Inaugurates “First Tower of the Gamata Sanniwedanaya” Initiative in Kachchigala

July 5th, 2021 (Colombo):Remaining committed to further expanding coverage to deep rural communities across the nation, Dialog Axiata PLC, the widest network in Sri Lanka, inaugurated the Gamata Sanniwedanaya initiative by the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) in Kachchigala, Ratnapura.

Dialog aims to enhance coverage to deep rural communities through 450 additional towers, including TRCSL’s “Gamata Sanniwedanaya” project, in the next 6 months, targeting 100% population coverage. With the successful launch of the first tower under this initiative in the Ratnapura District, plans are underway to expand coverage in Kurunegala, Ratnapura, Matara, Anuradhapura and Badulla Districts as the next phase of the Gamata Sanniwedanaya programme.

In its continued efforts to expand coverage and support customers during these unprecedented times, Dialog has already added 515 new towers to the network during the pandemic period, surpassing 4000 mobile 4G sites in its network, the highest ever tower count recorded in Sri Lanka.

While Dialog continues to enhance coverage for the deep rural communities through TRCSL’s Gamata Sanniwedanaya initiative, the company is also facilitating 100,000 schoolchildren in need with Data Scholarships through its ‘NanaDiri Data Scholarship’ programme to support their online learning endeavours. Dialog is the nation’s largest foreign direct investor with a total investment of USD 2.8 Billion to date and infrastructure investments of USD 207 Million planned for 2021. The ongoing investments are part of the USD 254.1 Million investment committed with the Board of Investments in February 2020.

Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Oshada Senanayake, Director General of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka said, “We set out to establish the necessary connectivity infrastructure to provide coverage to the deep rural areas of the country through this Gamata Sanniwedanaya initiative, and we are grateful to Dialog Axiata for swiftly making this vision a reality. Today, we are that much closer to bridging the digital divide for rural communities. We are pleased to support the eLearning endeavours of students and create immense growth potential for the Kachchigala communities through this initiative.”

Commenting, Mr. Supun Weerasinghe, Group Chief Executive of Dialog Axiata PLC said, “We are pleased to present this network site to the communities in the Kachchigala area covering 7 Grama Niladari divisions providing access to reliable connectivity in furthering their education and work aspirations. We are thankful to the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka for facilitating this endeavour and look forward to collaborating further in the months to come to realise our shared vision of enabling a fully connected and digital Sri Lanka. In addition to this initiative, Dialog as the largest investor in Sri Lanka has invested over Rs. 50 Billion since the start of the Pandemic in 2020 to expand Mobile and Fixed coverage footprint across the country and remains committed to supporting our valued customers during this unprecedented time.”

Mr. Oshada Senanayake, Director General of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka and Mr. Supun Weerasinghe, Group Chief Executive of Dialog Axiata PLC inaugurating the first tower of the ‘Gamata Sanniwedanaya’ initiative in Kachchigala.