­brates its 10th birthday this year. www.o ran g e. cm

ORANGE CAMEROON

“ We are aiming to be almost 90% digital by the end of 2020” — Abdallah Nassar, Director of Engineering and Network Development, Orange

Over the last decade, the Orange Organization’s success has engendered huge respect among Cameroonians and provided a model for sustainability; Nassar is proud that only around one percent of his 500 to 600 direct employees are expatriates. “People here are very dedicated and have an open mindset,” he adds. Demographically and virtually, Orange Cameroon is on firm foundations for virtual growth.

He describes the company as the “one of the largest operators in Cameroon”,

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although almost in the same breath says he sees itself as equal with the undisclosed front-runner. He tells me that Africans typically own two or three SIM cards, so achieving a dominant market share isn’t straight forward. Cameroon also has some distinctive dynamics given its Francophone-Anglophone mix.

Nevertheless, it has the biggest network “in terms of the number of sites, towers and coverage,” he said, with its customer base hovering between 8.5 and 9 million.

We start our discussion on digitalisation, a vast area which he likens to a spider’s web, and discuss some of the

Spot Life Taste CLICK TO WATCH

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11 key COVID developments, such as

investment right now is to keep your

‘My Office Everywhere’ and other initia-

quality in place,” he said. “Three to four

tives such as digital archiving, which

months wasn’t enough time to bet-

is simplifying RFPs and order taking.

ter under­stand customers’ changing

“Before the pandemic, it was 10 per-

needs, but it was enough to change

cent, but now we’re touching 50-60

the way we are working and investing.

percent in the digital terrain. We are

We are always putting the customer

aiming to be almost 90% digital by the

and market need in front of us.”

end of 2021. There is always the 10%

It’s no surprise to hear that data is crit-

which cannot be digitalised as we are

ical to Orange Cameroon, but it’s worth

working with the public and government.”

stressing how just pivotal it is to the

One key change to emerge from the

virtualisation push. “Five years ago,

pandemic has been the focus on quality.

the voice revenue started to decline,

“The top priority of each and every

now all investment is around data.

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ORANGE CAMEROON

“ Now all investment is around data. The virtual will be based on a solid data network” — Abdallah Nassar, Director of Engineering and Network Development, Orange

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253mn Customer base

208mn Mobile customers

We are heavily investing in new services, first to introduce 4G+ in country, and working on launching the new 4.75G. The virtual will be based on a solid data network.”

We move into the rural domain, where he is keen to emphasise its partnership with Canadian-based NuRAN

21mn

Fixed broadband customers

Wireless (Cameroon’s 26 million population is evenly split between cities and rural areas). “They have a very unique product, it’s a radiocoverage telecom product which is specifically designed for rural areas and can be quickly deployed,” he said.

Its rural network penetration stands at about 80 percent. “Geographically we are not yet there, we will still have five years to continue the rural coverage – many of them are small hotspots.”

Alongside NuRAN, he Huawei, which are working closely with Orange to cooperate in virtualization and Core Network development. “despite the serious competition and challenges that Huawei is encountering these days but still Huawei represent a very strategic vendor for Orange Cameroon and Orange in global. We are on fast development track with Huawei to www.o ran g e. cm

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H I T YO U R O B J E C T I V E S W I T H Z E R O I N V E S T M E N T.

SCALING WITH NETWORK-AS-A-SERVICE

solutions start here!

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bring in advanced services to market

and cloud systems, and take another

such as Smart-Wifi, Cloud Services

four to five years. On completion, we will

and Virtualization. There is no end of

have fully modernised our network.”

plans with Huawei,” he says.

He adds that financial services will be a

Nokia and Orange embarked on a

key focus in future.

major 4G LTE regional roll-out in 2018,

Technology’s changes have been

which saw the former upgrade Orange’s

profound and there is “no comparison”

radio access network to enhance

between 1999 and 2020. “Before the

mobile broadband services.

customer was following the opera-

“This was the first step of monetisation

tor, now it’s the other way round – the

of the network,” he says “The radio is

operator must follow the customer,

almost completed and the second step,

and the vendor must follow the operator.

with Huawei, will focus on virtualisation

Moving from legacy to virtual concept, www.o ran g e. cm

ORANGE CAMEROON

“ I am ‘hands-on’ and a team player, and I do share my experience.

If my team is not dev­ eloping, I cannot develop myself” — Abdallah Nassar, Director of Engineering and Network Development, Orange 16

the entire technological mindset has

being finalized by the United Nations

changed.”

Economic Commission for Africa

On environmental matters,

(ECA). Nassar said one option could

Cameroon’s private sector is curr-

be to create more green solarisation

ently ill-prepared to leverage a spate

concepts and find hybrid solutions

of opportunities offered by the green

to minimise power consumption

economy but a comprehensive set

and pollution.

of measures, which “Government

While many developed markets are

should spearhead”, can turn the issue

swept up in 5G hype, Nassar says

around, according to a new study

much of West Africa remains on 2G,

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primarily because of the product and

government dialogue to see how it

power purchasing of the customer.

can develop its own technology and

“First we must convert them to 3G,

continue to grow the economy. “We

and then 4G. To talk about 5G now

have the will to invest more.”

on the continent is very difficult and costly. Are we ready in terms of frequencies? Yes. But we are not ready in terms of regulations, infrastructure and monopoly.”

He says it is maintaining www.o ran g e. cm

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