Financial Times

Govt. plan for 1 mln new phones
Mobile and fixed phone operators to be permitted to handle both services
By Quintus Perera
The government, in a dramatic move, is planning to extend the license provided to fixed phone and mobile phone operators to sell both types of phones to clear a backlog of at least one million telephones. Currently these companies are restricted to handling one line of work - mobile operators only mobile phones and fixed phone operators, land lines. Only Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) through its fully-owned subsidiary, Mobitel, is able to provide both services

Posts & Telecommunications Minister D.M. Jayaratne told The Sunday Times FT that the ministry was planning to change the regulations and issue licences enabling telcom firms to handle both areas of activity. He said 700,000 people have applied for new phones to the SLT with the numbers increasing daily, mostly from rural areas.

"I have discussed with all the 10 telephone service providers (land and mobile) the prospect of installing land telephones. Land telephone providers cannot provide mobile telephones and mobile telephone providers cannot install land telephones (under current rules). These providers irrespective of what segment they belong to have been requested to provide one million land telephones - with each providing 100,000 telephones. I had three rounds of discussions with these companies on the issue and they are willing to accede to the request," Jayaratne said

Responding to the plan, Lalith de Silva, Chief Executive Officer, Mobitel (Pvt) Ltd, said, "As a citizen, I think it's a great idea. Mobitel will decide what is best at that time and will choose its portfolios accordingly."

Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, Chief Executive Officer, MTN Networks (Pvt) Ltd, which markets Dialog, welcomed any initiative to increase telephones in rural areas. "We have already been focusing our expansion strategies towards this. However any change in the licensing framework should take everybody's views into account and these must be examined carefully with long-term benefit for the country in mind," he added

One of the conditions for telecommunication companies under the new plan is that they have to supply the requirements of the rural areas first before providing new telephones in urban areas. All the companies will have to provide specific delivery dates, the minister said.

Asked about the benefits of privatization, Minister Jayaratne said as far as the SLT is concerned privatization has failed. "From 1996, people have been asking for telephones and the number now stands at 700,000. Thus how can one say privatization is efficient?" he asked. He blasted SLT for their poor service saying a number of complaints has been sent to the company by subscribers.

"Overall SLT subscriber care has been reported to be bad. The World Bank says privatization is better. I do not know … it is only happening here, but if things happen this way people would get disgusted with privatization.

There is an agreement with the Japanese company NTT and the government. But the problem is that NTT has more power in SLT even though it only owns 35.5 percent while 49.5 percent is controlled by the government. As it is a world-renowned company it should look at the issue of providing the telephones to the backlog of 700,000 customers," he said.

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