23/03/08: Mobile phone service costs in Sri Lanka are cheap, even for the poor (Sinhala), Ravaya, Sri Lanka
25/03/08: Mobile is cheaper in Sri Lanka, even for the poor, The Daily News, Sri Lanka
Two recent studies have found that Sri Lanka is among four countries that offer the most affordable mobile services to the poor in emerging Asia and the world.
The first study conducted the LIRNEasia, a regional policy and regulation think tank, has found that the costs of using mobile telecom services are among the lowest in South Asia for all types of users. For the low user, essentially the poorer user, the average monthly cost of using a mobile in Sri Lanka is as low as US$ 3.83 per month if using prepaid. Sri Lanka came in fourth place in the affordability rankings for low users, not too far behind Bangladesh (USD2.46) and Pakistan (USD3.34) and very close to India (USD3.72). For postpaid users, the lowest low-use basket was in Bangladesh (USD7.14). India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka followed.
A second study by Nokia, a world leader in mobile handset manufacturer, has found that Sri Lanka has the lowest ‘total cost of ownership’ or TCO within a group of 80 emerging markets.
1 Comment
Jennifer Stevenson
I also feel that some measures should be taken in order to provide mobile service to the poorer section across the globe.