Dialog reduces call rates from Saudi and UAE by 50%

Wednesday, 28 March 2012 00:05 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Foreign Employment Bureau launches local SIM connections offer to migrant workers

By Joshua Nicholas

Dialog Axiata PLC yesterday announced a tie up with FRiENDi of Saudi Arabia and Du Mobile of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The partnership will allow Sri Lankans working and travelling in Saudi Arabia and the UAE to purchase prepaid Dialog Axiata Head of Global Business Mangala H. Hettiarachchi (right) holds up a FRiENDi SIM card. From left: FRiENDi Vice President of Program Management Michael Klindt and Dialog Axiata Group Chief Operating Officer Supun Weerasinghe SIM cards and vouchers from FRiENDi and Du Mobile at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) before boarding their flights.

Both plans reduce the rates paid by Sri Lankans calling home by more than 50%. The reduction in rates from Saudi Arabia is just over 50% and the reduction from the UAE is over 65%. The plans also give Sri Lankans the ability to call their respective embassies at no cost, and come with 10 minutes free talk time each.

For those travelling to Saudi Arabia, a FRiENDi SIM card may be acquired already activated, from the transit counter at BIA. However, due to laws restricting the movement of SIM cards in an out of the UAE, those travelling to the UAE will only be able to obtain Du Mobile vouchers and instructions to pick up their activated SIM cards at their destination inside the UAE. “This is our third and fourth countries, and we are looking aggressively to the other countries where Sri Lankans reside,” said Dialog Axiata PLC Head of Global Business Mangala H. Hettiarachchi. Dialog already has tie ups with telecommunications companies inside the United Kingdom and Oman.