2024-04-05 18:07:51
“Our main focus is to provide 5G technology in such a way that people will really enjoy using it. That’s why we pay special attention to speed,” P. Masiulis said in an interview with Elta.
“About 90 percent our focus is on 5G development, customer service and network modernization,” he added.
P. Masiulis also mentioned that in the near future, during the expansion of the 5G network, the 3G connection, which is outdated and consumes a lot of electricity, will be abandoned.
“And we are already planning to completely shut down 3G already in 2025. In the end. We will use those frequencies for 4G and then move everything to 5G,” he mentioned.
– How do you assess the current position of Tele2? The Bank of Lithuania announced a little earlier that the first half of this year will be faced with a stagnant and slow economy. Do you notice that? Does it have any effect? Will this work on pricing?
– A little of that stagnation feels real. Already in the summer of last year, people bought less equipment. But basically, the situation and people’s expectations are improving now.
I think that the current situation is great, the company is doing well. Of course, every company works thinking about the future, because what you have today, it is not clear whether you will have tomorrow. And because of that, I think our main asset is the very good people we have assembled. In fact, we have less staff than our competitors in companies, but they are very efficient and do more. This may seem illogical at first, but it is a very understandable thing. Because with more staff, more conversations and consultations are needed, disagreements occur more often, and that time becomes very long.
Because of this, I think Tele2 can always give better prices. It’s just that fewer people mean less costs elsewhere.
And in general, those communications prices in Lithuania are good, compared to European prices. One of the reasons for this is the competition, but another is that by being efficient we can offer good prices to our customers and sustain ourselves.
– This, with such good conditions, probably does not change in January. expressed position on pricing? That you don’t plan to raise prices significantly in the near future?
– We do not make price jumps. Of course, like every company, we are affected by inflation. But if you look at the last 4-5 years and how much the price of equipment has risen during that period, our prices have increased much less than what we pay to the recipients of the equipment. Inflation is not going away, but I think we will continue to offer the best prices through cost savings.
– Moving to technological development, which is one of your priorities. How do you assess the current development of the 5G network in Lithuania?
– The main thing for the use of 5G is that people do not have so many phones with which it is possible to use this network. As a result, Tele2 has a strategy where we provide 5G at high-speed frequencies so that the person who has the opportunity to use it will immediately feel the benefits.
Basically, it is not so easy for a person to distinguish 5G from 4G, because it is also an extraordinary speed. We also have 4G+++ technology, which is close to 5G in speed. Of course, the good thing about 4G technology is that you can make mobile calls to it. And this is currently the basic technology in Lithuania.
But the future will definitely be 5G and people will feel the benefits once they have the devices. We currently sell them, but they are more expensive than others, it’s not that big of an expansion. But, if I’m not mistaken, about 15 percent. people can join this network.
– But you don’t see any resistance to the technology itself?
– No. Of course, those who are more into technology buy those devices first and use them. And this is the beginning of the development of 5G and we will expand it very strongly as soon as we see more people using it.
– You mentioned that only a small number of customers can really take advantage of the 5G network. Maybe there is some kind of push to get more customers to buy devices that can connect to this network?
– We encourage customers by offering phones that work on the 5G network at better prices. Actually, I think our job is to offer the technology, its advantages, and the customer already chooses whether he needs it. Because not everyone needs this technology, some just make calls on the phone. But those who work and travel need them.
– And in the infrastructure itself, is there anything else that can be improved? Does the connection already cover the whole of Lithuania at full capacity?
– We fully cover Lithuania for all technologies, i.e. 3G, 4G and 5G. Already 2 million customers can use high-speed 5G Internet on the Tele2 network, which is really a lot. We’ve really made it so that people who have the equipment can already use it freely.
In addition, Tele2’s high-speed 5G connection is already operational in 58 Lithuanian municipalities, and will be operational in all 60 by the end of this year.
Likewise, we are still expanding 4G, which is basic. And here it should be mentioned that Tele2 owns the highest speed record – 4 gigabytes or 4445 megabytes per second. It was recorded by the Lithuanian Record Recording Agency.
