Etisalat Lanka, raising the bar-just for you

In yet another milestone of becoming Sri Lanka’s number one in the telephonic sphere, Etisalat Lanka has initiated a massive network expansion programme. This impressive expansion will cover 480 new 2G sites; effectively taking Etisalat’s standing in the island to the top spot in 2G coverage, with a total of 1580 sites.

This includes all urban areas as well as steady expansion to the North East.  Aligned to coincide with the government’s “Uthuru Vasantha” (Reawakening the North) and Gama Neguma (village reawakening)  endeavors, Etisalat Lanka sports the ambition of becoming the most superior coverage and service provider to consumers in the North and East along with all other cities in the country. In addition, all urban cities, including the Northern and Vanni districts will benefit from the latest, cutting edge in technology as Etisalat introduces Sri Lanka’s largest 3G network.  This innovative and progressive venture will introduce the most advanced 3G technology with HSPA + (Evolved high speed packet access) This is essentially yet the most sophisticated 3G technology to be introduced to Sri Lanka. The expansion further supports the latest in Value Added Services (VAS), Billing and all IT/communication services.

Etisalat Lanka has mandated ALCATEL-LUCENT, as the official vendor for this network expansion, following a competitive tender process. Being their current network vendor, both parties are glad to continue their ongoing liaison in providing the best for Consumers Island wide. Country Manager Mr. Roland Reynier said, “ALCATEL is very happy to be selected to continue as the vendor for Etisalat, enabling us to be a part of the deployment of the latest European technology into Sri Lanka.

The project kicks off on a cost of US$ 163 m over the period of the next 6 months, making it one of the largest and most significant investments by a single entity following the end of three decades of war. Etisalat Lanka is a BOI flagship company and this project is a BOI approved venture. A respected foreign entity such as Etisalat UAE investing aggressively in Sri Lanka, following a mere year since its investment into the country augurs well for the country. An investment of this nature is massive in terms of capital and technology, assisting the infrastructure development of Sri Lanka.

Etisalat Lanka Director/ CEO, Dumindra Ratnayaka said, “this is the project that will take this company into great heights. This is a fully funded project with very attractive terms, given Etisalat Lanka’s virtually debt free profile and high credit ratings of the UAE based parent company.” Notably, the latest ratings by Fitch affirmed Etisalat at ‘A+’ (27/05/2010), while S&P raised Etisalat UAE’s ratings from ‘AA-’ to ‘A-1+;. (3/05/2010) Ratnayaka added, “This project will take Etisalat Lanka closer to achieving our ultimate goals of moving forward, providing unsurpassable services and reaching out to our consumers…it is yet another instance of Etisalat Lanka raising the bar, just for you”.