Our customers are the reason for our existence. In a fast-paced and continually-evolving ICT industry, we cherish their commitment and trust in our products and services.

Fixed ICT Products and Services

Through our commitment to cementing our status as a digital lifestyle services provider, SLT has brought a suite of exciting new products to its customers.

Broadband

SLT offers the highest monthly data volumes to customers, up to 2000 GBs. We also possess the highest download speeds of up to 100 Mbps, and are equally capable of offering shared data for multiple Wi-Fi enabled devices.

Key initiatives undertaken during the year

Volume enhancement

SLT increased the data volume of all its offered packages up to 82% and matched peak & off-peak data volumes. SLT introduced off-peak data volumes for the first time in 2011 as an free offer in addition to standard monthly data volume.

Speed and Data volume enhancement

We continually enhanced the broadband speed of all packages powered by fibre, ADSL and LTE technologies. This enabled us to offer packages with download speeds of up to 100 Mbps. The enhancing of broadband volume is effectuated annually by improving the offered packages.

On demand data

This feature enables customers to add extra gigabytes of data to their existing package. They can do so online through the SLT broadband value-added services portal.

Smartline

Fibre to the home (FTTH) technology was introduced under this feature to raise Internet speeds up to 100 Mbps.

Introduction of AC routers

SLT introduced routers with speeds of up to 750 Mbps for the first time in Sri Lanka.

Value added services

SLT Filmhall – OTT entertainment platform

The above service was inaugurated to offer customers unparalleled access to Hollywood, Bollywood, Sinhala, Tamil and Telugu movies. Customers will be able to view all of the above and much more from the comfort of their own homes. Thus SLT brings a veritable cinematic experience right to customers’ fingertips. The service can be accessed through SLT Broadband as well as mobile devices through the related application.

SLT digisolutions

SLT aims to transform homes and offices into Smart premises. Broadband, Wi-Fi and PEO TV connections can be extended through the premises through internal wiring and powerline adapters. The Internet of Things (IoT) technology will further connect enabled devices anywhere on the premises to the resulting Wi-Fi network.

PEO TV – Impacting peoples lifestyles

Our PEO TV platform is the ultimate provider of local and global content. We have revolutionised the traditional TV experience with a suite of features to include high quality digital imaging, time-shifted TV, rewind TV, video on demand and so much more.

PEO TV on the go through Mobitel

The PEO TV platform has now been extended to Mobitel customers.

Multiple PEO TV offers at one location

Smartline (fibre optic) connections provide customers the unique possibility of having multiple PEO TV connections via a single connection. Thus individuals can fully personalise their content of choice.

Carrier grade Wi-Fi

We are rolling out carrier-grade Wi-Fi technology in the Nation. This will permit customers to access social media content, rich media content and data-intensive enterprise applications on the go; a feature that was previously inaccessible on standard public Wi-Fi. This will provide unique retail experiences such as interactive shopping, and business users will be able to conduct more efficient transactions without any disruptions during periods of travel.

Web hosting packages

Our cutting-edge data centre provides customers with a suite of hosting services to meet diverse needs. This includes DNS registration and e-mail server solutions.

Enterprise solutions

Our Intelligent Solutions cover the breadth of next-generation voice, networking, data hosting and managed services. This allows local businesses the opportunity to stand edge to edge with global competitors. Our services are tailored to the needs of entrepreneurs of all sizes. With powerful capabilities in convergence, extended reliability, improved scalability and much more, we present a powerful product portfolio with unparalleled features.

AKAZA

Akaza is Sri Lanka’s premier automated cloud computing platform. It provides end-to-end cloud computing services to enterprises to guarantee the maximum possible ROI.

Akaza’s technology combines cloud services to include software and platforms that can be accessed via an online self-service catalogue to centralise user management.

Our cloud is hosted locally within our data centre. Users can access, store and utilise data through remote means using public internet, a secured internet protocol (IP) address or a virtual private network (VPN).

This national cloud system will lead to a range of benefits for the national economy, such as by minimising an outflow of foreign currency, reducing the consumption of paper, and increasing the eco-friendliness of everyday business operations. It will further contribute to the development of an ICT-reinforced ‘Smart’ Sri Lanka, and could extend its reach to global audiences as well.

