Bharti Airtel to launch in Sri Lanka on January 12

India’s Bharti Airtel will launch 2G and 3G services in Sri Lanka on January 12, having originally acquired the licence in early 2007.

There are currently 9.8 million mobile subscribers in Sri Lanka, representing a penetration rate of 47 per cent

Airtel Lanka, the local arm of the leading Indian operator, missed its planned launch date last month following disputes with incumbent operators over interconnection agreements.

The operator will become the fifth mobile player in Sri Lanka and will compete with Dialog Telekom of Telekom Malaysia, Tigo of Millicom International Cellular, Hutch of Hutchison Telecom and Mobitel of Sri Lanka Telecom.

The impending launch has prompted a flurry of promotions and loyalty packages by the incumbents, local press reported.

According to the Mobile World database, there were 9.8 million mobile subscribers in the country as of end-September 2008, equating to a penetration level of 47 per cent.

Bharti Airtel has committed US$200 million to the network, which is being rolled out by Huawei, while IBM is handling the operator’s IT operations and Bharti subsidiary Bharti Telesoft will provide value added services.