Redknee Inc., a leading provider of innovative infrastructure software that monetizes and personalizes services and content for mobile users, and PT Bakrie Telecom Tbk (“Bakrie Telecom”), a pioneer in Indonesia’s affordable wireless telecommunication services, today announced Bakrie Telecom has significantly improved its competitive advantage with deployment of Redknee’s Prepaid Voice and Messaging Solution. The Redknee solutions power Bakrie Telecom’s Esia branded TalkTime service, SMS service and marketing promotions including Circle of Friends and Family, and more.
The rapid pace of development in the Indonesian telecom market demands that Bakrie Telecom provide new and innovative products such as their Esia prepaid voice and text plan. Bakrie Telecom’s strategy incorporates world- class, experienced partners with extensive research and development capabilities such as Redknee.
“Our differentiation lies in our ability to provide relevant and differentiated tariffs and services through customer focused disruptive innovations,” said AG Rao, CTO at Bakrie Telecom. “Redknee helps us utilize our infrastructure as a competitive advantage. It allows us to reduce Operating Expenses (OPEX) and Capital Expenditures (CAPEX), increase productivity and maintain higher levels of customer retention.”
Indonesia still has very low teledensity, with 4 percent for fixed and 20 percent for mobile. In comparison, the Philippines and China, countries with similar Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, have mobile teledensities of 42 and 35 percent respectively (Source: Pyramid Research, “Indonesia Country Outlook,” August 2005). According to analysts, the total number of telecom subscribers in Indonesia is forecasted to double by 2010, exceeding 100 million subscribers.
“Redknee’s Converged Billing approach reduces OPEX and CAPEX by converging all provisioning, transaction, charging, rating and billing for supported services such as voice, data, messaging and mCommerce under a single system and in real-time,” said Lucas Skoczkowski, CEO at Redknee. “This allows operators such as Bakrie Telecom to deliver the specific leading-edge services that attract new subscribers, reduce subscriber churn and improve revenue opportunities.”
Bakrie Telecom’s Talktime campaign was launched in August 2005 and generated an overwhelming response that propelled the Bakrie Telecom brand to the number two position in the country (based on research by Taylor Nielsen Research – TNS). As a result, their customer base of 1.3 million subscribers as of September 2006 represents a 167 percent increase over December 2005’s 487,000 subscribers. Bakrie Telecom’s monthly customer churn rate averages four percent, compared with the industry’s average rate of 8 to 11 percent. Bakrie Telecom also enjoys lower infrastructure costs than established telcos utilizing existing networks.
Bakrie Telecom’s TalkTime service is built using Redknee solutions. According to analysts and public records, this innovative service generates significant improvement in Average Revenue Per User (ARPU). The Redknee solutions also allowed Bakrie Telecom to program five additional marketing promotions.
Redknee’s solutions power Bakrie Telecom’s Texting/Short Message Service (SMS) as well as its “Circle of Friends and Family” (or Closed User Group) features. A special rate is applied for conversations and text messages between family members and friends of Esia prepaid card users.
About Bakrie Telecom
PT Bakrie Telecom Tbk has been operating since 1996 in Indonesia, initially under the name of PT Radio Telepon Indonesia. The name of the company was changed to PT Bakrie Telecom Tbk in 2003, and soon after that launched a CDMA 2000-1X based telecommunication services under the brand name “Esia”. To meet its objective to become a national operator, Bakrie Telecom has embarked on an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) collaboration with PT Indosat Tbk, with both companies agreeing to share their network infrastructure. Bakrie Telecom has launched many innovative products such as Gile Beneer, Rumpi Abiss, Hujan Duit and the very effective TalkTime Campaign. Its focus on “value for money” and innovation in our offerings has driven its corporate performance. As of end of September 2006, the company grew its subscriber base by 327%, from 307 thousand in September 2005 to 1.3 million, increased its gross revenue by 131% from IDR 254 billion in September 2005 to IDR 588 billion, and booked a net profit of IDR 52 billion compare to IDR 112 billion net loss in September 2005. Bakrie Telecom went public and listed in The Jakarta Stock Exchange in February 2006.
About Redknee
Twenty-six of the world’s leading mobile operators depend on Redknee’s proven infrastructure software to deliver value-added services and content to over 207 million subscribers. The converged revenue engine enables operators to quickly bring to market personalized voice, messaging and content services in real-time. Redknee allows operators and brand owners to maximize their differentiation and revenue while reducing expenditures by integrating with existing environments. The subscriber experience is improved with Redknee’s self-care, loyalty, and analytics that deliver the content and services subscribers want when they want them. For more information, visit www.redknee.com.