Tritel Services (Pvt) Ltd, a Malaysian-owned payphone provider is to introduce solar powered CDMA Payphones in remote, rural areas in a big way providing rural folk with easy access to communication.
The company will install around 3,000 CDMA units in these areas including the North and East adding to the 7,500 existing units with IDD facilities countrywide, said CEO/Director, Tritel, Nihal Ratnayake.
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| TRC Chairman Priyantha Kariyapperuma (left) and Nihal Ratnayake at the launch of the new service |
ritel Malaysia has invested US$3 million to set up 3,000 units throughout the country this year, he said.
Under plans approved by the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC), the payphones will also be deployed in relief camps of Internally Displaced Persons in Vavuniya, Mannar and Jaffna.
“Tritel has been providing services since 1997 and we were the only company who qualified to get the rural subsidy of Rs. 75,000 each for CDMA units from the TRC in 2002,” Mr. Ratnayake said.
The company plans to introduce value added services such as SMS service which one can use with a one rupee coin. “We are exploring the possibilities of setting up of a smart system where the people will be able to access the Internet using coins in public places such as airports and ports,” he said. The solar-powered payphones are affordable and can be accessed day or night.
These payphone booths were set up in many places where the public can easily access such as bus stands, railways stations, military camps, rural hospitals, universities and certain welfare camps of the Internally Displaced persons, he added.
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