Challenge: The Multi-Operator Integration Puzzle
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- Massive Scale & Complexity: Following a major merger, two mobile operators needed to consolidate their physical infrastructure while maintaining seamless coverage for millions of subscribers.
- Conflicting Objectives: The business needed to balance aggressive cost reduction (rent rationalisation, equipment decommissioning) against the risk of network disruption and degraded customer experience.
- Hundreds of Variables: With thousands of cell sites and multiple equipment vendors, there were hundreds of possible “merger configurations”—each with a vastly different financial and operational outcome.
- Fragmented Data: Essential data regarding site leases, spectrum holdings, and equipment types was siloed across both organizations, preventing a clear view of the potential synergies.
Solution: The Strategic Synergy Engine
Analytical Models developed a sophisticated Network Integration Cost Model to serve as the definitive decision-support tool for the merger:
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- Geospatial and Technical Logic: The model performed a detailed site-by-site analysis to identify redundant base stations and optimize spectrum holdings.
- Dynamic Scenario Testing: We built a “Configurator” interface allowing leadership to test hundreds of merger scenarios—such as varying the speed of equipment “swap-outs” or prioritizing certain regions—to see the immediate impact on NPV and EBITDA.
- Comprehensive Financial Modelling: The engine accounted for complex cost drivers including rent rationalisation, penalty fees for early lease termination, and license fee reductions.
- Customer-Centric Constraints: Unlike a simple financial model, this solution incorporated customer experience metrics (e.g., network signal quality) to ensure that cost-cutting did not lead to subscriber churn.
Outcome: The Blueprint for Malaysia’s Largest Telco
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- Optimisation at Scale: Out of hundreds of possible configurations, Analytical Models identified the single integration path that delivered the maximum financial value while ensuring the best possible customer experience.
- Successful Execution: The merger resulted in the creation of Malaysia’s largest telecommunications provider, occurring strictly according to the plan defined by the model.
- Global Recognition: The success of the synergy optimisation of the Malaysian merger led to an immediate approach by Telenor to model a similar high-stakes mergers in Thailand (True and DTAC), cementing Analytical Models’ reputation as a global leader in telco synergy modelling.