Further information about this exciting feature can be found on our corporate website.

SME solutions

We offer a range of services to our SME clients to include voice, networking, data hosting and managed services. These are specially tailored to the unique needs of the respective entity.

Mobile ICT Products and Services

Mobile broadband

We remain committed to upholding the broadband penetration rate in Sri Lanka by continuing to provide exceptional user experience and ever affordable options to consumers.

With the roll-out of LTE technology, Mobitel customised its portfolio of products to adapt to this network and gave customers incentives to move onto it as well; through the introductions of tariff plans and device plans. The initiatives have been successful in migrating customers from the 3.75G network to the 4G network.

Digital services

mCash

Our mCash service continues to deliver exceptional results. Customers are now able to top up their account using the mobile or Internet-banking applications of Hatton National Bank, Commercial Bank and Sampath Bank.

Car Doctor

We introduced a smart vehicle tracking device; for users to monitor their vehicle’s performance and progress while it is in use. This is an addition to our Internet of Things (IoT) portfolio.

Healthcare

We acquired eChannelling PLC in September 2016. This connects us with over 210 hospitals linked with the platform, giving customers access to the largest channelling network in Sri Lanka with over 4,500 medical professionals.

The network possesses over 2,000 channelling agents. Channelling is possible through SLT landlines as well as over 650 post offices island-wide. The service is not limited to channelling doctors. Users can contact various third parties and health service providers for additional benefits.

mLearning

Mobitel’s mLearning platform continues to empower and drive education in Sri Lanka. It is the only comprehensive platform in Sri Lanka that gives a student the opportunity to follow an entire university course in a virtual environment. The platform has been embraced by numerous universities and educational institutes in Sri Lanka.

mTicketing

Mobitel introduced a new feature in this service, whereupon a user can obtain electronically-validated tickets to sites of interest in Sri Lanka. The project covers several noteworthy tourist destinations in the country to include the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage and Victoria Park in Nuwara Eliya. Mobitel plans to extend this feature to all relevant attractions in the country, thereby creating a national electronic ticketing system.

We have extended our mTicketing platform for Railways, to all telecommunications operators in Sri Lanka. Therefore, any user can obtain railway reservations through their preferred network.

Other value added services

We introduced a device manager platform that furnished all data-enabled devices with GPRS settings to improve data penetration.

Our Mobitel TV Portfolio provides customers with a greater variety of entertainment options.

A ‘bus booking’ service enables customers to book bus tickets via carrier billing. Carrier billing also affords customers the opportunity to subscribe to online magazines.

Voice initiatives

We carried out many initiatives to promote prepaid and postpaid packages amongst our customers. These included the Cash Bonanza Montero Extra Vaganza, the Waasi Pita Waasi campaign, attractive postpaid packages bundled with device offers and various IDD and roaming-related initiatives.

Market Presence

Our teleshop and regional telecommunications offices are located centrally to enable users to conveniently avail of our services. Our dealer and reseller network extends island-wide, and help customers acquire pay phone cards and services to register for broadband and LTE technologies.

Customers can pay their bills at all relevant banking institutions, supermarkets and sales outlets at select companies.

SLT effectuated a customer satisfaction index (CSI) study in 2016. A quantitative survey was used to conduct face-to-face interviews with a total of 2,264 participants. The study revealed a customer service satisfaction rate of 91% amongst individual consumers, 85% amongst SME clients and 79% amongst enterprise customers.

Key Trends

Fixed ICT operations

Customer base growth

In 2016, SLT provided over 105,000 fixed line connections. We also provided over 205,000 broadband connections, which is an exceptional achievement, compared to previous year. In addition, we provided over 110,000 PEO TV connections. All above achievements were supported by our up-to-date FTTN, FTTH and 4G LTE (Fixed) technologies.

We recorded an increase of 52% in the uptake in broadband connections for this period. New PEO TV connections equally increased by 85% during this time-frame.

