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| Sunday, 6 November 2005 |
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SLT Citylink launched in Anuradhapura From Elmo Leonard in Anuradhapura Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) went wireless last week with the launch of its SLT Citylink in Anuradhapura. The launch was effected making use of CDMA technology; the first in a series of SLT's Citylink roll-out plan, where the use of telephone lines is bypassed. With it, the SLT networking is projected to be made accessible to the whole island including the north and east, by end-year. SLT's CEO, Shuhei Anan made the inaugural call from Galway Miridiya Lodge, Anuradhapura to SLT chairman, Anil Obeyesekere, in Colombo. "This technology is long overdue and with it, SLT will become a leader in its field," Obeyesekere said. People in Sri Lanka who earlier had no access to any form of communication will now be able to obtain a phone call without delay, Anan told a large gathering of armed forces personnel, government officials and business persons. This roll-out plan will be executed in three phases, with each catering to a capacity of 150,000 customers a year. The first phase of the network plan which is being currently deployed will make it accessible to 90 percent of the island requiring the installation of 116 antennae tower base transmission stations. SLT will use $150 million of its own funds during phase one of the program. Among SLT's first customer groups would be government offices, schools, sub-post offices and religious institutions. SLT will also extend its public telephone booth coverage, including the north and east, Anan said. The Cityline network will be leveraged by SLT's national backbone network and its extensive resources, he said. For these extension services, SLT will provide maintenance and support services to overcome interruptions. Its superior quality and wider reach will be the differentiators of this Citylink from other CDMA services available in the market, Anan said. The new SLT Citylink service will enable rural customers to subscribe to new value added services. These services include SMS - Short Messages Service, VMS - Voice Mail Service, Internet access, Data service and CLI - caller Line Identification Presentation. SLT also hopes to introduce other advanced services much as Free-Phone Service, CNI - Calling Name Identification Presentation and CRBT - Colour Ring Back Tone. SLT is one of the country's most vital utility companies with an annual turnover of over Rs 29.5 billion. |
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