It is the. His takeoff in recent years has been spectacular. Specialized in the immigrant user segment, it has become the fourth operator with a fiber optic network. His CEO, Marius Varzru, reveals to us exclusively in this interview the plans for the deployment of a 5G mobile telephony network that in three years will achieve coverage like the one Yoigo had in his start. In addition, it is categorical about its policy of not raising rates in 2025 and warns, once again, that the Spanish subsidiary of the Romanian group is not for sale, although it could participate in corporate operations if any rival is put on sale.
Ask. Digi presents annual results on the next day 28. What can ahead us?
Answer. 2024 has been the best year with respect to Digi’s high growth in Spain. At the beginning of February we have exceeded two million fixed broadband customers and we have also exceeded the level of the six million mobile lines. We are very grateful for customers for their confidence in our proposal for quality services at stable and competitive prices. We hope to become the third broadband operator of Spain by number of clients in the next 12 months. In addition, in 2024, due to the various agreements we have achieved, we have managed to consolidate Digi’s long -term strategic model in Spain.
P. Through portability he snatched 900,000 customers from his rivals in 2024. Why do so many users leave their company to come to DIGI?
R. The main reason that explains our growth in number of customers is the fiber network deployment that we have made in Spain in the last six years, starting from scratch. This massive investment in a very modern fiber optic network, which allows speeds of up to 10GBPS and covers more than 12 million customers households. In addition, it is made only with its own employees, and this is the best example that you can offer quality products at competitive prices and at the same time create employment and value for society.
P. Digi is the only one of the four large telecation companies that has not announced a rise in rate for 2025? Why can it do it?
R. In 2025, we have no intention of raising prices, our business model allows us and the results already demonstrate it, in the form of income growth and operational benefit. But, in addition, Digi’s is a sustainable model based on quality, as we can see in the fiber networks that we have deployed at the beginning of our project, and that already have more than 20% penetration. Hence, more and more customers hire our services, which makes the model more sustainable. We have been applying this commercial policy for 16 years and we have to keep it in the future.
P. His rivals say the model low cost Digi with such low prices is unsustainable in the medium and long term. What is the secret to offer these low rates?
R. The concept low cost It comes from airlines that offer a small service compared to traditional airlines in exchange for lowering prices. But we offer the same service or even better than our competition (as is the case of 10GBPS fiber). Therefore, we do not define ourselves as low cost. As I said previously, a differential element of DIGI is that we integrate the entire value chain, this implies that all the activities of the business are assumed with our own employment, which generates an operational efficiency that we then transfer to our customers, and allows us to be able to Offer quality products at competitive prices.
P. A week ago television was launched throughout the national territory. How is he going? Have you been able to incorporate football or platforms of streaming How Netflix or Max to your offer?
R. We have just expanded the coverage of our national payment television service and we are in the initial phase of its commercialization. It is very soon to give data, but our customers demand this product at a competitive price. As for football, our intention is shortly to offer the possibility to hire an additional product that includes the games of the LaLiga Hypermotion [Segunda División]. Regarding platforms, customers can hire it directly and do not believe that intermediation is necessary.
In benefits
P. His rivals say that Digi wins customers, but does not earn money. When will Digi be profitable in Spain?
R. Except in two exercises -2022 and 2023-, DIGI in its 16 years of history in Spain has constantly given benefits. And in those years that I have cited it is natural not to obtain them, because it is because in those exercises we have concentrated the principle of network investment. At the end of 2024, we have once again had a net benefit and we hope to work positive in all the next years. In fact, in 2024 we have paid only for companies more than 75 million euros. And that means that it is a consolidated and sustainable project.
P. These investments have also triggered the debt.
R. In order to finance this massive investment in a fiber optic network, we have reinsented all the benefit generated and we have financed with external debt and group resources. And that is why it is logical that the debt grows. At the end of 2024, this level of debt is already decreasing, and now we are at levels of 1.4 times on Ebitda, less than 215 million euros, the percentage lower than that of the three major operators in Spain.
P. How do you see the creation movement of Fibercos What are Telefónica, Masorange and Vodafone. Do you look digi in any of those Fibercos or does it have its own fiber deployment plans?
