VEON Ltd. (VEON) is a global provider of connectivity and internet services.
VEON provides nearly 160 million customers with voice, fixed broadband, data and digital services. VEON offers services to customers in the following countries: Pakistan, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. VEON’s reportable segments consist of the following five segments: Pakistan, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Bangladesh and Uzbekistan. Kyrgyzstan is not a reportable segment; the company therefore pre...
VEON Ltd. (VEON) is a global provider of connectivity and internet services.
VEON provides nearly 160 million customers with voice, fixed broadband, data and digital services. VEON offers services to customers in the following countries: Pakistan, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan. VEON’s reportable segments consist of the following five segments: Pakistan, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Bangladesh and Uzbekistan. Kyrgyzstan is not a reportable segment; the company therefore present its result of operations in Kyrgyzstan separately under ‘Other’ within the company’s segment information disclosures. The company provides key services, among others, under the ‘Kyivstar,’ ‘Banglalink,’ and ‘Jazz’ brands.
Business Units and Reportable Segments
VEON, through its operating companies, provides customers with mobile telecommunication services in Pakistan, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Bangladesh, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. The company also provides fixed-line telecommunications services in Pakistan, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, as well as business-to-consumer and business-to-business OTT (over-the-top) services on mobile and fixed networks in each of the company’s markets, each of which is described more fully below.
The company’s mobile and fixed-line businesses are dependent on interconnection services. The following presents certain of the primary interconnection agreements that the company has with mobile and fixed-line operators in Pakistan, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Bangladesh.
Mobile Telecommunications Business
Mobile Business in Pakistan
The company operates in Pakistan through its operating company, Pakistan Mobile Communication Limited (PMCL) and the company’s brand, ‘Jazz,’ which is the historic Mobilink brand together with the merged Warid brand. In 2023, customers continued to migrate to 4G/LTE services and PMCL provided 3G services in over 300 towns and cities and 4G/LTE services in 313 cities.
In Pakistan, the company offers its customers mobile telecommunications services under postpaid and prepaid plans. As of December 31, 2023, approximately 97.30% of the company’s customers in Pakistan were on prepaid plans.
The company also provides a full spectrum of digital services on mobile and web platforms to the company’s customers, and some of these services are also accessible and used by connectivity users of other operators. These include the company’s self-care application Simosa (formerly JazzWorld), OTT streaming platform Tamasha, Messenger App BiP and mobile financial services platform JazzCash, as well as services in music, gaming, and insurance.
Mobile Bundles
The company continues to focus on a technology agnostic mobile internet portfolio, which means that the company offers the same pricing across its 2G, 3G and 4G/LTE technologies. In Pakistan, the company offers a portfolio of tariffs and products designed to cater to the needs of specific market segments, including mass-market customers, youth customers, personal contract customers, SOHOs (with one to three employees), SMEs (with four to 249 employees) and enterprises (with more than 249 employees). The company offers corporate customers several postpaid plan bundles, variable discounts for closed user groups and follow-up minutes based on bundle commitment. In addition to the company’s core products and services, the company has also started developing and offering digital solutions and products to the company’s customers, in both business and customer segments, as well as offering dedicated account management to the company’s large corporate customers and a 24x7 business support helpline.
Digital Services
JazzCash, the country’s leading mobile finance platform accessible to users of all operators on feature and smartphones and Mobilink Microfinance Bank Limited (‘Mobilink Bank’), the company’s wholly owned subsidiary, address this gap. They do this by providing microfinance banking business and certain DFS and traditional banking services (including the granting of microfinance loans, provision of credit, payment and transfer services and a variety of other banking services) in Pakistan under a license granted by the State Bank of Pakistan and are subject to regulation by the State Bank of Pakistan. In partnership with Jazz, Mobilink Bank offers mobile wallets and payment services under the brand ‘JazzCash’.
As of December 31, 2023, JazzCash’s active base was 16.2 million users having focused growth in its App base.
