Circles – Reshaping the Telco industry from Singapore to the World
Circles’ headquarters in Singapore
The telecommunications industry is undergoing significant transformation, driven by rapid technological advancements such as generative artificial intelligence, expansion of 5G, heightened competition and increasing consumer demand for novel digital experiences. As traditional telcos navigate these changes, there is mounting pressure to expand beyond their conventional offerings and footprints. In response, these telcos are exploring and implementing various strategies such as network expansion, reimagining cost structures, and investing in new technologies; each is striving to find its own formula for success in this complex landscape, balancing innovation with the need to maintain profitability and operational efficiency.
Amidst this dynamic environment, industry disruptors like Circles, a pioneering Singapore-based digital telco operator, have emerged to challenge the status quo. Circles has attained its position as a category leader in providing seamless, digitally focused connectivity solutions, quickly becoming the preferred choice for consumers while ensuring strong industry margins.
More than just a consumer-facing brand, Circles is now setting new standards for the telco industry by positioning itself as a global technology company. Its cloud-native, full-stack software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform and digital-first go-to-market strategy empower traditional telcos operators to launch and scale digital brands, facilitating their transformation into agile, tech-driven companies (techcos).
Today, Circles has partnered with five of the top ten global telco operators across 15 countries, empowering them to deliver unique digital experiences to customers at scale.
Breaking the Cycle
Established in 2014, Circles was co-founded by Rameez Ansar, Abhishek Gupta, and Adeel Najam, when they identified the gaps in telco services offered by large, established players and recognised an opportunity to innovate and drive change. At that time, the traditionally capex-heavy industry was burdened with legacy infrastructure, high costs and inconsistent customer experiences.
Explaining the motivation to start Circles, Rameez Ansar, Co-founder and CEO of Circles, shared, “It surprised us that in an industry which as large, pervasive and critical as telecommunications, with immense potential for innovation in areas like Know-Your-Customer (KYC) and billing relationships, the expectations of customers, investors, and operators remained unmet. For decades, the telco industry faced huge challenges in achieving digital transformation. And we thought, there must be a better way to serve customers and harness the power of technology. Circles was born from this ambition.”
Recognising the need for agile, customer-centric telco services to meet the diverse demands of the digital age, Rameez and his co-founders launched Circles.Life in 2016, a digital telco lifestyle brand in Singapore.
Coming Full Circle
By June 2022, Circles.Life captured over 7% of Singapore’s mobile telecommunications market, a notable achievement considering the competitive landscape and the dominance of established incumbents. The company achieved five key success indicators:
- Attained an industry-leading Net Promoter Score (NPS) of +50 points, establishing itself as one of Singapore’s top customer service retailers and service providers.
- Secured the #1 spot in Singapore’s Best Customer Service Award for two consecutive years (2022/2023 and 2023/24), leading in the categories of “Mobile Carriers” and “Telecommunications and Internet Service Providers”.
- Achieved an Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) 20% higher than the industry average, reflecting its ability to attract and retain high-value customers.
- Maintained an operational cost structure that is 70% lower than traditional telcos, significantly boosting profitability and scalability.
- Developed agile go-to-market practices, allowing swift adaptation to market changes and customer needs, thereby enhancing competitiveness.
This success and strong reception in Singapore garnered global recognition, prompting other telco operators to approach Circles with the goal of replicating its business model in other markets.
The founders leveraged their technology leadership, digital expertise and experience to develop the world’s first digital telco SaaS platform for telco operators. This platform enables other telco operators to launch, transform and operate product offerings similar to Circles.Life, effectively transitioning the company from a business-to-consumer (B2C) model to a business-to-business (B2B) model, targeting the $276 billion total available market (TAM) of telco spend on software and services.
With this platform, Circles comes full circle in its mission of transforming legacy telco businesses by facilitating their digital evolution. This allows other global telco operators to stay competitive and relevant, while expanding their market share with new revenue streams and improved profitability.
Global Market Expansion: Success Stories
What can telco operators do to stay ahead leveraging Circles’ expertise? The answer lies in Circles’ partnership arrangements. Circles has partnered with leading global players to deliver transformative solutions that address specific market challenges and drive sustainable growth.
Here’s a glimpse into some of their successful partnerships in Japan and the Middle East.
The Japan Story
Rameez Ansar (left) presenting a case study on Circles’ successful partnership with KDDI Digital Life to Toshiro Akiyama (right), CEO of KDDI Digital Life
Japan’s saturated telco market and the rise of digitally native consumers have created a growing demand for robust digital capabilities. To meet this need, KDDI Corporation, a leading Japanese telco company, partnered with Circles to launch ‘povo2.0,’ its first digital telco brand. This innovative brand was developed remotely in just 16 weeks during the COVID-19 pandemic and launched in November 2021, offering a diverse range of personalised products and services designed to cater to Japan’s digitally savvy consumers.
