How These Four Telcos Became Techcos Through a Digital Ecosystem

Jio’s journey from a telecom company towards a digital ecosystem started in 2016, when it was a pure-play 4G LTE mobile network operator. Back then, Jio disrupted the Indian telecom market with free voice calls and affordable data plans. However, its ambitions went beyond connectivity.

Jio started building an entire ecosystem by launching JioFiber, a fiber-to-the-home broadband service offering ultra-high-speed internet, TV services, and smart home solutions.

Later, the company ventured into other areas. First came entertainment with JioTV, JioCinema, and JioSaavn for streaming content. JioMoney, a digital payments service, was introduced later. Finally, the company launched the MyJio app as an all-in-one services interface.

MTS is the biggest mobile operator in Russia. The company unveiled its ecosystem plan in 2019, after presenting its new Customer Lifetime Value 2.0 strategy. It was focused on four business verticals: telecom, fintech, media, and enterprise solutions. The telecom business, however, remained the core of the ecosystem.

All four verticals served one goal: increase the number of subscribers using several MTS products, not just connectivity and a mobile network.

Now there are more than 30 applications in the MTS ecosystem, with MyMTS being the flagship digital product. Through MyMTS, users top up their accounts, manage the tariffs, and access support. Ancillary services are available in other applications, not in the main one.

Vodacom is a leading mobile telecommunications company in South Africa. Vodacom recognized the need to evolve beyond just providing connectivity services when it faced increasing competition.

A key part of this transformation was adopting an omnichannel strategy to deliver a better experience across channels. Vodacom invested in advanced customer experience and call center technology, which helped them monitor customer journeys across various touchpoints like voice, chat, email, and social media.

The insights Vodacom got through using technology showed the company that there’s a niche in the market—the lack of services for the unbanked population. Thus came M-Pesa, a mobile money service for mobile banking and virtual cards.

Turkcell is the top telecom company in Turkey. A key part of its transformation was building a digital ecosystem of apps and services that generated $150 million in 2021.

One of the first initiatives was the launch of BiP, a communications platform for instant messaging and voice and video calls. Later on, Turkcell introduced fizy, a music streaming platform, and TV+, an OTT TV platform offering live and on-demand content.

The next step was to venture into digital payments. Turkcell developed Paycell, a digital payments platform, for a seamless and integrated experience for customers within the digital ecosystem.

Telecom companies are evolving into techcos to stay relevant. Building a digital ecosystem is one of the ways to do it most efficiently because it allows a company to diversify services and generate new revenue. We can help you learn from leaders like Jio, MTS, Vodacom, and Turkcell, and make sure your telco company also thrives in the tech-driven future. Feel free to reach out to our team to start your journey.