– Perhaps you could reveal how much was invested in the development of this network last year?
– Until the last quarter of 2023, Tele2 has already invested 66.1 million in improving the quality of communication, modernizing the network and improving the customer experience. euros.
– Of course, “Tele2” operates not only in Lithuania. How is the technological development in other countries where the infrastructure is perhaps not as developed? Is there an attempt to transfer the Lithuanian quality standard?
– Of course, Lithuania has the fastest growth. Although we started in Latvia even a year earlier, because the license competition was held earlier, but Lithuania has already caught up with our progress there and overtaken it. Of course, we mainly focus on Lithuania, but at least in the course of this year, both Latvia and Estonia will catch up. In Sweden, it is expected to be exactly the same, maybe it will even slightly surpass the level of Lithuania. But otherwise, all countries are moving at a similar pace.
– Transitioning somewhat from technological progress to the situation of outdated technologies. Recently, Tele2 announced that it will begin shutting down its 3G network. Is this technology still relevant to anyone?
– Relevant, because there are still people whose phones do not work in the 4G network and they use them for calls.
And yes, actually already this month. we are starting to disconnect the 3G network little by little. The reason for this is that when people buy new phones, they work on at least 4G, some on 5G. This makes 3G less necessary. And this technology still uses the most electricity. This makes disconnecting it a huge benefit for both nature and people. And this will save a lot of resources. And we will use 5G and 4G on those frequencies on which 3G technology works now.
– So if some of the customers are still using it, they didn’t express dissatisfaction with the fact that you are turning it off?
– You understand that 3G is the first internet technology. As people switch, the quality will only improve. This is an opportunity for people to renew themselves. And for those who are not the biggest technology enthusiasts, there is probably no difference.
– If the 3G network will be switched off, are there no predictions that the complete transition of 4G to 5G or further technologies is foreseen in the near future?
– Yes, it will. We think that around 2030 6G technology will come. These will be even higher speeds and today there is not even the technology to use them. I think the main focus now will be 5G.
– So we can expect to see 6G in the near future?
– Yes, we are thinking about 2030. its use will already begin. But the average user will not necessarily realize that they are getting higher speed and session density. They don’t count how many times the phone communicates with the base station. It makes no difference to a person, here are technological solutions.
And that evolution will be natural, both 7G and 8G will come. With that technology, it’s the same as cars and TVs getting better.
– I heard about the arrival of 6G from the managers of other telecommunication service providers. The question is, is there still a need to improve connection speeds and quality technologically?
– There are two things that are constantly improving. Of course, 3G, both 4G and 5G are very similar technologies, there is only a difference in speed and number of sessions per second. 5G has about 8 times more sessions than 4G. The best example of this development is self-driving cars. In order for them to drive safely unmanned, many sessions are needed for the sensors to transmit information correctly.
This is very difficult to do with a 4G network and there is a big risk involved. When you join a 5G network, that risk decreases. When 6G comes, that risk should be very low.
– Is there still a need for an even faster connection than we have now?
– Ofcourse. There is also a need for quality. Look at how fast television is evolving. There was Full HD and it was considered a huge achievement, now we have 4K HD quality. And all those transmissions require higher speeds.
– Don’t you think that some technology ceiling will be reached in the near future?
– I dont think so. And I think that all this will go on in a similar cycle, and those technologies will change every 7-10 years.
– Maybe you have any general expansion plans? Maybe there are markets where Tele2 could expand further?
– Basically, as an operator, we have a specific license that determines where we can operate. Basically, we don’t see the point in changing anything or going in a new direction. And that would not be our forte. Our strength is communication, technology, internet, customer service.
For example, Tele2 offers insurance services, such as screen insurance and travel insurance. It is very relevant for customers, and many other things. This is all that we see as a need for our customers, so maybe we will expand.
But still, about 90 percent. our focus is on 5G development, customer service and network modernization. We do this every day, because the network that is built, it requires updating. This is invisible work, where customers may not notice, but every day many base stations are updated, antennas and technologies are changed. Then we make them consume less electricity by putting solar panels in some places. And that work is huge.
2024-04-05 18:07:51