Unleashed - How to Thrive as an Independent Professional

589. Gerd Schenkel, How to Analyze a Telecommunications Company

·48 min·4 clips

Gerd's boss promised the board they'd build a new telco in 10 weeks—with no plan in place.

Will Bachman hosts Gerd Schenkel on Unleashed to explore thriving as an independent professional, focusing on telecommunications. Gerd shares his background, including 10 years as a consultant at BCG and Carney, and 15 years as an executive in banking and telco. He recounts launching UBank for National Australia Bank and later creating a digital division at Telstra. The central story involves Telstra's failed acquisition leading to a promise to build a new telco, Belong, in 10 weeks. Gerd explains key learnings: assigning a full-time team of 12 people, using Deloitte for specialist skills, and prioritizing simplicity with only two products. He illustrates how they redesigned processes, like delaying router shipment until line activation to mimic a 'toaster' experience. Gerd describes a regulatory scare involving a $10 million fine, solved by flying in a specialist from the UK. He highlights billing innovations, such as not charging until the next month to avoid prorata complaints. The discussion shifts to analyzing telcos, where Gerd critiques the industry's lack of customer centricity and obsession with ARPU. He proposes separating network access revenue from non-network revenue and incentivizing the latter. Gerd suggests monetizing data through location services or opt-in advertising, citing a trial with 80,000 users. He emphasizes that telcos need to break out of declining margins by leveraging their unique access to customers. The episode concludes with Gerd sharing his contact details and promoting Umbrex's telco analysis resource.

As heard by us

A grounded telecom review covering new-business setup, parent-company support, and licensing obligations.

Telecom analysis works best when it stays close to the choices that turn a plan into an operating business. Will Bachman speaks with Gerd Schenkel about building new telco businesses and reading a telecommunications company through a practical lens, including Umbrex's resource…

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Want to see how telecom analysis changes when licensing rules enter the room?

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