Dialog to ring better 4G via Rs. 3.2 b LTE spectrum buy

Dialog Axiata recently announced that its 10 MHz tranche of Mobile 4G LTE spectrum auctioned by the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka has been secured.

Dialog’s success at securing spectrum for the launch of Mobile 4G LTE services to supplement its 3G HSPA and high speed mobile internet services was followed soon after the company’s fully-owned subsidiary Dialog Broadband Networks launched Sri Lanka’s first 4G LTE service, extending high speed fixed broadband services to Sri Lankan homes and enterprises. 

Dialog’s winning bid was registered at Rs. 3.277 billion for 10 MHz of 1800 MHz spectrum, which will in turn enable the company’s market leading mobile telephony and high speed mobile broadband service to be elevated to the fourth generation technology.

Speaking soon after the successful outcome at the auction, Dialog Axiata Group Chief Executive Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya said: “Dialog Axiata’s commitment to roll out a Mobile 4G LTE network on the 1800 MHz band followed on, from our launch of Sri Lanka’s first fixed 4G LTE service last year. The progressive spectrum management policies of the regulator and the timely release of spectrum for 4G services will enable our consumers to enjoy the region’s most advanced suite of mobile, fixed and nomadic 4G LTE services.

“It is indeed a privilege to lead Sri Lanka in to the 4G era, living up to the trust placed in the brand by Sri Lankan consumers, who recently chose Dialog as the ‘Internet Services Provider of the Year’ as well as the ‘Telecom Services Provider’ for the second consecutive year at the SLIM-Nielsen People’s Choice Awards organised by the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM) and the Nielsen Company.”

Dialog provides mobile telephony services to a subscriber base in excess of 7.8 million, and currently operates GSM, 3G and HSPA and network technologies across a market leading network footprint spanning all nine provinces in Sri Lanka.  

With a view to taking the power of the mobile internet to all segments of Lankan society, Dialog recently launched its own smartphone series featuring a 3.5” TFT screen entry model at Rs. 9,990 and an advanced 4.3” TFT screen device at Rs. 16,990. 

Dialog Axiata’s fully-owned subsidiary Dialog Broadband Networks (DBN) launched Sri Lanka’s first commercial LTE service during the latter part of 2012, commencing with city of Colombo, followed by expansion to the cities of Kandy and Jaffna.

DBN’s fixed 4G LTE is based on TD-LTE technology in the 2300 MHz band. DBN also operates Sri Lanka’s largest Wi-Fi network featuring a growing galaxy of 2,000 hotspots across the country, and is engaged in building out a rapidly expanding fibre optic network across the country.

Dialog Axiata is a subsidiary of Axiata Group Berhad (Axiata), operating Sri Lanka’s largest and fastest growing mobile telecommunications network. The company is also one of the largest listed companies on the Colombo Stock Exchange in terms of market capitalisation.

Dialog has been at the forefront of innovation in the mobile industry in Sri Lanka since the late ’90s, propelling the nation’s mobile telephony infrastructure to a level of advancement on par with the developed world.

Dialog also provides a comprehensive suite of international roaming services across a global footprint comprising of more than 200 countries, and operates a wide portfolio of international telecommunication services, including but not limited to retail and wholesale international voice and data services.

Dialog Axiata supplements its market leading position in the mobile telecommunications sector with a robust footprint and market presence in Sri Lanka’s fixed telecommunications and digital television markets through its fully-owned subsidiaries Dialog Broadband Networks (DBN) and Dialog Television (DTV).