Dialog recognized as Sri Lanka’s fastest mobile network

Speedtest^® Award by Ookla^® confirms Dialog fastest in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s premier connectivity provider, Dialog Axiata PLC, has been conferred the 2018 Speedtest^® Award by Ookla^®, the global leader in mobile network testing applications, data and analysis. The Speedtest reflects network speed figures tested by Sri Lankans across the country, and further reiterates Dialog’s distinction as being selected as the Internet Service Provider at the People Choice Awards for six consecutive years.

Sri Lanka’s average download speeds reflect 16.80Mbps, whilst Dialog users reflect speeds of 21.73Mbps as confirmed by Speedtest Intelligence® data, further establishing Dialog’s leadership status for network coverage and speed. The Speedtest Awards by Ookla are licensed to Internet Service Providers and mobile carriers around the world that are determined by Ookla to be the fastest in their market by comparing tests performed by customers over the first six months of 2018.

Jamie Steven, Executive Vice President, Ookla said, “We are pleased to award Dialog with the award for Fastest Mobile Network in Sri Lanka. This recognition is testament to their exceptional performance in Q1–Q2 2018 based on Ookla's rigorous analysis of consumer-initiated tests taken with Speedtest."

The report provided by Ookla further indicates Dialog bearing the lowest latency (lowest delay in time taken to transfer data) in addition to best download and upload rates in the country. Streaming videos via Dialog 4G will enable customers to experience almost zero buffering with the best performance to access video content via sites such as YouTube and Dialog’s ViU.

In addition to being the fastest Network, Dialog prides itself as the widest 4G network reaching over 77% of the population as of end June. Along with the ongoing implementation of 4G on all tower locations, Dialog is deploying 4G LTE on 900Mhz (L900) technology to expand 4G coverage beyond its current high speed Mobile Broadband population coverage of 87%, and deliver Sri Lankans with access to the fastest internet across the country. Dialog is also investing in 2100MHz band conversion to 4G, Massive MIMO, Carrier Aggregation and Flexible Bandwidth allocation to further expand 4G network capacity and speed. This will ensure Dialog continues to deliver the best in performance as the need for data consumption increases.

Dr. Rainer Deutschmann, Group Chief Operating Officer, Dialog Axiata PLC said, "Sri Lankans in all parts of the country have tested more than 100,000 times and certified Dialog as the country’s fastest network. We are honoured by this recognition of our relentless efforts to build and deliver a world-class network for our 13 million customers. We all love watching TV and video on our mobile phones and we are committed to maintain Dialog’s high speed and low latency video network as the best choice for all Sri Lankans.”

Pradeep De Almeida, Group Chief Technology Officer, Dialog Axiata PLC said, “Dialog aims to deliver the benefits of high speed internet to enable a digital future for all Sri Lankans. We are focusing on three key areas including, expanding 4G across all towers, implementing L900 to enhance coverage foot print and ensuring all Dialog customers have a 4G capable SIM card. Dialog is the only network in the country that supports VoLTE (4G Voice) calling capability - this itself is a testament for the quality of Dialog’s 4G network.”

Dialog demonstrated 5G technology for the first time in South Asia last year, indicating the premier connectivity provider’s aspiration in taking the nation’s broadband connectivity towards a generation well ahead of South Asia. Dialog’s commitment to introduce wave upon wave of innovation and superior customer experience, positions it as one of the regional leaders across the broadband technology landscape.

Dialog has extended the facility for all subscribers to upgrade their SIM to 4G, free of charge from any service center or have it delivered to home via www.dialog.lk/4gsim to enjoy highspeed internet on the fastest and widest 4G network.

About Ookla

Ookla, the company behind Speedtest, is the global leader in fixed broadband and mobile network testing applications, data and analysis. Over ten million tests are actively initiated by consumers each day across all Speedtest platforms, with over 20 billion completed to date. As a result, Ookla has the most comprehensive analytics on worldwide internet performance and accessibility. Ookla solutions have been adopted by a significant number of internet service providers and mobile carriers worldwide and have been translated into over 30 languages for use by thousands of businesses, governments, universities and trade organizations. Ookla's headquarters are located in Seattle, WA with additional offices in Dublin, Ireland. Learn more at www.ookla.com.