Etisalat sponsors South Asian Mobile Conference in support of app developers

Tuesday, 28 June 2011 00:43 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Etisalat continue to support the development of mobile technology by sponsoring the 2011 South Asian Mobile Conference. The event looks to expand and evolve the scope and quality of mobile technologies in a South Asian context.

Etisalat in conjunction with hSenid Mobile launched the AppZone in June of last year; a platform that allowed users to create and market their own mobile phone applications, and since then the AppZone has developed to become one of the greatest proponents of mobile phone technology in Sri Lanka.

Etisalat’s sponsorship emphasises the unity of vision it shares with the South Asian Mobile Conference; the vision of bringing the best mobile technological solutions to South Asia and Sri Lanka.

Since its launch, the AppZone has grown and evolved to become a major platform within the local ICT spectrum. It provide opportunities for burgeoning technocrats and local IT students to show off their skills and get a chance to experiment in a ‘real world’ setting; a great achievement on its own because it moves the development of mobile phone applications from a select few major companies into the hands of independent up-and-comers.

It also gave these motivated tech enthusiasts a chance to try their hand at being entrepreneurs, by giving them a 70% share of the revenue generated by their applications. In this way the AppZone tried to encourage the local ICT graduates and inventive technophiles alike not to restrict their aspirations to being employees but to start businesses of their own.

On the sponsoring of the conference Etisalat CEO Dumindra Ratnayaka stated: “We at Etisalat, through our sponsorship, as well as through the products we develop, have always greatly supported the development of mobile phone technology. As more and more users look to their mobile phone to satisfy an ever-increasing segment of their technological needs, we see the future of technology centring on mobile devices and the successful companies of the future will be those who work on this platform.”

Now the Appzone, still the only one of its kind in Sri Lanka, has over 120 applications live and available for purchase, with the highest earning app developer garnering approximately Rs. 200,000 a month. It has become a one-stop-shop for customers to find the mobile phone apps. All apps are designed by Sri Lankans for Sri Lankans; the solutions are tailor-made for a Sri Lankan context.

As with the AppZone and now with its sponsorship of the South Asian Mobile Conference, Etisalat continues its quest to develop the landscape of mobile phone technology in Sri Lanka and the region.

As one of the most powerful players in Sri Lanka’s telecommunications industry, Etisalat continues to discover new horizons and explore new possibilities in the domain. Etisalat further offers Sri Lanka’s most cutting-edge internet solutions with the launch of its 3.75G technology.

Offering a variety of value added services, sales offerings, Affinity packages and other services, it stands at the top of the ladder in innovation, quality and customer service. Having passed an impressive 3.5 million subscribers in a record time since its launch, Etisalat remains dedicated to increasing its subscriber base and taking the company into greater heights.