Tigo, Mobily in cooperation discussions

Forwards creating a telephonic revolution :

A team from Tigo Sri Lanka returned from Riyadh following discussions with a team from telecom giant Mobily, according to a statement issued by the two companies. The meeting evaluated possibilities of establishing an understanding between the two telecom companies, aimed at exploring ways and means of maximizing on the Etisalat Group of Companies and synergizing operations to positively impact Sri Lanka.

Tigo CEO Dumindra Ratnayaka said, "This sharing of expertise will help us move towards providing superior, more innovative and customer-focused products and services." He said, " Etisalat has prominent global presence in the Saudi, UAE and the subcontinent - we hope to leverage on the stakes held in those countries in order to benefit Sri Lanka."

The discussions between Tigo and Mobily are an initial step towards creating a telephonic revolution in Sri Lanka, through increased global synergy in product and service range, and impacting core areas of international communications such as international roaming and international direct dialing.

It will also focus on bringing down technology, products, services, content and content management tools, the statement said. Mobily is the brand name of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's key telecommunications company, the Etihad-Etisalat Consortium.

The Consortium is led by Etisalat of the United Emirates telecom, which owns 27.4 percent of Mobily. Other key investors include the General Organization for Social Insurance (GOSI), which holds 11.2 percent.

Mobily has expanded its operations rapidly since its commercial launch on May 25, 2005, and grew its subscriber base to one million subscribers inside 90 days. By the end of 2008 it had 14.8 million customers.