Airtel Lanka relocates corporate office to World Trade Centre

Bharti Airtel, a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 20 countries across Asia and Africa, today announced that the corporate office of Airtel Lanka would gain a new identity through its relocation to the spacious corporate hub of Colombo, the World Trade Centre (WTC).

In a move to offer greater convenience and ease of access, as well as to enhance its corporate profile,  Airtel Lanka’s new corporate office will be located on the 10th and 11th floors, West Tower of the WTC in a more spacious and luxurious setting. The new office was ceremoniously declared open by Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharti Airtel Limited and Suren Goonewardene, CEO/MD of Airtel Lanka amidst a large gathering of staff and other well wishers.

Speaking at the opening, Goonewardene said: “I warmly welcome all our staff to our new plush office and hope that the shifting of our premises to a more luxurious and spacious environment would encourage innovation, inculcate radical thinking and motivate every single one of us to strive for greater heights in terms of revenue, customer service, efficiency and productivity. I believe with the transformation of our corporate office, we will continue to revolutionise the telecommunication industry in a more positive and productive way while still maintaining our basics of being alive, inclusive and respectful of all the needs of our various stakeholders. We believe in these virtues and thus will continue playing our game the ethical way.”

Airtel Lanka has prided itself as being a catalyst of change in Sri Lanka’s telecommunications industry, as its arrival into the local market in January 2009 paved the way for a new and interesting chapter in the history of Sri Lankan telecommunication. As the fifth and final entrant into a highly competitive and dynamic industry, the launch of several new services changed the way the local telecom business operated. These included the lowest rates for voice services, per second billing, the lowest IDD rates along with the concept of no hidden costs – all of which contributed to making telecommunication services cheaper and more accessible to all Sri Lankans.

With an investment of over $ 300 million in its Sri Lanka operations, Airtel Lanka have set up over 1500 base stations island wide to support its 2G network. The company further announced that it would continue to increase its 3G data coverage while continuing to aggressively expand its total network coverage by further increasing its number of towers.

Airtel will also convert all its networks to HSPA+ technology and plans on changing its systems and processes to the latest technology -  a move expected to greatly benefit customers, as access to products and services becomes both easier and faster. Earlier this year, Airtel was ranked as the fastest mobile broadband provider by the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka and has continued to be the leaders in terms of speed in mobile broadband to date.

Airtel has also received many accreditations such as the British Standards Institution’s ISO 27001:2005 and BS 25999 -2:2007 for its information security and business continuity practices in Sri Lanka.  The organisation’s HR practices was also recognised to be amongst the best in Sri Lanka at the recently concluded HRM awards 2012 when it secured a silver award against a contingent of 79 other renowned corporates in the country.  Airtel frontline’s strategies and market instincts were also commended when Airtel Sales Team prized the Gold and Bronze awards in the Best Area Manager category within the Telecommunication Sector at the NASCO awards, which was held recently.

Another area of great interest for Airtel Lanka is the field of sports and sports sponsorships as seen recently through its various associations with Rugby and Tennis. The company thus far has been involved in the development of schools rugby, as evidenced by its sponsorship of S. Thomas’, St. Peter’s and Kingswood College’s Rugby teams as well as the Sri Lanka Navy Rugby team. The company further announced its association with the Western Province Schools Rugby Football Association along with the sponsorship of its annual tournament.

While Airtel Lanka continues to be involved beyond just a mere investment with all its sports sponsorships stakeholders, it is committed to developing local talent to international standards, thus fostering school sports to new heights as well as contributing actively towards the positive development of youth in Sri Lanka. To know more please visit, www.airtel.lk.