Financial Times

Dialog provides South Asia’s first 3G service

Dialog Telekom last week launched 3G commercial services in Colombo placing Sri Lanka on the map as the first country in South Asia to start a 3rd G (Generation) network.

On Tuesday, Chief Executive Dialog Telekom Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya received the 3G licence from Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) Chairman and Secretary to the President Lalith Weeratunge and Director General Kanchana Ratwatte “signalling the formal go ahead from the Sri Lankan government” for the introduction of commercial 3G services in Sri Lanka.

Dialog quoted Dr Wijayasuriya as saying in a statement that the company appreciated the progressive and pro-evolution policies of the TRC. "Sri Lanka becomes the first 3G-enabled country in South Asia due in no small measure, to the progressive policies of the TRCSL,” he said.

He said Dialog has been carrying out 3G trials for the past two years well ahead of regional counterparts.

Dialog’s 3G network will initially cover the Sri Lankan capital and then rapidly expand in coming months. “Dialog is committed to make 3G and the multi media services it delivers, meaningful, available and affordable to all Sri Lankan’s in the same manner we transformed digital mobile telephony in Sri Lanka over the last decade," Dr Wijayasuriya said.

Dialog users who posses 3G compatible mobile phones can avail themselves of Dialog 3G services including Video Calls, IDD Video Calls, TV on the phone, high speed Internet connections for Web Browsing, Video Streaming, Music and Movie Downloads and Online Games.

Dialog 3G will also support high speed mobile broadband at speeds in excess of 1.5mbps.

Since 2004, Dialog's 3G trial has been focused on the trial and validation of 3G equipment from multiple world class manufactures, and has over the past year grown to cover a substantial part of Colombo city. Over 1000 customers have participated in the Dialog 3G trial during this period and have experienced a range of cutting edge services ranging from video calls to high speed data downloads and multi-media streaming available across the capital city.

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