Etisalat embarks on Android adventure

With the ever-increasing prominence of the Android operating system, with it currently being used on nearly 200 million devices worldwide, Etisalat has chosen to focus heavily on Android-based devices in Sri Lanka and the promotion of services based on the Android OS, especially following the success of the inaugural Etisalat Android Forum held last year.

Etisalat Head of Value Added Services Channa Munasinghe speaking to the Daily FT discussed Etisalat’s plans working with the Android platform this year and delved into the potential that the technology has to impact businesses, developers and the general public.

Following are excerpts from the interview:

By Cassandra Mascarenhas



Q: Why has Etisalat chosen to focus on Android?

A: Android has become the fastest growing operating system for tablets and phone and it is estimated that nearly 200 million devices run the Android operating system in the world as of now, with 700,000 being added everyday that’s how fast it’s growing.

That’s basically one of the reasons why we bet our money on Android, along with the fact that it basically runs on so many devices; it is not limited to a particular brand of devices. What that means is that it can be run on a Rs. 10,000 smart phone as well as a Rs. 100,000 tablet so with this operating system you can actually get everybody to use a smart phone.

We have a smart phone which is around Rs. 10,000 which basically does everything it needs to do from the operating system. If you take Apple, the OS caters to a very niche segment. Apple has always been niche in terms of being slightly more expensive than what is out there in the market. They charge a premium for all their products but with Android, it is specially good for markets like ours because we’ve got a cross-section of people who come from different economic backgrounds so it helps us to cater a smart phone to a person who would spend Rs. 8,000 to 10,000 on a phone whereas a year ago, you couldn’t buy a smart phone for that price. This is the power of Android where it’s easier now to get a smart phone into the hands of an average person.



Q: What steps have you taken to familiarise the local market with Android?

A: Android is still relatively new to the local market so there is a significant amount of educating that we need to do. We have identified two types of education as should happen in Sri Lanka. One in the B

Of course, you’ve got Facebook and Twitter and applications that people will use but if you look at specifically Sri Lanka, like local language and content, there’s only a very few. To get people using an Android phone, you need to give them the content they want as well. In that context, we are trying to develop the developers. We are trying to get the developers interested in Android so that this ecosystem completes itself. So you’ll have developers developing content and then on the other hand, we educate the customers on handsets – what a smart phone can do for them.



Q: How will you put this across to the various different segments?

A: How we bring this to life is with the Android forums that we have. We had one but that was actually a learning experience for us too as there was a cross-section of people. This time we are trying to be more focused. We are going to start off with a forum which will be called ABCs of Android which caters to anybody who wants to know what Android can do to cater to the people who don’t know much about Android.

Subsequently, the following day we will an Android developer ‘deep dive’ at which we will feature a Google mobile application developer from Singapore and he will be the focal point of the developer forum but what we are also trying to do is give the developers a good understanding of developing applications on the platform.

We are also having a forum for businesses because I think the Android platform is a marvellous tool to sell your business concepts and it’s being used quite well in the States. It creates a lot of customer engagement for a specific brand. This is something that Sri Lanka is currently new to. We are trying to get everybody from banks to insurance companies to retail chains to show them what Android can do for a business. With that, we will have a set of companies who are experts on developing applications on Android.

Q: When will these forums be held?

A: The forums will be held on 27 and 28 January. We started off in Colombo and it will be held in Colombo in this time as well as this is the first time we are having three different forums for three different sets of people but my plan is to take it outside Colombo. It’s just amazing to see the response you get for this kind of thing outside Colombo. When it comes to local content, you need to take it to the local people so unless you take it outside Colombo, you won’t have that who local aspect coming into the whole thing.

Q: How else is Etisalat employing the Android platform?

A: We are using the platform to the extent where we have applications like the Etisalat Hub which is an application that caters to people who are not very tech-savvy. We’ve got a set of things that we thought would be useful for local people and we also try to push more applications by featuring specific apps which might help a local person. This is being done for the first time in Sri Lanka and has got a good response from people using it.

Etisalat is also trying to help out developers be entrepreneurs by getting local apps on our devices by paying the developers for them. We have about four applications at the moment and this will obviously grow with more local content.

It’s astonishing how everything from ordering pizza and coffee happens on smart devices. Every fourth cup that is sold at Starbucks now is ordered through a phone so that’s how the mobile phone has carved itself into our lives. Therefore having your business present on the mobile phone is a huge benefit. The community now requires a lot of information before making a purchase so in that context I think having an Android app is of paramount importance for any business that deals in consumer items.