Andrzej Malinowski
CEO OF BEELINE UZBEKISTAN
Industry & ICT I Interview I Uzbekistan 2023
_BIOGRAPHY He was appointed to the position of Chief Executive Officer of Beeline Uzbekistan in March 2021. He joined Beeline Uzbekistan from Beeline Georgia, where he has held the position of CEO from may 2017. Previously, he worked for Lamoda Ukraine, where he was CEO for the last five years. He holds a finance law degree from the University of Wroclaw.
“BEELINE UZBEKISTAN IS ONE OF THE LEADING TELECOMMUNICATION COMPANIES OF THE COUNTRY, PROVIDING A WIDE RANGE OF DIGITAL SERVICES TO BOTH INDIVIDUAL AND CORPORATE CLIENTS.”
CAN YOU TELL US SOME OF THE KEY INITIATIVES THAT BEELINE HAS UNDERTAKEN TO IMPROVE NETWORK COVERAGE AND QUALITY, AND HOW HAVE THESE INVESTMENTS BENEFITED CUSTOMERS?
Beeline Uzbekistan invested heavily in communication infrastructure and expanded its own network with over 14,800 base stations, including a significant share of 4G sites. In 2022, the company launched over 2,300 new base stations, resulting in better mobile internet quality and winning the Ookla® Speedtest AwardsTM for Best Mobile Video Experience. Customers can now watch high-quality videos on Beeline's network, and they are using more of the company's data services on a daily basis.
HOW IS BEELINE UZBEKISTAN ADAPTING TO MARKET CHANGES AND STAYING AHEAD OF THE CURVE IN TERMS OF PRODUCT OFFERINGS AND SERVICES?
As of March 2023, Beeline customers are using more than 2.3 million GB (2 petabytes) of data every day, with 2 million GB of this traffic in the 4G network. The traffic record in December 2021 was 1 petabyte per day. This figure has now increased by 130%. The average Beeline Uzbekistan customer uses more than 10GB/month on average, and the number of devices supporting LTE is growing. The company aims to ensure that all its customers can access high-speed mobile internet, even in the most remote parts of the country. To achieve this, Beeline Uzbekistan will continue to develop its 4G network to provide better digital services nationwide.
In addition to its business operations, Beeline Uzbekistan has also been active in supporting social and community development initiatives. Can you provide some examples of the types of programs and projects that Beeline has supported, and what impact have these efforts had on local communities?
I think one good example is how Beeline Uzbekistan supports female IT entrepreneurs as a digital partner of Tumaris.TECH, a program that empowers women in IT across Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. The program offers workshops, accelerator programs, case studies, financial literacy classes, and more. Developing and supporting local IT talent is paramount to the success of Uzbekistan's digital transformation. To encourage female IT professionals in a digital world, Beeline holds female-only hackathons to help them build successful startups. The program aims to equip Tumaris.TECH participants with the knowledge they need and create the conditions necessary to build successful startups.
Another example is Beeline Uzbekistan’s partnership with Tashkent International University of Education to create the Beeline Academy, which will offer online and correspondence education to train IT specialists in various areas, including cybersecurity. The academy will increase university students' access to hands-on learning programs and offer free courses to young talents from disadvantaged families. Beeline Uzbekistan will invest U$ 200,000 into the first stage of the project and will equip a studio at the university to record courses from the company's specialists and other experts. At the first stage, trainers will be taught to conduct courses and trainings throughout the country. The project will help develop the IT-sphere in Uzbekistan by training professional personnel.
LOOKING AHEAD, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE KEY PRIORITIES AND GOALS FOR BEELINE UZBEKISTAN IN TERMS OF INVESTMENTS AND INNOVATION, AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY? HOW DO YOU SEE THE COMPANY EVOLVING AND ADAPTING TO MEET THE CHANGING NEEDS OF CUSTOMERS AND THE BROADER MARKET?
Beeline Uzbekistan is evolving its services to cater to customers' needs in all aspects of their lives. The company is no longer just a traditional mobile network operator, but a digital operator providing services in finance, entertainment, education and leisure activities, in addition to communication. The company aims to offer services that its customers may need during any of the 1,440 minutes in a day, with a focus on expanding the list of digital services that they use. Beeline Uzbekistan has been operating for 16 years and is accelerating its development by beating its own records in terms of numbers of new base stations, subscribers, and investments. The company has a strong partnership with the government of Uzbekistan and is actively involved in implementing the Digital Uzbekistan-2030 strategy.