| Bharti Airtel Lanka | |
| Type: | Subsidiary |
| Successor: | Dialog Axiata |
| Location: | Colombo |
| Location Country: | Sri Lanka |
| Industry: | Telecommunications |
| Parent: | Bharti Airtel (2009-2024) |
| Fate: | Merged with Dialog Axiata |
| Key People: | Ashish Chandra |
| Area Served: | Sri Lanka |
Airtel (Sinhala; Sinhalese: එයාටෙල්|translit=Eyāṭel, Tamil: எயார்டெல்) was the brand name of former mobile network operator, Bharti Airtel Lanka (Pvt) Ltd.[1] [2] It was started as the Sri Lankan subsidiary of Indian multinational telecommunications company Bharti Airtel. On 27th June 2024, Dialog Axiata acquired 100% of Airtel Lanka.[3]
The company was awarded a mobile phone operator license in 2006 and was scheduled to start operations in early 2007, however, the company didn't commence services until 12 January 2009,[4] with approximately 3 million subscribers of the Sri Lankan mobile market as of December 2022.
Bharti Airtel Lanka (Pvt) Ltd[5] is a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel Limited, the second largest mobile operator in the world, with over 480 million mobile customers as of September 2020.[6] Bharti Airtel has been featured in Forbes Asia's Fab 50 list, rated amongst the best-performing companies in the world in the BusinessWeek IT 100 list 2007, and voted as India's most innovative company in a survey by The Wall Street Journal.
Airtel Sri Lanka commenced commercial operations of services on 13 January 2009. Granted a license in 2007 in accordance with the Sri Lanka Telecommunications Act No. 25 of 1991, it is also a registered company under the Board of Investment Sri Lanka. Under the license, the company provides digital mobile services to Sri Lanka. This is inclusive of voice telephony, voice mail, data services and GSM-based services. All of these services are provided under the airtel brand.
Airtel received the 2nd Place award in the 16th National Business Excellence Awards (NBEA) in 2019.[7] Airtel Sri Lanka has 3G island wide coverage.[8] On November Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) approved airtel high speed 4G 850 MHz band operate for indoor coverage.[9]
Airtel currently uses 2G/ 4G LTE and VoLTE.and currently under testing 5G Capabilities.The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) had granted its permission to Bharti Airtel Lanka (Pvt) Ltd (Airtel) to shut down their 3G mobile network by June 24, 2022
Airtel invested $20 million in 2014 to improve their island-wide 3G Coverage.[10]
Airtel has been significantly investing in its 4G infrastructure during the past few years. By November 2021, the telco added over 2,000 sites along with 400 additional towers commissioned across the country following its 4G launch. The push from the company was a result of the sharp uptick in data usage following the pandemic.
Airtel 4G will operate in the efficient 850 MHz bands & 2100 MHz Band, 2500 MHz band in dense areas, which has higher signal propagation. This will translate into a superior 4G network experience for customers with wider network availability and, most importantly, better indoor coverage.