Mobile ICT operations

Customer Care and Service Improvements

Information on products and services

We engage with customers through diversified means to provide accurate and relevant information on our products and services; as well as to obtain feedback on our operations. The channels we employ include one on one interactions, our contact centre, SLT’s corporate website and social media accounts, mailers and newsletters, brochures, our customer satisfaction survey, ICT workshops, enterprise customer forums and finally, customer visits and meetings. We use traditional media channels to market and advertise our products and services to the general public.

In addition, our account managers frequently visit our enterprise customers to ensure that they are receiving all the support they require from SLT. Enterprise customers are equally furnished with the contact details of senior staff to escalate any issues to attention resulting from any discordances in expected service levels.

We have established a distinct hotline, 1212, for customers to obtain information and log concerns. This is a 24-hour service with zero cost to the customer. Any resulting user comments are entered into our operational support system (OSS). This helps us in refining our services as appropriate for further improvements in customer care.

Contact centre

Our contact centre recorded a total of 10,285,016 calls in 2016; of which circa 7 million were to agents. A customer satisfaction rate of 91% was recorded throughout the year; and as at the year end; customers reported a 79.06% satisfaction rate with the contact centre staff. We were also able to fulfil the service level KPIs established by the Government Centre: GIC (1919) and the Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation (SLIC) in this domain. The GIC Index noted that 95.15% of calls were answered within 15 seconds, and a corresponding call abandonment rate of less than 5% was recorded. Similarly, the SLIC Index showed that 98.20% of calls were answered within 20 seconds, with a call abandonment rate of less than 2%.

Complaint management

We have an established and detailed process in place for the handling of customer complaints.

Any complaint received by the contact centre and enterprise help desk are entered to the OSS, and forwarded to the corresponding work group. A trouble report will remain in the system unless it is attended to and the matter resolved. The officer in charge of the work group oversees the system and organises resources to address the issue. The officers are themselves monitored by deputy general managers. The Plant Maintenance and Customer Service (PM & CS) Unit conducts an age analysis of existing trouble reports and conveys results to relevant senior officers. Samples of closed trouble reports are selected, and relevant feedback is obtained from the customers who lodged the initial, corresponding complaint. We take necessary further steps if the customer is still not satisfied.

Knowledge sharing

Fixed ICT operations

We engage in knowledge sharing activities with enterprise customers through customer forums, individual discussions, product launches and the inauguration of national initiatives.

We conduct customer forums and annual conferences for the benefit of SME customers. These events allow decision makers to meet the top management at SLT. We equally get the opportunity of receiving direct customer feedback during these times.

We equally use social media as a tool in developing our customer relationships. Social media allows for the disbursement of knowledge and information, as well as the posing of inquiries and handling of complaints, in real time.

Service assurance

	Service fulfilment index (SFI) (%)*			Uninterrupted service index (USI) (%)**			Service restoration index (SRI) (%)***
	2016	2015	2014	2016	2015	2014	2016	2015	2014
Mega Line	79	66	71	89	88	89	73	65	68
Citylink	83	84	90	97	97	97	66	71	78
Broadband	77	57	59	91	86	87	70	58	67

* The Service Fulfilment Index (SFI) indicates the rate at which we satisfy the delivery of a product or service within a promised time (in number of days) for new customers.

** The Uninterrupted Service Index (USI) references the rate at which services are provided to existing customers without any breakdown or fault.

*** Service restoration Index (SRI) indicates the rate at which fault clearance is executed within a promised/standard time-frame.

As the table above shows, we have showed improvements in all three factors in our Megaline and Broadband services.

Customer satisfaction

SLT effectuated a customer satisfaction index (CSI) study in 2016. The key objectives of this was to derive a company-wide CSI, gauge the key expectations of customers, evaluate the level of satisfaction across all touch-points and identify any discordances in satisfaction levels.

The study employed a quantitative survey, with a pool of participants being selected from a customer database. Following this, face-to-face interviews were conducted with the participants using a structured questionnaire.

