Mobitel

30-Jan-2012

By Shirajiv SIRIMANE

Sri Lanka’s telecommunication sector received a record US $ 69 million investment last year. The industry received this boost from five leading operators, Sri Lanka Telecom, Dialog Axiata, Etisalat, Bharathi Airtel and Mobitel. The biggest investment to the sector was made by Bharti Airtel Lanka, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, one of the world’s largest telecom service providers, which was the fifth player in the local mobile market. The company invested US $ 49.9 last year.

Mobitel Lanka is to open a call centre in Hambantota next month. MP Namal Rajapaksa said that this is expected to be located in the proposed IT Park in Hambantota. He said that a local real estate company has come forward to build a 3,000-room apartment complex near the proposed IT Park.

The National Mobile Service Provider, Mobitel showcased mobile Augmented Reality for the first time in Sri Lanka at the recently concluded Infotel 2011 Exhibition, Sri Lanka’s flagship ICT Expo organized by the Federation of Information Technology Industry of Sri Lanka (FITIS) in partnership with Ministry of Telecommunication and IT and ICTA.

Mobitel has partnered with T-Navi (Private) Ltd to offer the latest traffic navigation solution to travellers making their lives easier, less stressful and more productive. The T-Navi solution is available in three formats – as a Mobile Phone Application for Smartphones, a Personal Navigation Device (PND) to be fitted in motor vehicles and as a Software SD Card for 2DIN Devices, according to a Mobitel statement.

Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel, Sri Lanka’s National Mobile Service Provider announced the appointment of Lalith de Silva as Chief Executive Officer.

At the Engineering Excellence awards hosted recently by the Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka (IESL), Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel, the technology leader in mobile telephony in Sri Lanka, reemerged winner of the coveted ‘Best Engineering Organisation’ in the category ‘Infrastructure – Service Sector’.

Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel joined hands with the National Apprentice and Industrial Training Authority (NAITA) to enable industrial training programmes via Mobitel’s mLearning platform to its students in regional centres islandwide.

By Hiran H. Senewiratne

Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel entered into a partnership with a UK-based university which would allow MBA students follow courses via the telco’s mLearning platform.

The MBA programme for aspiring Sri Lankan executives has been launched by Scotland’s Edinburgh Napier University (ENU) and Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel.

Mobile network operators along with representatives from the wider mobile ecosystem, vendors and academic experts from around the world will be travelling to Colombo, Sri Lanka this week for the latest meeting of the GSMA mWomen Working Group, hosted by Mobitel on 7-8th September 2011.

While Sierra Group of Companies celebrates its 30th anniversary, one of their leading subsidiaries Sierra Global Network Private Limited has expanded their business by establishing a new technical unit to undertake network optimisation of the telecommunication networks in Sri Lanka as well as selected overseas markets such as the Maldives, Qatar, Africa etc.

Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel has stepped forward to support the National Conference of Chartered Accountants with a gold sponsorship. This year’s conference, to be held under the thought provoking theme ‘Quest for Balance’ from 20th to 22nd October 2011 at Waters Edge, Battaramulla will be the 32nd National Conference of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka (ICASL) – the national accounting body. 

In pursuit of reiterating its commitment in serving women at the bottom of the pyramid, inline with the global "mWomen" initiative by the GSMA Development Fund, Mobitel, embarked on another journey to provide women an opportunity for livelihood. The programme enables women that have been selected through, the Ruhuna Economic Development Agency (RUEDA), a foundation working together for the local development of Sri Lankans in the Southern Province, to act as WCCP's - Women Community Communication Promoters of Mobitel.

Edinburgh Napier University (ENU) of Scotland, UK launched its degree courses in Sri Lanka on the Mobitel mLearning platform recently. With this partnership Sri Lankan students who seek UK qualifications can follow ENU courses online at a lower cost.

Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel emerged triumphant at the mBillionth Award South Asia 2011 hosted by India, winning the mTravel and Tourism category for the mTicketing facility, competing with other contenders in the Telecommunications Industry from the South Asian region.

Nawaloka Hospitals PLC in collaboration with the National Mobile Telecom Service Provider, Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel announced the launch of Sri Lanka’s first mHealth Platform capable of delivering medical data over Mobitel network. The mHealth platform was unveiled at the opening of the latest state of the art 3 Tesla MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scanner installed at Nawaloka Hospital premises by The Prime Minister of Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, Hon. D. M. Jayaratne and the First Lady Shiranthi Rajapaksa.

Mobitel is expecting to better its performance and recording profits surpassing last year’s net profit of Rs 1.5 billion. Mobitel contributed 40 percent in terms of revenue for the Group and 45 percent in operating profits in 2010.

Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel, the national Mobile Telecom Service Provider announced that it has signed a BOI agreement to trial and deploy a LTE (Long Term Evolution) Network for the first time in Sri Lanka. This will be part of the company’s network expansion project and will enable Mobitel to import/purchase (locally) project-related items free of customs duty.

The Ministry of Higher Education recently signed an agreement with Mobitel, the National Mobile Service Provider to use Mobitel's mLearning as 'the National Higher Education Learning Platform' through National Online Distance Education Service (NODES) at an event attended by Minister S.B. Dissanayake.

Sri Lanka Railways and Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel, the national mobile services provider entered the next phase of the hallmark partnership.

The duo unveiled Sri Lanka's first mobile railway ticket reservation system in 2009, to offer railway commuters the convenience of reserving tickets for intercity travel over a mobile phone call.

There is a growing demand for teacher training programs that are designed especially for teachers of English Literature. Having identified this need, the Open University of Sri Lanka embarked on an endeavor to provide English teachers with training in teaching English literature through a course designed to amalgamate practical approaches for teaching the subject in schools along with exercises that will assist to enhance teacher competencies.

Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel, the national mobile service provider subscriber base increased over the past five years to 3.8 million in November 2010 from 393,000 in November 2005. The Upahara postpaid package designed for greater inclusivity of the state sector, clergy and pensioners became a huge success with over 500,000 new additions in less than three months, Suren J. Amarasekera, CEO of Mobitel, said.

In 2005, the Government, under the visionary leadership of His Excellency, President Mahinda Rajapaksa declared the importance of the role of ICT in Sri Lanka’s future development. The recognition of ICT as a driver in economic development by the President precedes his term in office as President, when as Prime Minister he nurtured and propagated the Nenasala concept. The seriousness of that commitment was reflected by the inclusion of ICT in the Mahinda Chinthana. This was followed by a greater level of infocomm adoption by the government. A telecom regulatory policy that encouraged investment in new technology was introduced, and the year 2009 was declared as the Year of ICT and English.

Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel signed a strategic partnership with Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) recently. CIMA is the world’s largest and leading professional body of management accountants with 172,000 members and students in 168 countries and is committed to upholding the highest ethical and professional standards, and in maintaining public confidence in management accounting.

Mobitel has recorded a profit before tax (PBT) of Rs 440 million, compared to the loss of Rs 34 million in the second quarter of the previous year in the second quarter. Profit after tax for the second quarter 2010 is Rs 336 million as against Rs 36 million loss in the second quarter of 2009, making an impressive turnaround.