This is transcribed interview with Mohamed Adlan Ahmad Tadjuddin, CEO of EDOTCO. It is intended as a companion piece to our editorial on EDOTCO’s 10th Anniversary rebranding and refocusing on equitable connectivity and sustainability.
EDOTCO has undergone a rebranding for its 10th Anniversary. The rebranding saw them refocus on sustainability and equitable connectivity. With this underway, we sat down with Mohamed Adlan Ahmad Tajuddin, CEO of EDOTCO to look back on some of their more notable milestones and what lies in the future for the TowerCo.
Q: Congratulations on celebrating 10 years of EDOTCO’s success! Since EDOTCO has been behind the scenes all these years, perhaps we could start by covering our basics – who is EDOTCO and what has the company been involved with for the past 10 years?
Mohamed Adlan: In 2012, Axiata Group established an institution called Axiata SPV3 Sdn Bhd, which was the starting point of the existence of EDOTCO Group. EDOTCO has come a long way since then and over the past decade, established many milestones, including attaining ASEAN Unicorn status and becoming Asia’s first and leading regional integrated telecommunications infrastructure services company. Ultimately, we have made it our mission to become a Top 5 global telecommunications tower company, or TowerCo, by 2024. EDOTCO is currently 6th.
Since our establishment, the Group’s regional portfolio has extended beyond the borders of Malaysia to encompass a total of nine markets across South and Southeast Asia. We have established a regional portfolio of over 54,000 towers across Indonesia, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Philippines, Myanmar and Laos. This includes our latest acquisitions from strategic deals and mergers with Touch Mindscape, XL Axiata Towers and PLDT.
As a leading integrated telecommunications infrastructure services company, we have delivered end-to-end innovative solutions from tower leasing, co-location, build-to-suit, energy, transmissions, operations and maintenance across Asia. Our smart integrated lighting and connectivity solution has supported smart city initiatives in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. We have pioneered hybrid energy solutions in Myanmar.
EDOTCO will continuously remain committed to pushing the connectivity agenda throughout the region and beyond.
Q: What are some of the cornerstones which have allowed EDOTCO to flourish as it has over the past 10 years?
Mohamed Adlan: Innovation will always remain a key cornerstone in our operations. However, we have also shifted our focus to sustainability as a key indicator of growth as a group.
We are steadfast in our belief towards sustainability, and we have put this into practice as we work closely with key stakeholders within the markets EDOTCO operate. For instance, we’ve collaborated with the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET) in conducting research to explore potential uses of bamboo structures to replace steel structures on rooftops. As a result of that collaboration, EDOTCO became the first Tower Sharing Company to introduce Bamboo Towers as a rooftop solution.
In 2017, we launched our first bamboo tower, a 6 metre truss tower which was installed on a rooftop in the Uttara region of Dhaka, Bangladesh. This advancement in sustainable tower innovation now has the capacity to house up to 8 antennas to enable co-location, Is 88% lighter compared to a steel structure, and produces 70% less carbon emissions.
As we strive in providing equitable next-generation connectivity for all, we remain aware of the impact of our operations towards the environment and have taken conscious steps to ensure our environmental impact on the planet, and ultimately improve the quality of life of the communities we serve while running EDOTCO with the highest level of integrity.
Q: What inspired the change at EDOTCO? Why change a well-established identity?
Mohamed Adlan: We have achieved many milestones this past decade including being selected as one of the three companies in Malaysia to have achieved the unicorn status by Credit Suisse in its report last year, becoming Asia’s first and leading regional integrated telecommunications infrastructure services company.
However, we understand that the work does not stop there as we want to continuously push the boundaries. This change ushers in a new era of growth for EDOTCO as we continue our mission to deliver sustainable connectivity to everyone through next-generation, leading-edge digital infrastructure.
EDOTCO must reflect and adapt to the rapid changes brought about by rapid emerging digitization (be it through our services, products and innovation) not just to cater to changing demands but indeed to shape how the digital future manifests and, ultimately align the EDOTCO closer to our business vision and strategy.
The rebranding is a significant milestone in our journey, providing an opportunity to reflect on everything that the EDOTCO brand stands for and everything that we aspire to become as we move forward into an exciting future. Not only have we revamped our logo, we have also updated our website, messages and focus to reflect our mission in helping our customers achieve equitable next-generation connectivity.
We help nations across Asia to advance their communications infrastructure with next-generation solutions and help our customers & partners to accelerate sustainable growth while enabling a positive transformation of the communities. Our mission is a refined version of what is best about ourselves: to make next-generation connectivity universally accessible, in order to help nations and societies across Asia transform digitally, economically and socially.
