Leading Indian telecom firm Bharti Airtel said on Wednesday it will launch mobile phone services in Sri Lanka where it sees the number of cell phone users growing by millions annually.
The firm said in a statement that it will launch second and third generation mobile services on the tropical island by next February, when its financial year ends.
"With mobile penetration of around 30 percent, which is growing at two million users per annum, we are excited about our entry into this market," Sanjay Kapoor, Bharti Airtel mobile services' president, said in the statement.
The firm said it would invest 200 million dollars in the project over the next five years, adding a major portion of the investment would come within 18 months of the launch of the service under the brand name "Airtel."
Bharti recently won a licence to provide mobile services in Sri Lanka through its subsidiary, Bharti Airtel Lanka Pvt Ltd, and will be the fifth cell phone firm to enter the South Asian nation's mobile market.
Sri Lanka's telecom sector soared in 2006 to 7.3 million fixed-line and cell phone users, led by a 59 percent jump in new mobile phone connections driven by competition and falling call costs.
Sri Lanka became one of the few South Asian countries to offer third generation services commercially in 2006. It was the first in the region to introduce cellular phones when it unveiled an analog network in 1989.