Bharati Airtel to commence services by year-end

Bharathi Airtel, one of Asia's leading integrated telecom services providers, has made all the necessary arrangements to start operations in Sri Lanka by the end of this year, foreign news sources said quoting company officials.

Bharti Airtel provides services in three strategic business units - Mobile services, Broadband & Telephone (B&T) services and Enterprise services. The company is currently testing 3G services in the country besides their Second Generation (2G) cellular telecoms network.

Bharti Airtel recently received approval to launch 2G and 3G mobile services in Sri Lanka.

"We will roll out both 2G and 3G networks throughout Sri Lanka. The roll out will replicate the model currently followed in India," a company source said. The company will initially start operations in Colombo and thereafter move to other towns and rural areas, he added.

Bharti has tied up with Huawei Technologies to build and manage GSM mobile infrastructure in Sri Lanka. Huawei will deploy and manage Airtel's core network, BTS and end-to-end 2G/3G network solutions.

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http://www.news.lk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6377&Itemid=44

Airtel appoints Madison Media as AOR for Sri Lanka

Ahead of its launch in Sri Lanka, Airtel has appointed Madison Media, Sri Lanka, as its Media AOR for that country.

Airtel had evaluated only two agencies in Sri Lanka - Mindshare and Madison.

Airtel director marketing & communications Gopal Vittal said, "Madison Media has been a strong partner and has played a part in Airtel's success story in India and we are confident that they will extend the same strong support in Sri Lanka too and deliver all that it takes to make us succeed there."

Added Madison World CMD Sam Balsara: "We are delighted on hearing Airtel's decision and are confident that the Madison way in Media will work in Sri Lanka too. If P&G gave us a head start in Media in India, Airtel is doing that in Sri Lanka."

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http://www.indiantelevision.com/

Airtel to use Singtel expertise for 3G services rollout in Lanka

Bharti Airtel will leverage the expertise of Singtel to roll out third generation services in Sri Lanka. This is because Singapore-based Asian telecom major Singtel, which owns a little over 30% in Bharti Airtel, is a major player in the 3G space as it has already third generation networks in several markets across Asia.

“We plan to launch second and third generation mobile services in the island nation by September 2008. This will be Bharti Airtel’s first ever 3G network rollout. We will use the expertise of Singtel,” Bharti Airtel’s president (mobile services) Sanjay Kapoor told ET.

In fact, industry watchers share the view that Bharti’s 3G launch in Lanka will also serve as a test bed for offering similar services in India when 3G spectrum is made available here.

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http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/

Airtel set to start Sri Lanka operations

Come 2008 and the burgeoning Sri Lankan mobile phone sector will be seeing a prominent fifth player — the Indian telecom giant Bharti Airtel.

With an investment of $200 million, Bharti Airtel Lanka (Pvt) Limited would begin its service in the island ‘early next year‘, its CEO Amali Nanayakkara said.

"We are in the process of setting up the network, and getting the necessary approvals from the regulatory authorities. The process, which began in the middle of the current year, should be competed by early 2008," Nanayakkara said.

Asked if Bharti Airtel Lanka had run into any problems, as the services were yet to start though the investment was announced with much fanfare in mid 2007, she said there were no problems.

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http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/business/2007/

Airtel to launch $ 200 mn operation in Sri Lanka

Indian Telecom giant Bharti Airtel is looking to establish itself as a major player in the Island nation's mobile telephony space as it prepares to launch its USD 200 million operation here early next year.

Mobile penetration in Sri Lanka is pegged at around 30 per cent, with approximately 2 million mobile users being added each year.

"The Airtel philosophy is to stay beside the consumer and strive to find fresh and innovative ways to add value to their lives", CEO of Airtel Sri Lanka Amali Nanayakkara said in a statement.

Bharti Airtel Lanka Private Limited, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel Limited, has already announced plans to launch 2G and 3G services in Sri Lanka by the end of the current financial year (2007-08).

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http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Telecom/

Bharti, China's Huawei signs deal for Sri Lanka operations

Bharti Airtel Ltd's Sri Lankan unit signed a $150 million contract with China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd to build and manage mobile infrastructure in the island nation over three years.

Bharti, India's largest mobile services provider, had in January received an offer from the Sri Lankan telecom regulator to provide 2G and 3G mobile services in the country, the company's first foreign venture.

The deal will help Bharti to reduce its total cost of ownership, and deploy its network faster and more cost-effectively, the company said in a statement.

Extracted from,
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News_by_Industry/..