Category: Technology

HONG KONG, Dec 27, 2006 (AFP) – Internet and phone services were disrupted across much of Asia on Wednesday after an earthquake damaged undersea cables, leaving one of the world’s most tech-savvy regions in a virtual blackout.“If there is too much traffic on that route, it might get blocked up and further slow down Internet […]

December 21, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka has started to digitize the issue of birth, marriage and death certificates, which has cut processing time to as little as ten minutes, officials said. Mooted by the Information Communication Technology Agency or ICTA last year, the project has already digitized around 2.2 million birth certificates belonging to […]

December 21 (LBO) – Trade unions of telco giant Sri Lanka Telecom have threatened to go on strike together with other public sector unions, if a wage dispute is not settled by December 28. Unions representing about 6000 non-executive workers at the state telecom giant have demanded a 17.5 percent wage hike for non-executive grades, […]

Dec 20, 2006 (LBO) – Capital Maharaja, a unit of the privately held media house the Maharaja Group, has tied up with Tokyo based media group, to digitally deliver television content via broadband to Sri Lankan diaspora in Korea and Japan. Capital Maharaja group’s e-commerce and internet arm RaiderTech penned the deal on Wednesday to […]

December 12, 2006 (LBO) – Lanka Bell, one of Sri Lanka’s privately held wireless telecom operators, has tied up with India’s FLAG Telecom to lay an undersea cable linking both countries. FLAG owns and manages an extensive optical fibre network spanning four continents and connecting key business markets in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and […]

Dec 12, 2006 (LBO) – A new fibre optic undersea cable that connects Maldives to Sri Lanka will bring down international call charges from the Indian Ocean coral atoll, officials said Tuesday. The telco, which carries an AAA (lka) rating from Fitch Ratings Lanka, also has a share in Sri Lanka’s cellular market through its […]

December 11, 2006 (LBO) – Sri Lanka Telecom, is spinning off its directory publication division as a wholly owned subsidiary, the island’s biggest fixed line operator said Monday. Japans Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp. or NTT controls 35.2 percent of SLT, the Sri Lankan government owns 49.5 percent and the public 15.3 percent. SLT Publications […]

Dec 08, 2006 (LBO) – A top mobile phone maker expects the Sri Lankan handset market to grow by 25 to 30 percent next year as the country, as the country’s cellular operators reach out to rural customers. Nokia, the world’s largest mobile phone maker, has already experienced a surge in handset sales here since […]

December 5, 2006 (LBO) – Dialog Telekom, the island’s biggest mobile phone operator, retained its AAA (lka) rating, but subscriber growth has lagged against industry peers, Fitch Ratings Lanka said. œThe rating reflects Dialog’s leading position in Sri Lanka’s cellular-mobile space with around 60 percent subscriber-share, its robust growth and strong operating cash flow, the […]

December 2, 2006 (LBO) – Dialog Telekom said Saturday that it has taken full control of cable television operator CBN SAT, that was previously shut down by the government for not having necessary paperwork. Sri Lanka, which became the first South Asian nation to start mobile services, when Celltel Lanka began operations in 1989, now […]

November 30, 2006 (LBO) – Tough regulations are stifling growth of Sri Lanka’s cable and satellite television industry, a local research firm says, but is poised to take off as new and larger players’ lower costs and improve choice. Sri Lanka’s current penetration of satellite and cable channels is less than one percent of the […]

November 27 2006 (LBO) – Dialog Telekom, the island’s biggest mobile phone operator, Monday announced plans to acquire satellite pay television operator Communiqu Broadband Networks (Pvt) Ltd and CBN Sat (Pvt) Ltd for 523.8 million rupees. Dialog Telekom, dominates the industry with over 3 million subscribers, followed by Mobitel Lanka, Celltel Lanka Ltd, Hutchinson. The […]