Dialog Telekom Expands Coverage in Northern States

Sri Lankan mobile network operator, Dialog Telekom says that it has commissioned the first of its new base stations in the recently liberated regions of the Northern Province - formerly controlled by the LTTE separatist terrorist movement.

Dialog Telekom Group Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, together with Director General of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka, Mr. Priyantha Kariyapperuma, made the announcement soon after the activation of services from Dialog's Network Operations Centre in Colombo. Mobile coverage from Dialog now reaches Mankulam, Pooneryn, Elephant Pass, Thunukkai and Madhu in addition to Killinochchi and Mullaitivu, with developments under way to expand coverage to other parts of the province.

Speaking at the announcement, Dr. Wijayasuriya said "Our expansion programme has been further motivated and facilitated by the invaluable assistance extended to us by the Ministry of Defence, TRCSL and the Sri Lanka Army and other security forces engaged in rebuilding in the liberated areas. We are proud to be a part of this development effort and very strongly believe that forward-looking investments in ICT infrastructure would lead to the acceleration of citizen and community empowerment."

Dialog, a subsidiary of Axiata Group Berhad (formerly known as TM International), says that it is currently the largest ICT infrastructure investor in the Northern and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka.

Posted to the site on 13th August 2009