The breakdown of participants by area and customer touch-point is shown in the table below:

Sample Size

	Area
Segment	Total	Metro	Region 1	Region 2	Region 3
Consumer	1,430	282	389	501	258
SME & RAM	654	199	181	165	109
Enterprise	180	Large 50, Medium 80 and Govt. 50
Total	2,264

The results of the survey are displayed below:

Segment	CSI
	2016		2015
	Actual (%)	Target (%)	(%)
Consumer	91	90	88
SME	85	90	85
Enterprise*	79	90	82

* The decline in the CSI for enterprise customers is explained by the complex nature of integrated solutions and high scale of service-level agreements that are required by this sector due to high expectations of valued enterprise customers.

We were able to extrapolate several findings from this study. Our performance in resolving billing, payments and maintenance issues appears to be strong. We need to improve our social media delivery response, as customers usually require a high level of attention and service from us in this domain.

Customer Engagement

Fixed ICT - Marketing campaigns & promotions

We rolled out several marketing campaigns and promotions to drive awareness of our products and services to the general public.

Under the Sisu Abhiman programme, we rewarded the top 21 students who had achieved the highest results in the GCE (A/L) examination island-wide. These students were provided ultra high-speed broadband connections to aid in the entire duration of their undergraduate studies.

Under the Sisu Connect scheme, we organised a series of seminars for grade 5 students sitting for the scholarship exam. We were able to demonstrated our SLT call tutor service and additional products to interested students and parents.

Through the MyBill Promotion scheme, we enlightened our customers on this web-portal based billing service. This was done through the circulation of e-flyers as well as the distribution of promotional leaflets.

We equally organised the SLT e-sports championship 2016 for all the devoted online gamers of Sri Lanka. This was one of the ways we continued to position ourselves as being an ideal broadband solution for the gaming and youth communities.

A comprehensive list of other promotional activities and campaigns can be accessed from our corporate website.

Mobile ICT – Marketing campaigns & promotions

We revamped our ‘cash bonanza’ programme in 2016 to include 12 luxury Mitsubishi Monteros as first prize for each month. This rewarded our users on a daily and monthly basis by distributing a spectacular sum of Rs. 350 million throughout 2016. This was the largest prize give-away by a telecommunications operator in Sri Lanka.

Our mCash platform equally launched a ‘Pay bills with mCash to win big’ promotion to all its mCash users to encourage them to use the mCash App to make utility bill payments.

New Enterprise Business ICT Solutions and MOUs

Fixed ICT operations

We engaged with numerous high profile clients throughout the years to furnish them with ICT solutions and related services. To note were the optical fibre and VPN connections we provided to hotels operated by Serendib Leisure Management, the call centre solutions we afforded to Singer (Sri Lanka) and the VOIP services we provided to Union Assurance PLC. A full list of our operations can be accessed from our corporate website and press releases.

SLT will equally equip the soon-to-be completed Colombo Lotus Tower; the tallest building in South Asia; with cutting-edge technology and ICT services.

We have signed MoUs with the Faculties of Engineering of the Universities of Peradeniya, Moratuwa and Ruhuna to carry out Research and Development (R&D) activities.

Mobile ICT operations

We partnered with Lanka BPO academy to extend our mLearning portfolio to include distance-learning courses offered by the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment (CISI).

We similarly joined hands with Colombo Dockyard PLC to develop a cutting-edge vehicle detection system for vehicles stationed at the dockyard.

A partnership with Emerging Media (Private) Limited resulted in the creation of the myjobs.lk website. This is a online job-listing platform in Sri Lanka, destined for both prospective employees and recruiters.

SLT presents cloud-based micro services

architecture

SLT, together with the efforts of the Sri Lanka Association of Software and Service Companies (SLASSCOM) conducted a knowledge-sharing programme titled ‘TechTalk’. The programme dealt with the topic of cloud-based microservices architecture. The event witnessed significant participation from software and application developers and coding professionals based in Sri Lanka.

Opportunities and Challenges

Retail

We witness that the ICT industry is changing rapidly, and as a result our customers are increasingly into the automation and digitisation of processes. Thus, SLT is geared towards delivering solutions to fit these increasingly digital lifestyles.

