SLT losing its monopoly -Report

Sri Lanka has rem- ained committed to a modern, progressive telecommunications set-up making great strides in development despite the country’s long-standing politically tumultuous atmosphere, Report Buyer stated.

This commitment is reflected in the annual growth rate of more than 50 per cent at the beginning of 2007.

Compared to other Asian countries, mobile penetration in Sri Lanka at 27 per cent is relatively low, and the study forecasts a strong growth trend that’s likely to be long-lasting reported the Report Buyer.

The report finds that fixed-line teledensity was six per cent in 2005, and that low penetration is due to severe supply constraints rather than lack of demand.

Up to 400,000 subscribers were waiting for a basic telephone, say analysts.

They also note that the Sri Lankan market has benefited from liberalisation and increased competition in the sector as Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) is progressively losing its monopoly over a range of services.

“2007 Asia - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Maldives, Pakistan, Sri Lanka” highlights key statistics and puts into perspective market forces and regulatory issues influencing growth in these sectors.

The report finds that Pakistan has begun to see outstanding growth in its telecom sector in general, and mobile segment in particular with 2006 showing an all-time high in mobile sales.

The mobile market garnered 48.2 million subscribers who represented a market penetration of about 31 per cent last year.

Bangladesh has one of the world’s most underdeveloped telecommunications infrastructure with almost 99% of homes needing a telephone.

Frequent natural disasters like cyclones and floods, as well as sluggish economic reforms contribute to four-year waiting lists for a fixed line telephone, and the lowest fixed-line teledensity in South Asia.

In this context the country has had a flourishing mobile market for some years with mobile penetration a little over 14 per cent at end-2006. But these figures are still well below those of its regional neighbours.