Jazz’s video streaming app Tamasha provides access to the best HD content such as Live Sporting Tournament streaming Live TV Channels, Local/International Movies, Dramas and TV shows. Providing mobile infotainment services to users of other operators as well as Jazz, Tamasha’s monthly active user base reached 10.6 million customers as of December 31, 2023. Jazz also offers a wider portfolio of digital services in music streaming, instant messaging, sports, insurance, learning, and lifestyle etc.
Distribution
As of December 31, 2023, the company’s sales channels in Pakistan included 10 business centers, a direct sales force of 545 employees looking after indirect sales channels, 456 exclusive franchise active and over 17,638 non-exclusive third-party retailers. For top-up services, the company offers prepaid scratch cards and electronic recharge options, which are distributed through the same channels. As of December 31, 2023, Jazz brand SIMs were sold through more than 41,042 retailers, supported by biometric verification devices.
Competition
The company’s competitors are Telenor Pakistan, Zong, Ufone, and SCO.
Mobile Business in Ukraine
The company operates in Ukraine with its operating company ‘Kyivstar JSC’ and the company’s brand, ‘Kyivstar.’ Kyivstar provides mobile connectivity services on 2G, 3G and 4G/LTE networks. Kyivstar also offers voice and data services on fixed networks, including mobile and fixed converged services in consumer and business segments. Its digital portfolio in 2023 included Kyivstar TV, offered on IPTV platforms, as well as mobile, self-care application MyKyivstar and consumer cloud offerings, as well as B2B services.
In 2022, Kyivstar acquired a controlling stake in Ukraine’s leading digital health platform Helsi – a digital data management platform supporting provision of healthcare services by medical institutions and doctors, and patients’ access to healthcare, including remote provision of consultations. Through this strategic investment, Kyivstar aims to extend telemedicine to the Ukrainian population and develop its service as the leading B2B and B2C e-Health provider of the country.
In 2023, Kyivstar prioritized new internet coverage in rural areas, internet coverage of international roads, site modernization, as well as restoration of communications in the liberated territories. Kyivstar maintained network coverage availability at a level of approximately 95% of the population in safe regions of Ukraine in 2023.
Mobile Bundles
Kyivstar offers bundles, including combinations of voice, SMS, mobile data, OTT services and swappable benefits (telecommunications and non-telecommunications). As of December 31, 2023, approximately 80% of the company’s customers were on Prepaid plans.
Digital Services
Helsi Ukraine, the leading Ukrainian digital healthcare provider, continues to improve access to e-health, focusing on core business development with 20% year-on-year growth of active medical personnel in Helsi medical information system in 2023. Helsi also experienced improved B2C customers engagement through digital channels and new services launch, such as urgent online consultation services and extended functionality for booking of appointments with doctors. As of December 31, 2023, Helsi App MaU reached 1.3 million active App users and showed 103% year-on-year growth, surpassing the pre-war levels of usage.
The media streaming service Kyivstar TV delivered 18.5% year-on-year growth. In 2023, the company focused on the Ukrainianization of foreign content and the active addition of Ukrainian films and series. Kyivstar TV offers free access to 200+ channels with various content, including a children's channel, e-learning platforms and news channels.
MyKyivstar, Kyivstar’s self-care platform, also continues to be a significant interface for digital interactions with Kyivstar customers. MyKyivstar served 4.3 million monthly active users at the end of 2023.
Distribution
Kyivstar’s strategy is to maintain a leadership position by using the following distribution channels as of December 31, 2023: distributors (31% of all connections), supermarkets (24%), monobranded stores (23%), national and local chains (9%), active sales (9%) and online sales (4%).
Competition
The company’s primary mobile competitors are Vodafone and ‘lifecell’ LLC.
Mobile Business in Kazakhstan
In Kazakhstan, the company operates as Beeline Kazakhstan, the country’s largest independent mobile operator. As of December 31, 2023, approximately 90.7% of the company’s customers in Kazakhstan were on prepaid plans.
