Celltel Lanka to venture into embattled areas

Sri Lankan cellco Celltel has announced plans to invest USD100 million for the rollout of 500 new base stations in the northeast part of the island, but not in areas wholly controlled by Tamil rebels such as the town of Kilinochi, where a separatist conflict has been waged for more than two decades. Celltel CEO Dumindra Ratnayake said he expected the expenditure to lead to a 50 percent increase in the company’s subscriber base. At the end of 2005 there were over three million subscribers in the country, with Celltel claiming an approximate 20% market share.