Google and Facebook Face an Unlikely Competitor in Emerging Markets: a Telecom Giant

On Feb. 27, Vimpelcom rebranded itself as Veon, already the name of its digital messaging app. The revamped company is offering “zero-rated” voice and data services—i.e. free for Vimpelcom customers—and has already teamed up with MasterCard, short series platform Studio+, music-streaming service Deezer; and will.i.am’s wearables company, i.am+. The goal? Transform an enormous traditional telco (Vimpelcom is the top provider in Italy, and the third largest in Russia) into a tech company that can compete in emerging markets, where mobile users often opt for free internet offered by Google and Facebook. It’s a pivot that other telcos will be watching closely.

“Just being a performing telco operator was not a sustainable strategy,” Vimpelcom CEO Jean-Yves Charlier told Quartz. “Tech companies have been capturing the growth linked to digital mobile lifestyles.”