Sri Lankan Cdma Operator Celebrates Subscriber Landmark

The Sri Lanka based CDMA operator, Lanka Bell says that it has passed the 600,000 subscriber mark, reinforcing the company's position as the second largest fixed-wireless service provider in Sri Lanka's highly competitive telecom industry.

Speaking at an event to celebrate the landmark, Lanka Bell Managing Director Suren Goonewardene disclosed that the company had ended fiscal 2006-07 with a net profit of Rs1.2 billion (US$10.8 million), following revenue growths of 94 per cent in the residential sector and 18 per cent in the business sector. The overall CDMA line count had grown by a whopping 210 per cent during that year, and this growth had continued in the current year, he said.

Mr. Goonewardene said the latest developments at Lanka Bell would see evolutionary growth in the company as it breaks new ground. One of these developments is its partnership with FLAG Telecom, a subsidiary of India's Reliance Communications for a US$ 27 million undersea cable project. Lanka Bell is also all set to introduce WiMax later this year, Mr. Goonewardene disclosed. This new technology will enable Lanka Bell to provide wider capacity and coverage with optimum spectrum utilization, and immunity to interference will be maximized, increasing the quality of services, he said.

Posted to the site on 26th August 2007