Sri Lanka - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Sri Lanka prepares for 5G auction

Sri Lanka is building a national fibre network linked to numerous international cables. This 45,000km network, built and managed by Sri Lanka Telecom, will serve as the backbone for fixed broadband and mobile services, including 5G.

The government’s Board of Investment of Sri Lanka supports the development of the telecom sector. Its funding as approved in 2018 and 2019 provided significant investment for network expansion and upgrades to mobile and fixed broadband infrastructure.

The market is now preparing to move from 4G towards 5G mobile services. Dialog Axiata and Mobitel conducted pre-commercial 5G trials during 2019, and Dialog has thus far repurposed 20% of its LTE antennae for 5G.

The fierce competition in the mobile market pushed Hutchison Lanka to merge with Etisalat Lanka in December 2018, being rebranded as Hutch and becoming the third largest operator in the country.

Sri Lanka has seen a very strong increase in mobile broadband penetration over the past six years, driven by rising usage of online video and the price drop of LTE-enabled smartphones. However, the market remains at an early stage of development, with penetration well below most other developed Asian countries. Strong growth is predicted over the next five years at least.

Fixed broadband penetration in Sri Lanka remains very low, partly due to poor fixed-line infrastructure and partly to the dominance of the mobile platform. However, the market has developed well over the last few years, albeit from a low base, and is supported by the two main telcos providing bundled service offerings including mobile, fixed broadband and video content. The telecom sector overall is being bolstered by the continuous expansion of the fibre and LTE networks, as well as growing investment in 5G.

Key developments:

Dialog Axiata and Mobitel (Group SLT) run 5G pre-commercial tests, aiming to invest $254 million in network expansion;
Fixed broadband penetration remains relatively low but is growing steadily;
Maldives Sri Lanka Cable (MSC) is commisioned, expected to be lit at end-2020,
Telecommunication Levy is reduced to 11.25% of telecom service revenue;
High mobile penetration leading to slow-down in market growth;
Mobile broadband subscriber growth continuing steadily, supported by wider LTE coverage and cheaper LTE-enabled devices;
Telco market remains resilient despite the difficult macro environment (economic crises, presidential election and terrorist attacks);
Report update includes the regulator’s market data to December 2019, telco’s operating and financial data for Q4 2019, Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, recent market developments.

Companies mentioned in this report:

SLT (Sri Lanka Telecom), Mobitel, Dialog Axiata; DNB (Dialog Axiata group), Etisalat Sri Lanka; Hutchison Lanka (Hutch); Bharti Airtel Lanka, Lanka Bell, Suntel.

Table of Contents

Key statistics
Regional Asian market comparison
Country overview

Background

Telecommunications market

Market analysis

Regulatory environment

Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC)
National Policy on Telecommunications
Telecom Levy
Mobile network developments

Pricing

Mobile market

Mobile statistics
Mobile infrastructure

Towers
5G
4G (LTE)
3G

Mobile broadband
VoLTE
MIMO
Major mobile operators

Dialog Axiata
Mobitel
Etisalat Sri Lanka
Hutchison Lanka
Airtel Lanka

Mobile content and applications

m-Commerce

Fixed-line broadband market

Introduction
Fixed broadband statistics
Fixed-line broadband technologies

Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) networks
Wireless broadband/WiMAX
Wi-Fi
Wireless Local Loop (WLL)
Project Loon
National Broadband Network
Fibre-optic networks
Fibre to the Building (FttB)

Fixed network operators

Overview of operators
SLT (Sri Lanka Telecom)
Lanka Bell
Dialog Broadband Networks (DBN)