Q: EDOTCO has innovated in a lot of ways when it comes to adapting to the different environments depending on the countries it’s been in. How has sustainability taken the forefront in innovation in the past decade? When did the focus sustainability start in EDOTCO?
Mohamed Adlan: Sustainability has always been a cornerstone of our DNA since our establishment in 2012 as it is inextricably intertwined with our purpose and vision as a Group.
At EDOTCO, we believe in Sustainability with our minds, hearts and hands. This means, we inculcate the culture of a sustainable world for the future and the next generation within the minds of our people. We hire passionate individuals who fit within EDOTCO’s culture and core values to ensure our staff are in tune with EDOTCO’s heart
With a strong culture, it makes work a lot easier. I provide guidance and obtain input from various levels within EDOTCO to continue to improve our sustainability approach. This is evident within the Group as close collaboration exists between key verticals especially with Group HR and the Innovation Team from Engineering.
We also practice strong transformational activities to drive this further. The activities are built based on our ESG pillars’ key focus areas of the year with the aim to create awareness, to enhance EDOTCO’s Sustainability Strategy internally. It is simultaneously done through one-way and two-way engagements using our internal and in-person platforms.
Q: It comes as no surprise that EDOTCO is involved in the rollout of 5G in multiple countries. What are some of the innovations being incorporated in these rollouts?
Mohamed Adlan: With the move from 4G to 5G, a lot is happening in the technology space impacting towercos. We have invested a lot in this area, carrying out a number of trials and pilots with many vendors. Traditionally, towercos focused on towers, energy and co-locations, but the towerco of the future needs to look beyond passive infrastructure and focus on the opportunities available in the active space too. Fibre, smart poles, antenna as a service, in-building solutions, network as a service (NaaS) are all dimensions and opportunities we are actively exploring.
Q: Is it possible to elaborate on some of the investments EDOTCO has made in the 5G space? Have R&D investments resulted in more sustainable approaches to rolling out 5G?
Mohamed Adlan: To capture the 5G market, our talented engineers have also innovated next-generation solutions that leverage and integrate the strengths of different stakeholders for maximised connectivity outcomes.
The innovations we have designed, manufactured and deployed could be exemplified via our street furniture such as the smart lamp pole that could be found in Malaysia. These new products occupy smaller land areas and consume a lower carbon footprint as they are smaller and lighter by design.
Q: Could you elaborate on how Site as a Service and Network as a Service fit into providing equitable connectivity? How will SaaS and NaaS help with rural penetration and allow for more affordable network access?
Mohamed Adlan: Neutral Host Network-as-a-service (NaaS) is a business model and ultimately an operating entity comprising third-party neutral hosts that build, own, and operate dedicated wholesale networks utilized by service providers through commercial agreements.
NaaS operate in mobile, fixed and in-building segments, leveraging on network sharing economics to extend deployments in either urban, rural or indoor settings while enabling service-based competition. Through a shared infrastructure, NaaS will allow affordable network access to users and ultimately allowing cheaper access to higher network quality and greater internet penetration, especially in underserved areas. As a whole, this ensures a more equitable society by enabling more inclusive participation in the emerging digital economy.
Q: Malaysia, in particular, has taken a Single Wholesale Network (SWN) approach to managing 5G. What is EDOTCO’s take on this? Is it sustainable? How has EDOTCO empowered the management of 5G with SWNs?
Whether Malaysia’s 5G rollout is implemented via SWN or DWN, EDOTCO’s mission remains the same, helping our customers to accelerate equitable access to digital connectivity.
As an independent integrated telecommunications infrastructure services company, we understand that we play a vital role in helping the nation accelerate its digitisation and looking to the National Digital Agenda, we want to support the following:
- Higher internet penetration for underserved areas that leads to innovation and GDP growth.
- Bridge the digital divide between urban and rural areas
- Rural microgrids and community support initiative
Q: Has EDOTCO deployed rural microgrids in Malaysia? How stable are these microgrids?
As of today, we have not deployed rural microgrids. However, as we navigate our path forward in preparing Malaysia for the advent of 5G technology, we want to ensure that our mission in providing wider connectivity coverage and better broadband quality for all Malaysian remains constant and, that its (rural microgrids) deployment is to be expected in the near future.
Q: EDOTCO has been talking about equitable connectivity. What does it mean to edotco and does the SWN approach allow for such a thing?
