In the telecommunications industry, the company that sits still is the company customers hang up on. Technological innovations are changing our lives constantly and the infrastructure we use to communicate with those around us and connect with the outside world has to be flexible enough to change with us.
Traditional telcos must provide much more than ever to stay relevant today – and perhaps even challenge the very definition of a telecommunications provider. That’s the belief of Ryan Alvarez, CEO of VIVA Bolivia, one of the country’s leading telcos, who says it takes a certain leap of faith to go as far as the market requires.
“Long story short, my family and I saw an opportunity most operators were missing,” he tells The CEO Magazine. “We felt mobile operators weren’t really capitalizing to the extent they could, so we developed a digital transformation idea.
“None of them really bought into our vision or were willing to take the risk.”
Balesia Technologies of family holding company Balesia Group acquired Nuevatel PCS de Bolivia, doing business as VIVA, in 2022 and handled the digital transformation itself.
“We believe the real revenue shouldn’t come from the actual service that’s being charged,” Alvarez says.
“Typically in Latin America, most customers are prepaid and generate revenue of US$3 to US$5 per user, which is very light. They’re typically spending more on lunch that day than for an entire month’s internet.”
VIVA Bolivia, which had been in operation since 1999, had the experience and existing infrastructure in place that proved the perfect vessel for Alvarez’s concepts.
“What gets me out of bed is the idea that we’re transforming not just the business, but also the industry,” he says.
“I really feel there’s this huge hole in the industry, and potentially being the one to change that has been one of my greatest drivers. It keeps me extremely motivated and excited about the future.”
An innovative shift
According to Alvarez, the game-changer is the VIVA App. It’s free to download and all of its capabilities are additionally available to customers.
“Once you’re in the VIVA App, browsing is free. Streaming is free. Social media is free,” he explains. “You can do all those things we can see 95 percent of Bolivian users do on our network and that includes online transactions.”
The shift of internet use from social communication to running micro-businesses has been a slow but steady one in the nation and Alvarez says VIVA Bolivia’s platform can accommodate that as well.
“What we’ve created is an all-in-one app. Operating live selling and online marketplaces is usually quite fragmented, but not with VIVA,” he says.
“We’ve expanded sellers’ reach from just the street they’re on or city they’re in to the world and these transactions will become a major revenue driver for us, which is how we can give away the internet for free.”
It is, Alvarez says, a way of democratizing connectivity in Bolivia – and a risk worth taking.
“In the United States and Europe 20 years ago, they were in the same place. Everything was purchased in the streets, with cash, but entrepreneurs are now mostly online,” he points out.
“In Bolivia, we’re still there; 65 percent of the economy is in the streets in cash transactions. We want to reach that 65 percent and give them the tools to expand and give customers what they want, just online.”
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Essentially, free internet has lowered the barrier for adoption of this shift significantly, but the company has ensured the rewards continue once customers are on the VIVA App.
“We have a robust rewards platform that incentivizes customers with points to check in with us, link social media and get the full experience. They can then convert those points to cryptocurrency they can use to make purchases in the marketplace,” Alvarez explains.
The VIVA App also provides a wide range of educational content thanks to its partnerships with national universities.
“When you have good content, you’re generating more time spent on the app. It keeps people engaged and shows them just what they can do with the platform,” he adds.
Data-focused growth
The VIVA Bolivia team has employed the latest technological innovations, including AI, to keep the app on the bleeding edge.
“If you’re not agile enough to pivot when the data tells you to, you’re going to waste a lot of time and money and maybe not find success,” Alvarez says. “We use AI to help the team be as efficient as possible in that way.
“Data for us is everything, you can’t run from it or hide from it. It highlights what we’re doing right and what we’re doing wrong. It paints a picture of where we are and where we could – or should – be.”
Alvarez has remained visionary despite the realization of his initial dream.
“The only way to thrive in today’s telecom market is through innovation,” he reflects. “We are working with Helix and Avalanche on a project called Iris. We’re collaborating with the blockchain network Avalanche to explore how next-generation digital infrastructure, including blockchain-based financial and engagement rails, can help us create services that unlock new sources of revenue growth. We believe these technologies will play an important role in how companies build, coordinate and monetize digital ecosystems in the future.
“The future of telecom extends far beyond connectivity and we are investing in the technologies that will enable operators to build new digital businesses on top of their existing distribution channels.
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“Telcos aren’t looking at these types of opportunities, but we’ve aligned with very high-level groups in this arena because that’s where we want to grow.”
The writing is on the wall for the telcos of old. Alvarez says that VIVA Bolivia is making the kind of changes the entire industry will have to adopt over the next decade in order to survive.
“My mantra is that we shift the lens. The data is the same, the users’ habits are the same, but we’re not looking at churn, which is how many customers stay and for how long,” he says.
“Our lens is engagement, which is tracked as time on the app, ad performance, which is tracked by click-through rates, and content they are watching and missing.
“To be a data-centric company, you have to have data come to you very quickly. And it’s thanks to our data that we can provide a great customer experience.”