R. We have no project of this type. We are happy with the formula we have chosen to sell part of the fiber network to a group of funds to finance the new deployments. Despite this sale, Digi remains the only company responsible for long -term maintenance and this ensures us to offer our service with the same quality level and the same competitive prices. In the fiber optic network our goal is to display network. We are not making a selective deployment, on the contrary, we are actively deploying in 50 provinces of Spain. Right now, the Network deployed by DIGI covers more than 12 million homes of a total of 24 nationwide, 3 million of them deployed in the last year.
Red 5G
P. He tells me about the fiber network, but Digi made a great effort in the remedies of the fusion of Masorange, with the purchase of spectrum for mobile telephony for 120 million. When will they be a mobile operator with their own network?
R. We have not yet received that spectrum, which continues to use Masorange, so we have not begun to emit our signal with this spectrum. We hope that Masorange will give it to the end of the second quarter. And from the second half of the year we will activate our first mobile antennas, through which we will start offering mobile phone services through our own network. In this way, we can affirm that in 2025 DIGI will cease to be a virtual mobile operator to become a mobile network of own network. Where Digi does not have your own coverage, you will continue to offer access to the coverage of the Telefónica mobile network. Our goal is to display in the first three years an equally large network as the one that Yoigo deployed in its day, with more than 5,000 antennas, but in record time. And then continue to expand it with the aim of offering a 5G quality service and with broad coverage of the DIGI network.
P. In total, what investments are planned for 2025?
R. We are determined to execute the investment plan to seven years of 2,000 million euros that we announced at the end of 2023, displaying 10GBPS fiber optic networks and a wide mobile phone network. And in 2025 we will continue in this line.
P. What has the renewal of the network agreement with Telefónica for 16 years?
R. The reason for having chosen Telefónica is because it is the operator who most committed to quality and coverage, and is the best partner For our long -term project in Spain. The investments that we will make in the mobile network are large and need a lot of time to be profitable and, therefore, a period of 16 years seems appropriate.
P. What do you think that the Spanish State has become the first telephone shareholder?
R. We are happy with the relationship we have developed with Telefónica, it is strategic, and with our long -term agreement that we believe is very positive for both Digi and Telefónica.
P. Digi’s most visible face is his sports sponsorships. Are they going to continue betting on them?
R. We remain very involved with sports sponsorships, both for male and female football, and our intention is to continue on the same path and accompany football clubs in their activity, with an active and close contact with fans.
P. The last year and a half has been tragic for employment in the sector. You are in Telefónica, Masorange, Vodafone and Avatel. However, Digi continues to create employment. What is the current template?
R. We finish 2024 with more than 8,750 employees, which is a growth of 1,250 employees during this year. Digi’s project in Spain is long -term and proposes for its workforce opportunity for professional growth within the company. To give a very concrete example, in Digi the partners who display the fiber network are then the ones that maintain the network or install the internet services at home. All these activities have a vocation of permanence within our organization since DIGI offers a stable work proposal for its employees.
P. After Orange and Masmobic fusion, we are still talking about consolidation in the sector. It seems that Avatel and Finetwork could enter one of those operations. Is Digi candidate to buy any of these companies?
R. Digi’s goal is to continue investing in Spain in the long term, grow and remain a relevant actor in our market. Any opportunity to contribute to this goal will be analyzed at the time.
P. And vice versa. You have always said that Digi Spain is not for sale. But the same said MasMóvil a few years ago when it was the company that grew the most. And it has ended up merging with Orange
R. The Digi group is very committed to the long -term objectives that we have set and reaffirm very categorically that Digi is not for sale and, therefore, will continue to be a long -term operator in Spain.
P. I know this is an annoying question but I must do it. There is talk of the obscurantism of the Finance of the founder and main shareholder of Digi, Zoltán Teszári. It never appears publicly and there is doubt on the origin of the funds he used to finance the giant in which Digi has become.
R. I appreciate the question. In Digi we are proud of our origins and the way in which we have grown with a business project based on the continuous investment of the benefits obtained with the objective of offering quality products at competitive prices. We understand that Zoltan’s desire has been confused for maintaining his privacy on a personal level, with supposed business behavior. You cannot talk about darkness to refer to a company quoted within the European Union such as DIGI Communications that complies with all the transparency regulations required at European level as it could not be otherwise, and therefore we understand any appreciation in another sense .
