Page 59 - Monaco Economy 122

Monaco Telecom, Textbook Case by Milena Radoman

Having served as a guinea pig in the Principality’s pilot teleworking scheme at the beginning
of the health crisis, Monaco Telecom ensured the continuity of IT networks, alongside the
resurgence of this new way of organising the way we work.

On 1 September 2016, 43 Monaco Telecom Telecom offers fibre, “a stable solution and a
employees were already working from guarantee for the future.” Launched in 2021, in
home one day a week. Now, 110 out of 220 April for the general public and in November for
employees telework twice a week, so it is companies, fibre has already attracted 20% of
no wonder that the Monégasque telecoms Monégasque households (3,200) and 10% of
operator, majority-owned by Xavier Niel, served businesses. During the pandemic, cyberattacks
as a pilot company in the implementation were multiplied by 50 and “this figure is not
of teleworking regulations. “As early as decreasing.” This is why Monaco Telecom
2015, teleworking was identified as a strong offers firewalls to secure data flow. “It is safe
demand from employees,” says Managing for the user wherever they are!” In addition, the
Director, Martin Péronnet. According to a company has expanded its Monaco Care Safety
survey of employees, working from home was system, a solution offering security features
more important even than a pay rise. With such as anti-virus, secure browsing, banking
the pandemic, this phenomenon has been protection, location of your devices and storage
amplified. “Overnight, the whole company of passwords, credit card numbers and other
worked remotely,” recalls Martin Péronnet, important information.
who was “impressed” that everything went
like clockwork: “Customer service worked well. Up in the cloud
We even concluded the purchase of Vodafone Using the cloud also makes teleworking
Malta in 2020 remotely.” The only problem was easier. This data backup system allows
introducing new recruits in such a context: “It remote access to all the files stored there
was not easy, specially with young people who and limits the risk of data loss. Launched in
need to be supervised. Some integrations did October 2021, Monaco Cloud, which offers
not work out.” To maintain group cohesion, services such as virtual machines, storage
Martin Péronnet began to write to the teams and safeguarding “in complete security” is
every day to reassure them and, two years an asset, according to Martin Péronnet, as he
later, he still does it three days a week to “talk demonstrates: “Our two subsidiaries already
about the company.” host their customers’ data in Monaco,” and
this could be the case tomorrow for the other
Getting Through entities of Xavier Niel’s Iliad Group and their
As a monopoly operator, Monaco Telecom millions of customers.
had, above all, to ensure the continuity of
remote networks. “At the height of the crisis,
we provided 4G SIM cards and doubled the Future videoconferencing tool?
sizes of internet speeds for companies that With the massive and sudden conversion
needed all their staff working remotely.” For to teleworking, business leaders and
mobile and fixed lines, it was necessary to employees started videoconferencing and
secure data flows between the outside world had to find technical solutions in a short time
and the companies. “The networks have held but many of them did not have the necessary
up very well. We have remained at 15 to 20% tools. “We’ve seen two big players emerge,
of their capacity, despite the trend towards Zoom and Teams. At Monaco Telecom, we
an increase in data flows, representing +10% developed and used a system of our own
in 2021. We have further strengthened our but have not marketed it for the moment,”
network between Monaco and the rest of the remarks Martin Péronnet, for whom such
world but also created dedicated APNs, namely a commercial step is not excluded in the
to secure connections ensuring the link between future. “It makes sense that operators should © depositphotos/ Goodluz
remote workers and the company,” observes make their tools available.”
the MD, satisfied that since then, Monaco

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