Charlesworth, formerly Director of Operations, will now be responsible for managing all of Opera Telecom’s UK business activities, ensuring that the company stays at the forefront of the mobile services industry. This appointment provides Gary Corbett, Opera Telecom’s owner, with the opportunity to focus on the international expansion of Opera Telecom’s overseas operations. Gary Corbett becomes Chief Executive Officer.
Since being founded by Gary Corbett in 2000, Opera Telecom has achieved business growth on an international scale. The company recently came first in the Sunday Times Virgin Atlantic Fast Track 100, an annual league table which ranks the UK’s one hundred fastest growing private companies. Opera Telecom’s turnover in 2004 was £99million, with a £6million profit.
At a time when many of its competitors are experiencing a downturn in revenues, Opera Telecom is predicting further business growth this year, and the company’s continued success has seen a considerable expansion into international markets. Opera Telecom already offers services in Australia, USA, South Africa, Spain, Portugal, Ireland and the Far East and in addition to its presence across Europe, is currently in the process of launching operations in the Italian market.
Commenting on his appointment as UK Managing Director, Charlesworth says, “With the arrival of 3G technology, the mobile services landscape is more exciting than ever before, with the potential for richer and more compelling video clips, games, music and ringtones as well as face-to-face mobile video calls. Opera Telecom is well positioned to capitalise on these new and emerging markets, channels and technologies, as and when the opportunities arise, and I am looking forward to having a major impact on the ongoing development of the UK business operations.”
Gary Corbett, CEO of Opera Telecom, says, “The key business objective for Opera Telecom now is to continue our ambitious plans for overseas growth. Opera Telecom UK’s multi-million pound investment in platforms, switching and applications enables the delivery of better products at cheaper rates and better margins than companies would receive from local providers, which is a compelling proposition.”
He concludes, “We are enhancing our international offering and have recently launched Opus, a ‘Virtual Telco’ solution providing customers with the ability to manage and maintain their own Telephony and SMS requirements and statistics, and set up any of Opera Telecom’s Ready Made Services portfolio. Together with Dragon, our advanced self-service mobile platform, customers can self-provision and build virtually any telecommunications application, and this represents a worldwide first.”