TRC ranks Airtel as Sri Lanka’s top internet service provider

Wednesday, 14 December 2016 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Independent studies carried by the Telecom Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka and Huawei Technologies Lanka Co. Ltd. have revealed that Airtel Lanka has the fastest mobile 3G internet speeds in the country.

While the TRC test is geared exclusively to measure download speeds, the Huawei test additionally evaluates multiple parameters like file upload speeds, browsing speeds and PING delays. The studies were conducted in all main geographies of the country and Airtel’s internet outperformed its competitors.Airtel Lanka CEO Jinesh Hegde said: “We’ve done a lot of work in the past year on improving our customer online experience. We’ve focused on technologies that are accessible to all Sri Lankans, regardless of their income levels and nature of mobile device owned. While smart cache technology has resulted in a 40% increase in speeds, it is accessible to anyone entering our network. Being recognised as the number one internet service provider is a testament to the hard work put in by our team, and truly is a just reward. We will continue to improve our online customer experience in keeping with our organisational mission of enriching lives of Sri Lankans.”

Huawei Technologies Lanka Director Managed Services Amit N. Srivastav said the company carried out a network benchmarking test in the latter half of 2016 for Airtel Lanka’s mobile network in Sri Lanka, under existing managed services agreement. The benchmark test was done on pre-determined selected routes across Sri Lanka, comparing Airtel’s mobile network vis-à-vis other mobile operators in the country.

The TRC test is conducted monthly and is carried out in a single undisclosed location. The results are published on their website www.trc.gov.lk. As per statistics for the month on November Airtel’s 3G network delivered a max speed of 14.75 Mpbs and an average speed of 6.17 Mbps. Its nearest challenger Dialog clocked a maximum speed of 11.70 Mbps with an average speed of 6.16 Mbps on its 3G network.

The drive test carried out by Huawei in addition to covering most of the key towns in Sri Lanka like Colombo, Gampaha, Kandy, Kalutara, Ratnapura and the north and east, also covered more than 7,000 kilometres of road network in the country. The roadways covered included the Southern and Katunayake Expressways, the A1 Colombo-Kandy Road, the A2 Colombo-Kataragama Road, the A9 Kandy-Jaffna Road, parts of the A4 Road in the Eastern Province and many other main roads.

Bharti Airtel Lanka commenced commercial operations of services in Sri Lanka on January 12, 2009, and was the fastest operator to reach one million customers in Sri Lanka. With its network footprint panned out across the country and capturing strategic ranking positions in various areas in less than three years of operations, Airtel has emerged as Sri Lanka’s fastest expanding network. Registered under the Board of Investment in Sri Lanka, Airtel Lanka provides digital mobile services into Sri Lanka which includes voice, data and enterprise solutions.