Gordana Kovačević: Users Want 5G, a Technology They Can Control with Their Eyes and Facial Expressions

Digital transformation, infrastructure challenges, emerging technologies, and attracting quality talent were the dominant themes of the first roundtable of this year’s Lider conference on Trends in Technology, Media, and Telecommunications, where the CEOs of leading domestic and regional companies from the TMT sector shared how they are coping with accelerated changes in the industry.

Jiry Dvorjačanský, CEO of Vipnet, agreed with the statement of moderator Dejan Ljuština, a partner at PWC Croatia, that Vipnet’s acquisition of Metronet last year and its stronger entry into the B2B segment and ICT has concluded the consolidation process in the telecommunications market. The challenge of attracting quality talent, he said, is being overcome by connecting with startups and universities as well as competitions for the development of innovative ideas. The business model of retaining talented personnel through development centers where young professionals eager for challenges work on creative projects for clients around the world was presented to the attendees by Gordana Kovačević, CEO of Ericsson Nikola Tesla. She also spoke about the importance of user experience and presented the results of analyses from which upcoming trends can be discerned.

>>> The TMT Trends conference began in 2018, organized by PWC and the business weekly Lider – PHOTO

– Users say they want 5G technology to arrive as soon as possible, which will make a significant leap forward, and it is expected that by 2023, over a billion people will use the fifth generation of mobile phones. Users also say that in the coming years they will have a large number of devices at their disposal and that they do not have the time or energy to learn how to manage them. They want to control technology with their eyes and facial expressions, revealed the CEO of Ericsson Nikola Tesla, noting that the digital transformation of society is progressing slowly and that many changes being introduced will be visible in a few years.

Change of Regulatory Framework

Viktor Pavlinić, CEO of Tele 2 Croatia, emphasized that they expect changes in the regulatory framework so that all operators have equal access to telecommunications infrastructure, as this is not in the interest of one group but of the economy as a whole. Analyzing the situation in the Croatian market from a neighboring perspective, Adrian Ježina, CEO of Telemach Slovenia, stated that local mobile operators have a quality network, but it is unfortunate that the issue of managing infrastructure for fixed technology has not been resolved for years, and that within five years, mobile technology will be able to overcome this problem even in rural areas. He did not want to comment on the acquisition of Nova TV, a process currently underway, but mentioned that his corporation based in Luxembourg owns about twenty television channels with a wide content spectrum.

The panel also included Krešimir Madunović, CEO of Iskon, who noted that Netflix, by entering the Croatian market, has complemented the offering and further educated the audience in transitioning from a linear way of thinking to one where they choose quality content for themselves. He revealed that Iskon’s strategy is service personalization and stated that this is a trend accepted by their users.