Beeline Kazakhstan offers a wide range of B2C digital services and solutions, as well as a being a leading provider of B2B digital services and systems integration services to corporate clients.
Mobile Bundles
The company’s bundles are designed for active mobile data users and the company has different options for its customers, from data bundles to customized and family plans. Starting in 2022, the company focuses on the promotion of its own digital products and the development of subscription projects for the company’s customers and customers on other networks. All of the company’s bundles are billed using a mixed payment system and there is an automatic switch to a daily payment schedule if there is an insufficient balance in the customer’s account for full payment. In addition, from time to time, the company runs promotions to encourage early and on time payments, such as by offering to double the customer’s monthly allowance or allowing the rollover of unused data to the following month. As of December 31, 2023, the penetration of bundles into the company’s active base was 92.6%.
As of December 31, 2023, approximately 90.7% of the company’s customers in Kazakhstan were on prepaid plans.
Digital Services
MyBeeline self-care app is a digital gateway for Beeline Kazakhstan’s mobile bundles, as well as other digital applications and services. In 2023, MyBeeline increased its monthly mobile active users by 19% year-on-year to 4.6 million. The BeeTV entertainment platform is available on mobile devices as well as web and IPTV services and reached approximately 894,000 monthly active users at the end of 2023. Simply is Kazakhstan’s first mobile online only neobank, and it served approximately 1.3 million monthly active users at the end of 2023. Beeline Kazakhstan’s digital-first sub-brand IZI is another strategic digital product and grew its customer base by 14% year-on-year and reached approximately 433,000 monthly active users as of the end of 2023.
Distribution
The company distributes its products in Kazakhstan through owned monobranded stores, franchises and other distribution channels. As of December 31, 2023, the company had a total of 48 stores in Kazakhstan, as well as 8,273 other points of sale and 648 electronics stores.
Competition
The company’s primary mobile competitor is Kcell + Tele2/Altel.
Mobile Business in Bangladesh
The company operates through its operating company, Banglalink Digital Communications Limited (‘BDCL’ or ‘Banglalink’) with the company’s brand ‘Banglalink’ in Bangladesh.
Launched in February 2005, Banglalink was the catalyst in making mobile telephone an affordable option for consumers in Bangladesh. Banglalink offers 4G connectivity since 2018 and has focused on 4G-based growth, through network expansion. In 2022, the operator started pursuing a nation-wide growth strategy in its 4G network, expanding its footprint. As of December 31, 2023, Banglalink had 15,208 4G sites covering 86.6% of the Bangladesh population and is recognized by Ookla Speedtest as the nation’s fastest 4G network provider for the last four consecutive years from 2020 to 2023. At the spectrum auction organized by Bangladesh telecommunications regulator BTRC in March 2022, Banglalink acquired 40 MHz of spectrum in the 2300 MHz band, doubling its spectrum holding to 80 MHz, resulting in the highest spectrum per subscriber among mobile network operators. Banglalink phased out its 3G services in May 2024 as part of its strategy to enhance 4G performance by reallocating the network resources.
The telecommunications market in Bangladesh is largely consisted of prepaid customers. As of December 31, 2023, approximately 94% of the company’s customers were on prepaid plans.
Banglalink also owns Toffee, an infotainment available as a web- and OTT-based service to users of all operators in Bangladesh. In the last quarter of 2023, Toffee aired ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup matches, and closed the year with 8.4 million monthly active users with a 2.4 fold revenue growth year-on-year.
In 2023, Banglalink started transforming its self-care application MyBL into a super-app providing services in mobile learning, mobile health, commerce, content, and music, among others. MyBL recorded a 36.6% year-on-year increase in monthly active users, reaching 7.7 million as of December 31, 2023.