Mohamed Adlan: This means that everyone in the country is connected which will then empower the country’s digital economy. With our expertise, we help countries & MNOs accelerate the infrastructure rollout to achieve equitable connectivity.
Internally, we are continuously looking at ways to ensure the smooth rollout of 5G implementation as well as maximizing its potential nationwide. We are constantly finding ways in harnessing new and innovative technology that address the challenges to its deployment and ultimately create new opportunities where we can within the space.
Q: What are EDOTCO plans to empower equitable connectivity? Do you think that EDOTCO can lead the industry in this pursuit?
Mohamed Adlan: Through our end-to-end innovative solutions in the tower services sector from tower leasing and co-location, we have helped mobile network operators (MNOs) save between 16 and 35% of CAPEX and OPEX by enabling infrastructure sharing, resulting in more efficient capital allocation and faster network rollouts. This has lowered the barrier to entry for MNOs and encouraged healthy competition at the service level, which benefits end consumers
Q: How will innovations in sustainability allow for equitable connectivity?
Mohamed Adlan: Energy will be a central component to our business and industry as this is one of our key areas of focus. Similarly, innovation is part of EDOTCO’S culture which means every one of the ESG pillars must continue to be innovated and improved so that we can function effectively and efficiently.
Our customers are demanding lower costs and discounts. As much as we can cut our costs, there is a floor to it. Innovation is thus central to our strategy for the next decade.
Q: We’ve covered some of the innovative approaches EDOTCO has used in the past to enable rural connectivity. What are some of the more notable innovations that EDOTCO has rolled out to enable rural connectivity?
Mohamed Adlan: Malaysia’s digital economy is in the precipice of a major shift in progress, now with the introduction of 5G. EDOTCO has been at the forefront of supporting its rollout in tandem with the Malaysia’s own National Digital Infrastructure Plan (JENDELA) as part of our mission in connecting the unconnected.
In our quest to bridge the digital divide and provide equitable connectivity to all, we turn to innovation as we have come up with next-generation solutions that leverage and integrate the strengths of different stakeholders for maximised connectivity outcomes. One example is EDOTCO’s proprietary Network and Planning Analytics (NaPA) tool, which uses powerful geocoding and analytics to provide insight of potential tower sites locations, and reduce the build time of those towers for MNOs. As of today, we have identified and installed over 200 sites nationwide for the JENDELA initiative, utilising the NaPA intelligent tool.
Q: What does EDOTCO’s focus on digital entail when it comes to the business? How will it affect the focus on sustainability and equitable connectivity?
Mohamed Adlan: There is no doubt that EDOTCO has made it this far without the most pivotal aspect of our organization, our staff. We have a diverse and talented team across all our markets whose wisdom and skill enabled us to operate at the efficiency we currently do.
Through our ‘Bionic Organization” strategy, we want to harness our in-house talent further, distilling our objective into three (3) thematic areas:
- Becoming Fitter, Faster and Far Better, without compromising on the human soul.
- Digital is not about cold efficiency but leveraging digital to make work and people experience more intuitive and connected.
- Harnessing the power of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to drive innovation and collective wisdom.
As we move forward to a digital future, efficiency and digitisation is to keep up with the fast-paced nature of technology, though, we also understand that we are also living, breathing people. We want to reconcile and embrace these two aspects by infusing digital tools into human interactions to drive the highest levels of engagement and efficiency – spearheading the workforce of the future within our culture.
Ultimately, we want to create an environment and work culture that encourages that fosters collaboration and drive among our staff to propel efficiency without compromising a pivotal aspect we want to create in our ecosystem; providing a sense of purpose.
Once this is embedded in our culture, our focus on sustainability and equitable connectivity won’t be compromised as they will operate concurrently.
Q: What’s next for EDOTCO? What can we expect to see in the next 5 to 10 years?
Mohamed Adlan: EDOTCO prioritises prudent portfolio expansion for both organic and inorganic opportunities that carry the right scale, economics, and returns for its shareholders. We have successfully built our portfolio from 10,000 towers in four home markets to more than 50,000 towers in nine markets in just over eight years.
Currently, EDOTCO’s target markets are in the ASEAN region and South Asia. With our recent foray into the Indonesian market, it has expanded our presence to nine (9) different markets.
As of now, we are looking into expanding within Thailand and Vietnam as we believe these markets offer untapped growth opportunities. We are also hoping to go public via an IPO process this coming decade.
However, as we continuously push the boundaries, our principal goal will unceasingly remain the same; helping our customers to accelerate equitable access to digital connectivity.