Lebara

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Lebara
Industry Telecommunications
Founded September 2001
Founder Ratheesan Yoganathan , Rasiah Ranjith Leon and Kandiah Baskaran
Headquarters 25 Copthall Avenue, London, UK
Area served
 Europe, Saudi Arabia,Sri Lanka and Australia
Key people
 Ratheesan Yoganathan (Chairman & CEO) [1]
Products Mobile telecommunications services
Revenue Increase EUR€ 565 million (2010)
Increase EUR€ 21 million (2010)
Number of employees
 1,400 (end 2011)
Website www.lebara.com

Lebara is a telecommunications company providing services in many countries around the world, using the mobile virtual network operator business model. Lebara Mobile provides Pay As You Go mobile SIM cards, targeted towards the needs of international communities and migrant workers.[2][3]

History

Lebara was founded in 2001 by Ratheesan Yoganathan, Rasiah Ranjith Leon and Baskaran Kandiah. The founders worked on the idea at an airport cafe after seeing the imposing Telenor building on the way to the airport in Bergen, Norway.[citation needed] The name Lebara was coined from the first two letters of each of the founders' names.[4]

The company's initial product was international telephone calling cards, sold through independent mobile phone shops.[4]

In 2004, Lebara Mobile launched the first-ever[citation needed] low-cost international service in the Netherlands, selling SIM cards using mobile carrier Telfort, a subsidiary of KPN.[4]

In 2009 it began using Vodafone's infrastructure in Australia[5] and the UK. By then it had also expanded into Denmark, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.[3] France was added in 2010.[4]

In the UK, Lebara targeted the 16-24 international student community, including through Freshers fairs and targeted emails.[6]

In May 2010 it acquired the ‘Chippie’ brand and customer base in the Netherlands. Lebara said it would retain the Chippie name in the Netherlands, which is designed to address migrant communities from North and South America, the Caribbean, the Middle East and Asia. Like Lebara Mobile's Dutch MVNO, Chippie calls are carried on KPN's network.[7] Lebara generated annual sales in excess of €565 million in 2010, and had more than three million active customers.[4]

In March 2011, it expanded its services by launching Lebara Money in the UK for customers wishing to send money abroad. In November of that year it signed a global deal to distribute Nokia handsets, with Lebara branding including a ringtone by Indian composer A. R. Rahman.[8]

In 2011, Lebara’s revenue hit €648m (£504m), turning a €20m (£16m) profit. Ratheesan Yoganathan, CEO of Lebara, wants to reach one billion customers by 2020.[9]

Operations

The company currently operates in Australia, Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and the UK,[10] and employs around 1,400 staff in total.[11]

Lebara was recently awarded a licence to operate in Saudi Arabia as part of the Jawraa Consortium.

Country Partner network
 Australia Vodafone[12][13]
 Denmark Telenor[14]
 France Bouygues Telecom[15]
 Germany Telekom[16]
 Netherlands KPN[17]
 Saudi Arabia Mobily[18]
 Spain Vodafone[19]
 Sri Lanka Dialog[20]
  Switzerland Sunrise[21]
 United Kingdom Vodafone[22]

Awards

The following industry recognitions have been awarded to Lebara:

  • Best UK Customer Experience in Telecom Sector; and Best UK Customer Experience Team at 2011 UK Customer Experience Awards
  • Best Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO); and Best Customer Service of the Year at 2011 Mobile News Awards
  • Best Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) at 2010 Mobile News Awards
  • Innovative Service in the 2009 Mobile News Awards, for the international SIM card product
  • In 2008, Real Business Magazine placed Lebara in their Hot 100 listing for the second year running
  • The judges in the 2008 Mobile Awards voted Lebara Mobile Best Newcomer to the UK market
  • In 2007, Real Business Magazine placed Lebara in both its Hot 100 and Top 50 to Watch in Mobile listings
  • The Fast Track 100 listing, produced by the Sunday Times in 2006, ranked Lebara as the fourth fastest-growing private company in Great Britain.

Management

Yoganathan Ratheesan, co-owner and co-founder of Lebara, has been its Chief Executive Officer since the company’s inception in 2001, when he was aged 25.[4] On 10 August 2012 David Moffatt was appointed Chief Executive Officer. Yoganathan Ratheesan became its Chairman after holding the position of CEO since 2001.[1]

The founders established the Lebara Foundation, a registered charity under English law,[23] in 2005. As of 2011 they were intending to sell their interest in the company, and donate half their wealth to expand the charitable work of the Foundation.[4]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Locations, official website. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ LEBARA FOUNDATION, Registered Charity no. 1122734 at the Charity Commission

External links

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