Distribution
As of December 31, 2023, Banglalink’s sales and distribution channels in Bangladesh included 48 monobrand stores, a direct sales force of 65 corporate account managers and 180 zonal sales managers (for mass market retail sales), 54,888 retail SIM outlets, 325,097 top-up selling outlets and the online sales channels. The company provides a top-up service through the company’s mobile financial services partners, ATMs, recharge kiosks, international top-up services, SMS top-up and Banglalink online recharge system. Banglalink provides customer support through the company’s contact center, which operates 24 hours a day and seven days a week. The contact center caters to several after-sales services to all customer segments with a special focus on a ‘self-care’ app to empower customers and minimize customers’ reliance on call center agents. In order to stimulate data usage and fast track 4G smartphone penetration in the Banglalink network, the company conducts strategic campaigns with leading smartphone brands from time to time. In addition, Banglalink drives the fastest 4G experience from top smartphone retail stores.
Competition
Banglalink’s competitors are Grameenphone, Robi Axiata, and Teletalk.
Mobile Business in Uzbekistan
In Uzbekistan, the company operates through its operating company, LLC ‘Unitel,’ and the company’s brands, ‘Beeline’ and ‘OQ.’
The company’s 4G/LTE services were commercially launched in 2014. Unitel was the first mobile operator in Uzbekistan to provide 4G/LTE services. It is offering a digital portfolio that includes mobile financial services, web – and OTT-based content applications and B2B services, including big data analytics.
Mobile Bundles
In 2023, Unitel LLC tripled the new customer entry fee and introduced new price plans that give customers the discretion to activate different parameters of data services through a self-care application.
The company offers its customers mobile telecommunications services under postpaid and prepaid plans. As of December 31, 2023, approximately 89% of the company’s customers in Uzbekistan were on prepaid plans. In Uzbekistan, the company offers a portfolio of tariffs and products for the prepaid system designed to cater to the needs of specific market segments, including mass-market customers, youth customers and high value contract customers. In addition, the company has the following four segments in the company’s postpaid system: large accounts, business to government, SME and SOHO.
Digital Services
Beeline Uzbekistan offers a full portfolio of digital services to its customers, including services in mobile TV (Beeline TV), music (Beeline Music), gaming, communication and mobile financial services. In 2022, the company started offering big data solutions to its B2B customers.
The company launched OQ on October 31, 2023, an application that combines communication and media content services, giving customers the opportunity to connect to the network remotely thanks to an integrated personal identification system. BiP, a free instant communication app, has been launched on November 24, 2023. In 2023, the company continued investing in the development of IT education for Uzbekistan youth.
Distribution
As of December 31, 2023, the company’s sales channels in Uzbekistan included 45 owned offices, 756 exclusive stores and 2,167 multi-brand stores.
Competition
The company’s primary mobile competitors are Ucell, UzMobile (Uzbektelecom), UMS, and Perfectum.
Mobile Business in Others
The ‘Others’ category represents the company’s operations in Kyrgyzstan. The company’s Kyrgyzstan business operates under the brand name ‘Beeline Kyrgyzstan’ and provides mobile services, as well as mobile financial services through its Balance KG application.
As of December 31, 2023, Beeline Kyrgyzstan served 88% of its mobile customer base with prepaid offers and 12% with postpaid.
Distribution
The company distributes its products in Kyrgyzstan through owned monobranded stores, franchises and other distribution channels. As of December 31, 2023, the company had 79 stores in Kyrgyzstan (as well as 7000+ other points of sale).
Fixed-line Telecommunications Services
In Pakistan, the company offers internet and data connectivity services over a wide range of access media, covering major cities. The company also provides cross border transit services. In Ukraine the company offers voice, data and internet services to corporations, operators and consumers using a metropolitan overlay network in major cities and fixed-line telecommunications using inter-city fiber optic networks. The company also offers Internet-TV using FTTB (Fiber to the building) technology in Ukraine. In Kazakhstan, the company offers a range of fixed-line business services for B2O, B2B and B2C segments. In Uzbekistan, the company offers voice, data and internet services to corporations, operators and consumers using a metropolitan overlay network in major cities and fixed-line telecommunications using inter-city fiber optic and satellite-based networks. The company does not offer fixed-line telecommunications services in Bangladesh or Kyrgyzstan.
