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| Sunday, 1 February 2004 |
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Dialog GSM takes another step forward by HIRAN H. SENEWIRATNE The Government expects private sector companies to invest in the rural sector to improve the living standard of rural masses, said Secretary, Minister of Mass Communication Tilak Ranavirajah. "Private sector telecommunication companies can play an important role at this juncture," Ranavirajah said at a ceremony held to sign an agreement between Dialog GSM and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank group. The agreement was for the IFC to fund US$ 50 million for Dialog GSM's future expansion projects. "The Government can play a catalyst role in eliminating poverty in the country, by facilitating the private sector to invest in rural areas," he added. "The private sector has a secondary obligation to offer more concessions for the poor and rural masses in the country," he said. Ranavirajah, citing an example from India, said the Indian government had taken a bold step to improve telecommunication services in rural areas with the participation of the private sector, to reduce poverty in the country. He said the importance of bridging the communications gap between the North and the South is of utmost importance, while telecommunications is a good weapon to eliminate poverty. Sri Lanka should not allow the widening of the digital gap between rural and urban areas, he stressed. Chairman, Board of Investment, Arjunna Mahendran said Dialog GSM, the fully-owned subsidiary of Telekom Malaysia, was the biggest investment in the country. He said funding of this nature for a growing company will tremendously benefit Sri Lanka's mobile telecommunications sector in the long run. Mahendran said plans are afoot to re-allocate frequencies for the industry to expand its coverage, which would avoid frequent congestion in mobile phones. Assaad Jabre, Vice President Operations, IFC said they are pleased to support a company that is playing a leading role in expanding access to telecommunication services specially in the North and East of the country, where access has been most limited. Jabre further stated that IFC sees great potential for private investment to rapidly develop Sri Lanka's infrastructure, while offering attractive returns to investment and IFC's investment in Dialog is a concrete demonstration of this. Dialog GSM, CEO, Dr Hans Wijayasuriya said the company intends to extend its leadership in the mobile communication sector, to establish a strong presence in the international services market under its newest power brand, Dialog Global. He also said that they intend to invest in rural areas where there is a lot of potential. Chairman, Telekom Malaysia, Tan Sri Radzi bin Mansor said Dialog has now come of age and is capable not only in securing its own financing, but also in being the leading cellular operator in Sri Lanka. Dialog currently has over 825,000 subscribers and is now in the process of extending its services to the most remote parts of the country including the North and East. |
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