The general populace is increasingly adopting the services being offered by OTT players. We can counterbalance this by focusing our efforts on enhancing the Internet services that are on offer that enable customers to access OTT operations in the first place. This can be done through the implementation of higher data rates for enhanced connectivity. Nonetheless, we will have to address the growing data traffic which may arise from the increasing adoption of these services. The cost of accessing the Internet will also diminish with time due to the developments in new technology.

Enterprise customers

Enterprise customers do not pose straightforward requirements to us. They require customer solutions that are technically complex and collaborative. We need the participation of systems and integrators for this purpose.

We witness that our clients are increasingly seeking digital and automated services. We see opportunities in several industry areas in the enterprise domain. For example, banks in Sri Lanka are increasingly shifting their services onto digital platforms. Equally, the Government has various ICT initiatives, such as the LGN 2.0 network, which SLT has been given the unique opportunity to oversee and collaborate on.

With the surge in economic development of the country, we will witness an influx of investors. These investors will require ICT solutions when they execute their operations, so we witness ample market opportunities there as well. One of our strengths is that we offer a comprehensive package of ICT solutions under our OPEX model.

We equally see exciting new prospects in developments such as the Megapolis project; whereupon we will deliver ever-sophisticated services to satisfy the diverse needs of the varying businesses being established there.

Small and medium enterprises

For SME customers, we ensure that we do a detailed analysis of the customer profile, and try to understand their specific business challenges. We then devise plans with regards to their ICT requirements to aid in the digitisation of their operations. And thereupon, we see opportunities. We notice that some customers are very keen to embrace these technologies, but some others require more time. Whatever their need, SLT ensures that it is part of the joint engagement of client and supplier as a valued partner.

Public sector institutions

We are anticipating the launch of GS3+ which will be a fortuitous opportunity for us, as a lot of factories will open under this; for which we can provide ICT solutions.

Recently, we were instrumental in the government’s removal of the embargo on fishing exports. This was enacted by the European Union (EU) to stop unsustainable and illegal fishing practices. SLT expedited a vessel monitoring system that was developed through our own subsidiary. This was a GPS-based vessel monitoring system; and until such a system was in place, the EU did not want to withdraw the embargo. We completed this process within three weeks and the restrictions were successfully raised.

Wholesale

We usually offer our wholesale customers solutions in connectivity and vanilla products; to which there are no added value.

International

We do witness market opportunities here in terms of voice, but there is an overall decline in revenues in this sector due to users migrating to OTT applications to avoid high call charges. Our capitalisation of the non-voice segment of the market (the data segment) is slightly less than the voice segment.

We are dealing with international carriers, and currently have around 80 plus interconnection agreements in the pipeline, to which we add between ten and fifteen interconnections each year. We contact interested parties and liaise with them to understand their ability to grow our business, and vice versa. In addition, we entered into some voice-commitment agreements (VC agreements) and swap deals with some carriers.

Network Infrastructure and Ongoing Development Projects

In 2015, we invested Rs. 17.6 billion in developing Sri Lanka’s ICT infrastructure and introducing new technologies to our customers. We continued these efforts in 2016, investing over Rs. 20.1 billion on the ICT infrastructure development by the end of 2016.

We completed Phase V of the i-Sri Lanka project whereupon we extended the reach of optical fibre to roadside cabinets furnishing Internet speeds of up to 20 Mbps to customers. Our island-wide network of optical fibre extends to over 25,000 km.

High-demand areas were provided with a fibre to the home (FTTH) network with broadband speeds of up to 100 Mbps. We implemented fixed 4G LTE wireless broadband networks to cater to broadband demand beyond the reach of wireline networks.

A carrier grade Wi-Fi project was launched to enable the public to use their home broadband at public locations.

The brand new submarine cable system (SEA-ME-WE 5), delivering data at over 48 Tbps, was launched to increase the speed and reliability of Sri Lanka’s connectivity to global regions.

We commenced the construction of a new data centre at Pitipana-Homagama, which will be completed in the second quarter of 2017.

Network connectivity

SLT’s existing network is a layered one. It is on this that we categorise our connectivity facilities. An access layer permits a customer to gain initial access to the network.