Fixed-line Business in Pakistan
The following presents a description of the fixed-line telecommunications services the company offers in Pakistan:
Data and voice services over a wide range of access media, covering more than 225 locations, including all the major cities.
Data services being provided to the enterprise customers include: dedicated internet access, VPN (virtual private networking), leased lines & fixed telephone.
Domestic and international transit leased lines, domestic and international MPLS, and IP transit services through the company’s access network.
High-speed internet access (including fiber optic lines).
Software-Defined Wide Area Network (‘SD-WAN’).
Telephone communication services, based on modern digital fiber optic network.
Value added services including Universal Access Number (UAN) and Toll Free numbering (TFN) services.
Cloud based contact center and helpdesk solutions and enterprise surveillance bundled with Fixed voice and data connectivity.
Dedicated lines of data transmission.
Dedicated line access and fixed-line mobile convergence.
Distribution
The company utilizes a direct sales force in Pakistan for enterprise customers. This dedicated sales force has three channels dedicated to SMEs, large/key accounts and business-to-government. These channels are led by individual channel heads who further employ a team of regional sales managers in different regions, which are further supported by a sales force, including team leads and key account managers. Keeping in view the growing demand for connectivity throughout the country the company has partnered externally to enable a new indirect sales channel team specifically targeting those areas where the company’s direct sales teams are not available. There is also a centralized telesales executive team led by a manager who upsells through targeted campaigns.
Competition
The company’s competitors in the internet services, carrier and operator services and fixed-line broadband markets in Pakistan are as follows:
Internet Services: PTCL, Transworld, World Call, Wateen, Cybernet, and Multinet.
Carrier and Operator Services: PTCL, Transworld, World Call, Wateen, and Telenor Pakistan.
Fixed-line Broadband: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited, or ‘PTCL’; Cybernet; Supernet; Multinet; Nexlinx; Wateen; and Nayatel.
Fixed-line Business in Ukraine
The following presents a description of the fixed-line telecommunications services the company offers in Ukraine.
Corporate internet access using various last mile technologies (optical and copper lines, FTTB, xDSL, MW RRL, WiMax, Wi-Fi, 2/3/4G) at speeds ranging from 2 Mbit/s to 10 Gbit/s and additional services (IP-addresses, BGP, Backup, SLA, corporate Wi-Fi, DDos protection).
Fixed-line telephone: IP-lines, SIP-Trunk, analog telephone, ISDN PRI, 0-800, Virtual PBX.
Data transmission (IPVPN and VPLS).
FMC.
FTTB services tariffs for fixed-line broadband internet access targeted at different customer segments.
The company’s joint carrier and operator services division in Ukraine provides local, international and intercity long-distance voice traffic transmission services to Ukrainian fixed-line and mobile operators on the basis of the company’s proprietary domestic long-distance/ILD network, as well as IP transit and data transmission services through the company’s own domestic and international fiber optic backbone and IP/MPLS data transmission network. The company derives most of its carrier and operator services revenue in Ukraine from voice call termination services to the company’s own mobile network and voice transit to other local and international destinations.
Competition
The company’s primary competitors in Ukraine are:
Voice Services and Data Services: Ukrtelecom, Data Group, and Farlep-Invest (Vega).
Retail Internet Services: Kyivstar, Ukrtelecom, and Data Group and Volia.
