Dialog to launch fixed phones end 2006

Dialog Telekom is preparing to launch fixed lines by the end of the year under Dialog Broadband Networks (Pvt) Ltd and is putting the ‘team’ in place.

Dr. Hans Wijayasuriya, CEO Dialog Telekom, making a presentation at the Commonwealth –Sri Lanka Investment Roundtable said the company will launch fixed telephone lines via this subsidiary firm. “We are launching the fixed lines by the end of the year and will be targeting the general fixed line market,” Nushad Perera, General Manager Sales and Marketing, Dialog told The Sunday Times FT.

He did not divulge the investment but said that it is quite substantial. He also said that the company will be right where it started 10 years ago, when they initially entered the market saying that they are a late entrant, but is confident in giving a repeat performance of becoming the leader in the mobile telephony sector within a short period.

Dialog Telekom recorded a profit after tax of Rs.2.31 billion last quarter, representing a 34 percent earnings growth compared to Rs. 1.72 billion recorded for the corresponding quarter in 2005, fuelled by parallel growth in the key revenue drivers of subscriber base, network reach, increase in usage per customer and expansion in international business.

Domestic revenues, which consist mainly of pre-paid and post-paid revenue, accounted for approximately 71 percent of the company's revenue in the first quarter of 2006.

Meanwhile the company’s revenue increased by 51 percent to Rs. 5.83 billion compared to the first quarter of 2005. When compared with results pertaining to the first quarter of 2005, pre-paid contribution has increased from 33 percent to 37 percent with a growth in subscriber base from 1.18 million to over 1.84 million, while the direct costs for the period amounted to Rs. 2.07 billion compared to Rs. 1.32 billion in the previous year, which is a 56 percent increase.