Telecommunications infrastructure

Introduction
Fixed-line statistics
International infrastructure

Submarine

Data centres
Smart infrastructure

Internet of Things (IoT)
Smart Cities

Digital economy

E-commerce
E-government
e-Health
e-Education

School Net project
Connect To Learn Project in Kandy

Appendix – Historical data
Related reports

List of Tables

Table 1 – Top Level Country Statistics and Telco Authorities – 2020 (e)
Table 2 – Population coverage by type of mobile network
Table 3 – Growth in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration – 2009– 2024
Table 4 – Growth in the number of mobile towers – 2014 – 2018
Table 5 – Growth in the number of mobile broadband subscribers and penetration – 2010 – 2024
Table 6 – Mobile operators and systems
Table 7 – Mobile operator subscribers and market share – 2019
Table 8 – Change in the number of mobile subscribers by operator – 2009 – 2019
Table 9 – Development of Dialog Axiata’s subscribers, annual growth – 2009 – 2019
Table 10 – Development of Dialog Axiata’s prepaid /postpaid subscribers and market share – 2009 – 2019
Table 11 – Development of Dialog Axiata’s mobile ARPU – 2007 – 2019
Table 12 – Development of Dialog Axiata’s revenue, capex and NPAT – 2009 – 2019
Table 13 – Growth in the number of Mobitel’s subscribers – 2009 – 2019 (e)
Table 14 – Growth in Mobitel’s revenue and EBITDA – 2009 – 2019
Table 15 – Development of SLT’s mobile capex– 2014 – 2018
Table 16 – Growth in the number of Hutchison Lanka’s mobile subscribers – 2009 – 2019
Table 17 – Hutchison Lanka financial data – 2017 – 2019
Table 18 – Growth in the number of Airtel Lanka’s subscribers – 2009 – 2019
Table 19 – Development of Airtel Lanka’s financial data – 2017 – 2019
Table 20 – Growth in the number of fixed broadband subscribers – 2009 – 2024
Table 21 – Growth in fibre-optic network length– 2014 – 2018
Table 22 – Number of telecom operator licenses by category – 2019
Table 23 – Development of SLT Group’s revenue by sector – 2014 – 2019
Table 24 – Development of SLT Group’s capex by sector – 2014 – 2018
Table 25 – Growth in the number of SLT’s fixed broadband subscribers – 2015 – 2018
Table 26 – Development of DBN’s fixed broadband and fixed 4G subscriber base – 2009 – 2019
Table 27 –- Growth in DBN’s revenue – 2009 – 2019
Table 28 –- Development of DBN’s EBITDA and net profit – 2014 – 2019
Table 29 – Decline in the number of fixed-line connections and penetration – 2009 – 2024
Table 30 – Growth in international internet bandwidth – 2009 – 2017
Table 31 – Historic - Mobile subscribers, annual change and penetration – 1995 – 2010
Table 32 – Historic - Dialog Axiata prepaid /postpaid subscribers in millions and market share – 2004 – 2009
Table 33 – Historic - Etisalat Sri Lanka subscribers - 2004 – 2010
Table 34 – Historic - Fixed broadband subscribers and penetration – 2002 – 2011
Table 35 – Historic - DSL subscribers – 2003 – 2014
Table 36 – Historic - WLL subscribers – 1996 – 2016
Table 37 – Historic - SLT fixed-line subscribers – 1999 – 2014
Table 38 – Historic – fixed-line subscribers, annual change and penetration – 1995 – 2005
Table 39 – Historic - Fixed subscribers – wireline and wireless (WLL) - 2009 – 2016
Table 40 – Historic - Lanka Bell fixed-line subscribers – 1999 – 2014
Table 41 – Historic - International internet bandwidth – 1998 – 2009
Table 42 – Historic - Key broadcasting statistics – 2016

List of Charts

Chart 1 – Asian Telecoms Maturity Index by Market Category
Chart 2 – Asian Telecoms Maturity Index vs GDP per Capita
Chart 3 – Telecoms Maturity Index – Central Asia
Chart 4 – Mobile, mobile broadband and fixed broadband penetration – 2019; 2024
Chart 5 – Growth in the number of mobile subscribers and penetration – 2009– 2024
Chart 6 – Growth in the number of mobile towers – 2014 – 2018
Chart 7 – Growth in the number of mobile broadband subscribers and penetration – 2009 – 2024
Chart 8 – Change in the number of mobile subscribers by operator – 2009 – 2019
Chart 9 – Development of Dialog Axiata’s subscribers, annual growth – 2009 – 2019
Chart 10 – Development of Dialog Axiata’s prepaid /postpaid subscribers – 2009 – 2019
Chart 11 – Development of Dialog Axiata’s revenue, capex and NPAT – 2009 – 2019
Chart 12 – Growth in the number of Mobitel’s subscribers – 2009 – 2019 (e)
Chart 13 – Growth in Mobitel’s revenue and EBITDA – 2009 – 2019
Chart 14 – Development of SLT’s mobile capex– 2014 – 2018
Chart 15 – Growth in the number of Airtel Lanka’s subscribers – 2009 – 2019
Chart 16 – Growth in the number of fixed broadband subscribers – 2009 – 2024
Chart 17 – Development of SLT Group’s revenue by sector – 2014 – 2019
Chart 18 – Development of SLT Group’s capex by sector – 2014 – 2018
Chart 19 – Growth in the number of SLT’s fixed broadband subscribers – 2015 – 2018
Chart 20 – Growth in DBN’s revenue – 2009 – 2019
Chart 21 – Development of DBN’s EBITDA and net profit – 2014 – 2019
Chart 22 – Decline in the number of fixed-line connections and penetration – 2009 – 2024

List of Exhibits

Exhibit 1 – Key Market Characteristics by Market Segment
Exhibit 2 – Central Asia -Key Characteristics of Telecoms Markets by Country
Exhibit 3 – Hutch Lanka spectrum concessions

Related Reports

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Licence Information

Focus Report Profile

Technologies

Broadband Fixed
Broadcasting
Companies (Major Players)
Digital Economy
Digital Media
Internet
Mobile & Wireless Broadband and Media
Mobile Communications (voice and infrastructure)
Regulations & Government Policies
Smart Infrastructure
Strategies & Analyses (Industry & Markets)
Telecoms Infrastructure

Number of pages 102

Status Current

Last updated 13 Mar 2020
Update History

Analyst: Sebastien De Rosbo

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Sri Lanka - Telecoms, Mobile and Broadband - Statistics and Analyses

Sri Lanka prepares for 5G auction

Key developments:

Companies mentioned in this report:

Key statistics

Regional Asian market comparison

Country overview

Telecommunications market

Regulatory environment

Mobile market

Fixed-line broadband market

Fixed network operators

Telecommunications infrastructure

Digital economy

Appendix – Historical data

Related reports