4iG Group, the Hungarian investor aims to give Albania a strategic importance and make it the main center of its international operations. In an interview for Monitor Magazine, Robert Budafoki, Vice President of 4iG International, says that the Hungarian Group plans a further expansion in the Western Balkans. According to him, 4iG aims leading the entire spectrum of ICT services in Albania, based on the company's long experience in the IT sector. Mr. Budafoki thinks that technology is becoming an increasingly important instrument for reducing costs, so a faster expansion of digitalization can help in the fight against high inflation rates.

What challenges does the merger of two large companies, such as ALBtelecom and ONE, pose and what are the main results you expect from this merger?

The synergy between ALBtelecom and One will provide the market with the best combination of best fix network and mobile network. This merge of opportunities will create a fantastic platform for converged products, where clients can find all that they want in one shop, being fix or mobile products. Our ultimate goal is to add significant innovative solutions and create new services like rich content, entertainment/gaming, micro-financing, insurance, broadcasting, etc. We know that this will be achieved only by building a highly competitive new merged company that will tackle the challenges and demands of the actual markets in the field of telecommunication with new products, better fulfilling demands from business and consumers. The merged company will offer a full portfolio, a 4P provider that will lead Albania’s digitalization path and it will be an asset to boost B2B and B2C high quality services.

The merger between ONE and ALBtelecom will reduce, among other things, the number of mobile operators in Albania to two from the current three. What impacts do you expect this reduction in the number of operators will have on the mobile services market?

We perceive the fact that there will remain only two players in the market as a responsibility from our side. Our end goal is to serve consumers highest quality products, a more diversified portfolio of products and richer offers for their needs both in business and consumer segments. We want to bring our IT solutions and telecom services to Western Balkan countries and become part of an exciting future for technology in the region. That is why we consider investing in Albania, a long-term and strategic goal, which will contribute to the digital development and transformation of the country. We strongly believe that our presence in Albania will help transform the telecommunication industry and technology for the better.

The economy is facing the highest levels of inflation in more than 20 years. What impacts can this situation have on the electronic communications market? 

The international economic and geopolitical situations worldwide, has raised a cost pressure on technology and energy resources and our sector is highly impacted from those changes. Until now we have managed to keep the cost under control and not transfer any effects to the customer, as it has happened in other important sectors. The second effect of this crisis is that the world trend on cost reduction will push to a higher digitalization ratio, which itself has a strong disinflationary effect. This means that fast digitalization can actually help the fight against quick rise of prices.

In your opinion, how important is the convergence between mobile and fixed services for the competitiveness of electronic communications operators? What benefits will ONE have from owning a fixed network infrastructure, after its merger with ALBtelecom?

We believe that connectivity in all ways, mobile, fix or wireless is a fundamental service that improves lives and facilitated businesses and we are confident that by bringing all possible advantages on quality and hassle free single point of service will create benefits will be felt and embraced by all our customers. More than ONE, of those who will benefit from bringing these two services together are the customers because they will have more convenient and better quality packages. As a nationwide 4P provider we will be able to satisfy wide range of requests in telco, and in IT as well and right now we are focusing on designing products that would give flexibility to families and SMEs to combine what they need or get “all in one” packages.

It is expected that in the coming years Albania too will switch to the 5G generation of mobile communications. What are the most fundamental changes that 5G technology could bring to the operators and users of mobile services?

5G will become a reality soon in Albania and our 5G investments will drive a whole range of services and products that will be available due to this technology. We are convinced that our 5G products will enable and incentivize the private and public sector to go to next generation services. The new merged company, owning the strongest fixed network, as a heritage from ALBtelecom, will be the strongest advantage in the market that would differentiate us. With the strong IT background from our mother company, 4iG, we soon will be able to offer services that underpins the digitalization in Albania, and will introduce services that have not been available for a wide range of customers. We aim to build a company that will take Albania to the digital future, and through 5G we can fulfil our ambitions to become the leading operator in info communications (ICT) services, smart solutions etc.

4iG Group’s experience mainly involves information technology services. Do you believe that entering the electronic communications market will serve the Group to expand its business in Albania in other ICT-related services?

Our objective to become a leading player of ICT sector in Albania – in alignment with the global megatrend of telco-IT convergence. 4iG Group conducting the act of telco-IT convergence will bring outstanding competitive advantage to our business customers over other companies, as well as provide more effective performance, higher security and better operational safety. It is a natural trend and an added value that the merged telco company will offer also ICT products that are the extension of the connectivity. 4iG experience and success will be an asset to the market and a differentiator that will help Albanian public and private sector to have access to the Group successfully implemented projects. We have plans for future expansions in the Albanian ICT market with services that meet the market’s needs, while also proposing products that push for innovative solutions in the country and the region. 

Your group is already a leading player in the electronic communications markets in Albania and Montenegro. Do you see any prospects in the near future for investment in other countries in the Western Balkans region?

The great news is that we are going to make Albania the main hub of 4iG International. This decision of 4iG investors speaks for itself on the strategic importance of Albania in the region. And yes, there are expansion plans in the Western Balkans. We want to create a group with a unified organizational and management structure, which is able to operate under a single brand name in the Hungarian and international markets. 4iG international hub in Tirana will be a center of excellence for most innovative solutions, for synergy building in the region in the field of info communications. And we are very glad to have selected Albania as our center in the region.

Interview for “Monitor” magazine