Sri Lanka telecom subscriber growth in single digits

Wed, 22 May 2013 02:51:26

07 Jun, 2012 11:54:32

June 07, 2012 (LBO) - Sri Lanka's mobile subscribers grew in single digits in the first quarter of 2012 from a year earlier and wireless fixed access users dropped from a quarter earlier, two years after telephones in use first exceeded the population.

Mobile subscribers grew 6.4 percent to 18.86 million in the first quarter of 2012, in country of 20 million people. In the last quarter of 2010, Sri Lanka's teledensity, or telephones per 100 people rose to 100.7.

Mobile subscribers grew in double digits up to the third quarter of 2011.

The mobile market is shared between five operators, Malaysia's Axiata, UAE's Etisalat, Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel which is part owned by Malaysia's UT group, India's Airtel and Hutchison Telecom.

Fixed access wireless users grew 0.6 percent to 2.65 million rupees in the first quarter from a year earlier but dropped from 2.66 million in the last quarter of 2012.

Sri Lanka's wireline users, who are customers of Sri Lanka Telecom, grew 5.5 percent to 958,038 by the end of the first quarter.

Wireline use picked up after Sri Lanka Telecom started to promote broadband.