LKR17.5bn CAPEX for SLT this year; LKR7.5bn for Mobitel

Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) will invest LKR25 billion (USD187 million) this year towards the expansion of fixed network and mobile (Mobitel) infrastructure and services, according to its CEO, Greg Young. Speaking to Daily News Business, Young said that a record annual investment of LKR17.5 billion was earmarked for SLT, with the remaining LKR7.5 billion going into Mobitel. Objectives include bringing ‘PeoTV’ IPTV service coverage to all ‘Megaline’ broadband customers, issuing all broadband customers with Wi-Fi enabled modems, expanding SLT’s public Wi-Fi hotspot network including free access zones in airports and other public places, and the replacement of over 400 telephone exchanges in areas across the country with ‘just a handful’ of next generation exchanges, while replacing ‘most’ of its network’s outdated legacy equipment with modern, energy-efficient solutions to ‘drastically’ cut electricity expenses.