Sri Lanka Telecom Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023-2028)

The Sri Lanka Telecom Market revenue is expected to witness a CAGR of 6.8% over the next five years. Most of the major telecom companies in the world, such as Dialog Axiata, Airtel, and Hutchison Telecommunications Lanka (Hutch), are based in Sri Lanka. They promote innovation by making significant R&D investments consistently.

Key Highlights

• 5G services still need to be fully deployed in Sri Lanka, but key telecom operators have completed 5G demonstrations and trials over the past two years. In the Future, all the customers will slowly migrate from 3G and 4G networks to the 5G network.
• The transition to 4G and 5G is still rising in the country due to expanding new networks and the expansion of the device ecosystem. For Instance, Airtel is upgrading its 3G mobile network to a 4G Network in Sri Lanka.
• Sri Lanka's telecom industry made further strides in expanding its network capacity with fiber and wireless deployments. For Instance, Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) offers Wi-Fi hotspots for customers. These wireless broadband services will further help customers by providing high-speed connectivity services.
• For instance, Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) proposed the SEA-ME-WE 6 cable system to link Western Europe, the Middle East, and South East Asia. This project is expected to be completed at the end of 2025. Key players in the telecom market would further support the growth by investing in fiber cables to offer high-speed connectivity services for customers.
• The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted students from offline education mode to online education mode. The lack of proper internet connectivity in rural areas is a significant concern for online education. To address such connectivity concerns, HUTCH collaborated with the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) on the Gamata Sannivedanaya project to deliver broadband coverage throughout the country. Such a government's timely initiative will further support the growth of the telecom market.

Sri Lanka Telecom Market Trends

Rising demand for wireless services

• Telecom operators are creating a roadmap to deploy next-generation fiber optic cable system that supports 5G wireless broadband services. For Instance, Dialog Axiata PLC (Dialog) announced the completion of the Maldives Sri Lanka Cable system (MSC) that offers high-speed broadband services to customers. The 840km international submarine fiber optic cable system connects Hulhumale in the Republic of Maldives and Mount Lavinia in Sri Lanka.
• Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) has partnered with Fon Wireless to introduce its's ltgo' Wi-Fi solution, which would give customers community-based Wi-Fi network connectivity services. The most extensive Wi-Fi network provides access to smartphones, laptops, and other mobile devices. The demand for deploying Wi-Fi solutions will significantly grow with the increasing adoption of smartphone connections.
• Key players in the telecom market are taking initiatives to deploy 5G wireless services in Sri Lanka. For Instance, HUTCH collaborated with ZTE to demonstrate the fastest 5G speed in Sri Lanka. HUTCH made several 5G trials. According to Ookla global broadband speed test, HUTCH scored a speed of 1.8Gbps. This is the fastest 5G speed trial made in Sri Lanka.
• Government authorities are working with private telecom service providers to expand wireless broadband connections. According to Ookla Speedtest Global Index, Sri Lanka ranked 127th with a median fixed broadband download speed of 19.63 Mbps in September this year.

Rising demand for OTT Services

• Increasing mobile subscribers will significantly increase the demand for OTT (over-the-top) services. OTT service providers such as Netflix and Amazon Prime offer on-demand videos for customers, thus creating new growth opportunities for the telecom market.
• Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) launched an Online streaming service OTT (Over-The-Top) platform. SLT partnered with prominent players in digital media entertainment, Hungama Digital Media Entertainment (Pvt) Limited and Evoke International (Pvt) Limited. This partnership will provide SLT broadband customers with high-quality video streaming services.
• Customers are migrating to mobile-based OTT services, thus creating new growth opportunities for the telecom market. According to Ookla Speedtest Global Index, Sri Lanka ranked 117th with a median mobile broadband download speed of 13.98 Mbps in September 2022. The mobile broadband subscription increase and thus create more demand for OTT service providers.
• According to Opensignal's 4G Video Experience, Dialog users score the highest among other telecom players (Airtel, Hutch, Mobitel). High-quality video channels, flexibility, and scalability deliver world-class OTT streaming services for customers, which will continue further growth in the telecom market.

Sri Lanka Telecom Market Competitor Analysis

Sri Lanka's telecom market is moderately fragmented due to the ongoing partnerships and recent advancements in the market. Some major players in the market studied include Dialog Axiata, Airtel, Hutchison Telecommunications Lanka (Hutch), SLTMobitel, and Lanka Bell.

In March 2022, Dialog Axiata trialed a 5G Standalone (SA) network. The successful trial of the 5G Standalone network keeps a key milestone in advancing connectivity infrastructure.

In April 2022, the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) approved Bharti Airtel Lanka's request to shut down its 3G mobile network. During this transition phase, the 3G subscriber will be shifted to the 4G network.

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• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
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