Dec 05, 2007 (LBO) – Mobitel, a celco owned by fixed operator Sri Lanka Telecom launched its third generation network in the island, saying its existing service was growing so fast it was struggling to meet demand.
"We are bursting at the seams and we can't even take in the number of connections. We are dealing excess of 100,000 connections (a month)," Suren Amarasekera, Mobitel chief executive said Wednesday.
"So it is giving us tremendous constraints in terms of keeping up with demand as well as upgrading our network. We will end the year with 1.4 to 1.5 million and next year we will see a similar growth."
Mobitel has so far invested 200 million dollars on its 2.5G and 3.5G networks and also plans to introduce a variant to IP (Internet Protocol) telephony program 'Skype', in the next 2-3 years.
The firm intends to introduce new 3G enabled mobile content and services in the next 3-4 weeks, the company said in a statement.
The company hopes to increase its base stations to 1,500 from 1,000 by the end of January next year.
Mobitel, a subsidiary of the dominant fixed phone operator Sri Lanka Telecom, said its network has grown to 1.4 million subscribers so far.
Growth, which was slow during the first half of the year, picked up towards the second half at more than 125,000 users a month.
The celco launched 'M3' its 3.5G High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) services for the public. It has a 7.2 Megabits per second download rate and 1.9 Megabits per second upload rate.
Mobitel is the first mobile service provider to introduce HSPA in South Asia.
Customers using Mobitel can enjoy M3 without the buying a new SIM or a connection but by inserting the existing SIM in to a 3G capable handset, Amarasekera says.
The new network will enable users to take video calls at the cost of a voice call, perform various tasks such as browsing internet, watching local tv channels and access streams such as youtube videos without any decrease in the quality of content.
The company, enjoying a growth rate in excess of 50 percent year-on-year, hopes for a double digit broadband internet penetration rate following the launch.
Studies have shown that household internet penetration to be around one percent, and most connectivity is concentrated in the western province and other major towns.
"We are bursting at the seams and we can't even take in the number of connections. We are dealing excess of 100,000 connections (a month)," Suren Amarasekera, Mobitel chief executive said Wednesday.
"So it is giving us tremendous constraints in terms of keeping up with demand as well as upgrading our network. We will end the year with 1.4 to 1.5 million and next year we will see a similar growth."
Mobitel has so far invested 200 million dollars on its 2.5G and 3.5G networks and also plans to introduce a variant to IP (Internet Protocol) telephony program 'Skype', in the next 2-3 years.
The firm intends to introduce new 3G enabled mobile content and services in the next 3-4 weeks, the company said in a statement.
The company hopes to increase its base stations to 1,500 from 1,000 by the end of January next year.
Mobitel, a subsidiary of the dominant fixed phone operator Sri Lanka Telecom, said its network has grown to 1.4 million subscribers so far.
Growth, which was slow during the first half of the year, picked up towards the second half at more than 125,000 users a month.
The celco launched 'M3' its 3.5G High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA) services for the public. It has a 7.2 Megabits per second download rate and 1.9 Megabits per second upload rate.
Mobitel is the first mobile service provider to introduce HSPA in South Asia.
Customers using Mobitel can enjoy M3 without the buying a new SIM or a connection but by inserting the existing SIM in to a 3G capable handset, Amarasekera says.
The new network will enable users to take video calls at the cost of a voice call, perform various tasks such as browsing internet, watching local tv channels and access streams such as youtube videos without any decrease in the quality of content.
The company, enjoying a growth rate in excess of 50 percent year-on-year, hopes for a double digit broadband internet penetration rate following the launch.
Studies have shown that household internet penetration to be around one percent, and most connectivity is concentrated in the western province and other major towns.
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