We possess over 25,000 km of optical fibre dispersed throughout the island constituting 2.5 million loops. We equally possess over 300 nodes connected throughout the country which accumulates all traffic from various points in the island. Thus, based on requirements we can route information to the required place in a few milliseconds.

The core transmission network is equally built with an ultra high-speed capacity and cutting-edge routers.

Capabilities

Mobile broadband is capable of providing download burst speeds of 55 Mbps with LTE and 30 Mbps with 3G. Our fixed broadband options provides a speed of up to 20 Mbps with a capacity exceeding 50 GB.

Our fibre optic network offers users bandwidth up to 100 Mbps. Customers in the SME segment and individual users requiring greater bandwidth at high speed are provided with a segmented facility which extends speed beyond 20 Mbps. This is achieved through an unique system termed a ‘pond network’. We can meet the demand for even greater requirements in speed and capacity.

4.5G LTE

We have successfully trialled 4.5G LTE advanced pro technology in Sri Lanka. This is capable of delivering speeds exceeding 1 Gbps. We were the first organisation to trial this technology in South Asia. We look forward to commercially deploying this service in the near future.

i-Sri Lanka project

We have successfully completed the above project, whereupon Sri Lanka is now one of the most ICT-connected countries in South Asia. We served around 70,000 households through FTTH technology by the end of 2016.

i-Sri Lanka Programme Closing Ceremony.

Customer needs

We understand that customers require high-speed, greater volumes and low latency in their broadband and ICT connections. We continue to address these requirements, as best as we possibly can.

Global connectivity

Our ISP network is the premier in the country, and meets the standards of the global ICT industry. With five submarine cables under our belt, from SEA-ME-WE 1 to SEA-ME-WE 5, we are well poised to compete with international players in the industry. This will help secure Sri Lanka as a regional digital hub, and add the country to the world’s PoP network. We can also refine the country as the choicest IT-BPO/Data Centre destination. Further details about the cable systems and associated projects can be found on our corporate website.

International backhauling network

SLT provided a global connectivity backhauling facility to international operators. This was by establishing a full landing status of the SEA-ME-WE 5 cable station in Matara. The network consists of three cable stations at Colombo, Mount Lavinia and Matara joined to the international back-haul hub at Welikada. The benefits of this venture are manifold, as operators are able to use the system to terminate traffic in Sri Lanka, cross-connect with other systems and even enhance their carrying capacity.

Data centre (Tier 4)

SLT is building the first tier 4 data centre in Sri Lanka. This will benefit our enterprise customers as well as Government entities by eradicating their need for maintaining individual data centres. We will be providing all manner of expert knowledge to users and subsidising costs associated with the venture. The data to be stored at the centre is guaranteed to be safe and secure from external disturbances.

The National backbone network

Our backbone network is made up of 300 career Ethernet nodes and 64 SLBN nodes. It is available and functioning at all times, due to a comprehensive 1+2 redundancy system. Our network is of high quality, speed and capacity backed with a low latency; and is hence a veritable asset in the country’s development.

Lanka Government Network (LGN 2.0)

The LGN is a strategic project that is designed and implemented to link and upgrade Government entities, using a single network. SLT has set up a LGN fibre optic network to cover 315 Government establishments, and will provide these with Internet speeds of up to 100 Mbps, along with a host of other benefits. The network will significantly increase the efficiency and productivity of Government processes; which will consequently benefit the public as well.

Carrier grade Wi-Fi project

Through this scheme, SLT provides an unique broadband experience for Internet users, whereupon users can connect to SLT/Mobitel Wi-Fi hotspots and experience the convenience of wireless broadband connectivity. These hotspots are continually expanding to cover all public locations of major cities in Sri Lanka.

Building digital ecosystems – API economy

Mobitel believes that the economies of the future will be run by digital services. By extending its efforts in becoming a fully-consolidated digital service provider, we will address this upcoming trend. Mobitel has already opened a cutting-edge API gateway and continues to refine this service to higher standards.

Future projects

SLT is focused on constructing a port depot to store maintenance infrastructure as required. We are also working in collaboration with several international entities to secure maritime vessels equipped for cable repair.