Telecom Lead Asia: Sri Lanka has 18.417 million mobile
subscribers at the end of September 2011, with a net addition of 241,000, down
from 438,000 in June 2011.
Sri Lankan operators are searching for additional growth drivers to offset the
declining subscriber growth opportunities.
Mobile service providers in Sri Lanka are taking steps to
increase the number of postpaid users. Companies are also looking at the
broadband sector.
Mobile broadband adoption is growing rapidly. According
to Sri Lankan telecom regulator, there were 260,000 internet and email
subscribers and 120,000 broadband subscribers in the country in September 2010.
The push continued into Q1 2011 and Q2 2011. According to
CBSL, the combined internet and mobile broadband subscriber figures increased
to 673,000 and 692,000 respectively. At the end of September 2011, the CBSL
said there were 722,000 subscribers. The momentum coincided with telecoms
companies’ efforts to improve their mobile data networks.
After attracting interest from companies such as Sri Lanka Telecom, Tata
Communications and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam, as well as UAE-based Emirates
Telecommunications Corporation in the last few years, Suntel was finally
acquired by Dialog Broadband Networks, a subsidiary of Dialog Axiata in
December 2011.
