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| Sunday, 7 March 2004 |
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Dialog GSM propels Sri Lanka into 3G New era for mobile communications Space Age Visionary and Author, Sir Arthur C. Clarke, made Sri Lanka's first 3G call last week to President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga marking the dawn of a new era in Sri Lankan mobile communications. With the first 3G call - a fully fledged Video Telephony Conversation over a mobile phone, Dialog GSM commenced its pilot run of 3G - becoming the first mobile network in Sri Lanka and in South Asia to embark on 3rd Generation mobile telephony. Dialog GSM's Pilot 3G services are now available in Central Colombo as part of a pilot network expected to extend throughout Colombo in the near future. The largest and fastest growing mobile network in the country placed Sri Lanka and its mobile-passionate consumers among those in a handful of countries the world now deploying 3rd Generation Technology. "3G is the real next generation, and we are delighted to bring this experience to Sri Lankan consumers", said Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, CEO of Dialog GSM. "The mobile industry worldwide has been working hard towards this level of mobile multi-media technology. Many intermediate technologies have been developed along the way - such as GPRS and EDGE - but 3G truly shows us where the mobile industry will be in the years ahead. Dialog has always believed in nothing but the best for Sri Lanka and now our country is placed well ahead of the region", he added. Dr. Wijayasuriya thanked the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission and the Government of Sri Lanka for progressive regulatory thinking in permitting Third Generation trial in Sri Lanka - "the decision by the TRCSL last year to permit a future-oriented and progressive operator to trial a 3G service in Sri Lanka, is truly commendable. We are truly appreciative of the opportunity given to us, and we are committed to put it to good use to provide Sri Lankan consumers with a window to the future of mobile communications". 3G standards and technologies, aimed at increasing efficiency and improving the performance of wireless mobile networks, propels mobile telephony into a completely new, visually enhanced dimension. 3G will completely revamp existing voice, text and data services, replacing them with high quality mobile multi-media services, integrating voice, data, and video. With the evolution of 3G, the mobile phone will be transformed into a multimedia tool. Dialog 3G will open new vistas not just in communication, but also in information and entertainment. A single 3G Terminal will enable true convergence of multimedia content, infotainment, the internet and traditional voice and data communications in the palm of the mobile consumer. 3G enables services such as mobile video conferencing, hi-speed movie and audio downloads, interactive games and hi-speed video streaming. 3G provides broadband mobile Internet access, with high speed data connectivity of up to 2Mbps. Dialog 3G - the region's first 3G trial network, is based on the very latest UMTS (Universal Mobile Telephony System) or 3-GSM as it is popularly known in Europe. This version of 3G interworks smoothly with GSM, enabling handsets of the future to operate on both GSM and 3G networks. "South Asia's first 3G Trial will initially span a major part of Colombo city, and can at present, be experienced at Dialog GSM's "The Future Centre" at Deal Place, Colombo 03, where we have 3G handsets and devices on demo", said Nushad Perera, General Manager Marketing and Sales of Dialog GSM. "In time, we will enhance the coverage of the 3G trial and also keep enhancing its features and capabilities in pace with the most advanced networks in the world. The objective of this trial is to better understand the needs of our subscribers so that at a future date we will be in an ideal position to enter the commercial 3G era with a customer focused product offering", he added. |
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