Distribution
The company’s company emphasizes high customer service quality and reliability for its corporate large accounts while at the same time focusing on the development of its SME offerings. The company sells to corporate customers through a direct sales force and various alternative distribution channels, such as IT servicing organizations and business center owners, and to SME customers through dealerships, direct sales, own retail and agent networks. The company uses a customized pricing model for large accounts which includes service or tariff discounts, volume discounts, progressive discount schemes and volume lock pricing. The company uses standardized and campaign-based pricing for SME customers. The company’s residential marketing strategy is focused on attracting new customers. The company offers several tariff plans, each one targeted at a different type of customer. In addition, the company has been able to benefit from cross-selling the company’s products. As of December 31, 2023, the company’s penetration of fixed-mobile convergence (‘FMC’) in fixed broadband was 81%, due to a high level of migration of mobile customers to FMC.
Fixed-line Business in Kazakhstan
The following presents a description of the fixed-line telecommunications services the company offers in Kazakhstan:
High-speed internet access.
Local, long distance and international voice services over IP.
Local, intercity and international leased channels and IP VPN services.
Cloud services, BeeTV, Internet of Things (IoT).
Integrated corporate networks (including integrated network voice, data and other services).
FMC product, including mobile bundles and video content from Amediateka and IVI, and additional SIM cards for family.
ADSL, FTTB, Wi-Fi, WiMax, VSAT, GPON, WTTX.
Distribution
The company is focusing on customer base and revenue growth, which the company intends to promote by expanding its transport infrastructure, developing unique products, strengthening its position in the market and enhancing the company’s sales efforts and data services, and Fixed Virtual Network Operator (FVNO) activity.
Competition
The following presents the company’s competitors in the fixed-line telecommunications services market in Kazakhstan:
Internet, Data Transmission and Traffic Termination Services: Kazakhtelecom; TransTelecom (owned by Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, the national railway company); KazTransCom, Jusan mobile (Kcell own a 20% share); Astel (a leader in the provision of satellite services); andAlma TV.
Fixed-line Business in Uzbekistan
In Uzbekistan, the company provides B2B and O2O (Operator to Operator) offerings. The following presents a description of the fixed-line telecommunications services the company offers in Uzbekistan.
Fixed-line services, such as network access.
Internet and hardware and software solutions, including configuration and maintenance.
High-speed internet access (including fiber optic lines and fixed wireless access).
Telephone.
Long distance and international long-distance telephone.
Dedicated lines of data transmission.
Dedicated line access and fixed-line mobile convergence.
Distribution
One of the company’s priorities in Uzbekistan is the development of information and communications technology, which supports economic development in Uzbekistan. The company’s strategy includes maintaining the company’s market position by retaining the company’s large corporate client customer base.
Competition
The company’s competitors in the fixed-line services market in Uzbekistan are Uztelecom, Sharq Telecom, East Telecom, TPS, Sarkor Telecom, EVO, and Others.
Seasonality
Given the geographical diversity of the company’s markets and the re-distribution of the company’s revenues in a way that each operating company has a noticeable impact, it is not possible to talk about high and low seasons for the company as a whole. Seasonality trends might be further disrupted, somewhat materially, but not fully predictably, by the changing time of Ramadan and the Islamic religious festivals in Pakistan and Bangladesh, the timing or timings of the company’s operating companies’ repricing actions and the large-scale network rollouts. In 2023, the company’s business continued to be impacted, to some extent, by each of these trends. The company continued to experience impacts on business as a result of the onset of the war in Ukraine (including the infrastructure damage and the population displacement it generated, as well as the depreciation of local currencies). The company was also impacted by the cyber-attack on Kyivstar in December 2023, the subsequent network shutdown and the customer retention programs which followed. The company was further impacted by extreme climate events, such as the cyclone in Bangladesh and floods in Pakistan, as well as the pre-election climate and consumer sentiment in those markets. These irregularities, as well as some residual impacts of COVID in 2021 and 2020, make it impossible to isolate the specific impact of seasonality, if any, on the company’s business through 2023.
History
The company was founded in 1992. It was incorporated under the Companies Act 1981 of Bermuda, as amended in 2009. The company was formerly known as VimpelCom Ltd. and changed its name to VEON Ltd. in 2017.