“The ability to quickly develop and launch differentiated services with a solution that not only integrates with the KDDI ecosystem but also operates independently truly empowered KDDI to take a bold leap forward with its first-ever digital telco brand. I was truly impressed by the people at Circles and their way of thinking and working,” said Toshiro Akiyama, CEO of KDDI Digital Life.
Read more about the Japan story here.
The Middle East Story
Etisalat by e&, a leading global telco provider, recognised the growing importance of digital transformation in meeting the needs of today’s digitally native consumers. To capitalise on this trend and to support its digital telco businesses as part of their strategic roadmap, they partnered with Circles in a joint venture to develop digital brands across over 20 markets.
After careful evaluation, Circles and e& selected Pakistan as their initial target market. Despite its differences from Japan and Singapore, Pakistan’s fast-growing segment of digital natives, strong mobile-first culture, and high demand for innovative digital services made it an ideal choice. After months of market research, ‘Onic’ was created in 2023, complete with a comprehensive pricing structure, loyalty programme and brand building strategy. Upon its launch, ‘Onic’ quickly gained traction and has since established itself as one of Pakistan’s most beloved telco brands, boasting a customer satisfaction rating of 97.5%.
“As the world becomes increasingly digital, it’s more important than ever for telcos to innovate and deliver next-generation services to meet the demands of digital native subscribers. Our partnership with Circles is solid proof of our commitment to heralding a new digital era – one that is filled with limitless possibilities where we can collaborate and accomplish more for a brighter, digital future,” said Mikhail Gerchuk, former CEO of e& International.
Read more about the Middle East story here.
Leading the Future from Telco to Techco
Reflecting on Circles’ journey, Rameez shared, “Starting up is hard. It’s like climbing Mount Everest for the first time – immensely challenging. It’s even harder when you’re creating a new category. It takes an immense amount of resilience in the face of many odds and non-believers. We built consumer businesses first-hand through our own digital brands and invested in scaling them but realised early that we would make the most impact by creating a tech platform to help all telcos to scale. Now, we’re proud to have both our consumer and SaaS businesses recognised as category leaders, spearheading the digital transformation of the telco industry.”
Circles’ comprehensive end-to-end solutions, innovative market strategies and progressive mindset are key factors that set them apart from the growing number of mobile virtual network operators and digital telco brands globally. Over the last decade, Circles has remained true to its vision of reimagining the telco industry and empowering customers.
Looking ahead, Rameez said, “We have been and want to be a global technology company headquartered in Singapore, leading the charge. With a strong and expanding customer base that includes the most innovative telcos across 15 countries, including KDDI, e& and others, we are in a pole position within the industry and aim to be the driving force of change.”
Rameez Ansar (2nd from left) with KDDI leaders at KDDI Digital Life’s office in Japan.
Rameez added, “Singapore is more than home for me; it’s where I believe we can build global companies. When I founded Circles, I wanted to prove that it is entirely possible to take a company global from Singapore and pave the way for others to do the same. We’ve had strong support from our government and corporate partners throughout this journey. Our success in the Singapore telco market has been recognised by global telco operators as a pilot for the world, and we will continue to scale this up.”
As a portfolio company under EDBI since 2019, Circles has benefited from its extensive global network and resources to increase visibility, drive innovation, and accelerate growth internationally.
In February 2022, Circles launched its R&D Centre in Singapore to build on the strengths of its proprietary technologies and nurture talents in AI, software engineering, cybersecurity, data science, and product development. The company currently employs a total of over 600 full-time employees, with nearly 50% based at its R&D Centre.
“What started as a small team with big ambitions has evolved into a significant industry player, with about 300 employees at its Singapore R&D Centre driving digital transformation and developing solutions that are reshaping the business landscape. Circles’ growth story demonstrates their commitment to innovation. We are proud to support Circles on their journey to becoming a global technology company,” said Paul Ng, CEO of EDBI.
As the strategic investment arm of the Economic Development Board of Singapore (EDB), EDBI focuses on technology-driven companies and technology innovators keen to expand global footprint through Singapore. EDBI seeks long-term partnerships with its portfolio companies to help them succeed while fostering technological advancement and job creation that contribute to economic growth.
Beyond capital, EDBI provides a targeted value creation approach and strategic go-to-market support by connecting portfolio companies with high-potential enterprise buyers and partners in Southeast Asia, helping to drive their growth trajectory.
Find out more about how EDBI helped catalysed growth.
