Reliance to Launch BIG CBS TV Channels in Sri Lanka with Lanka Broadband Network

06th February 2012, www.news360.lk

India’s Reliance Broadcast Network Limited has signed a deal with Lanka Broadband Network to launch three channels of BIG CBS in the Island, says a media report.

The deal will result in Reliance bringing in three English entertainment channels into Sri Lanka, namely BIG CBS Prime, BIG CBS Love, and BIG CBS Sparks.

BIG CBS Networks is an equally owned joint venture of Reliance Broadcast Network Limited and CBS Studios International.

According to the company’s website, BIG CBS Prime is a premium general entertainment channel, BIG CBS Spark is a youth entertainment channel and BIG CBS Love is a women’s entertainment channel.

Reliance is also planning to launch the fee based channels in other South Asian countries such as Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and Pakistan in the future.

Related Info :

• Sri Lanka Mobile Boom Overtakes TV & Radio

• Digital TV for Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka Mobile Boom Overtakes TV & Radio

2nd January 2012, www.lankabusinessonline.com

Household access to telephones is on par with electricity, television, and radio in Sri Lanka mainly because of the boom in mobile phones, and are set to overtake TV and radio, a new study said.

Access to household phones is greater than to transport in the island, the study of Asian countries by the LIRNEasia think tank said.

SMS (short message service) use, gaming and balance checking has decreased but camera and radio use increased in Sri Lanka from 2008 to 2011, said the study on use of information communications technology, mostly phones, among poor people in emerging Asian economies.

It covered Bangladesh, Pakistan , India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia (Java), Philippines and Thailand.

Access to phones is improving on both personal and household levels, mostly of mobiles with a decline in fixed and public phones, the study said.


And phones are set to overtake TV and radio, it said.

It found that phone use in rural Sri Lanka is on par with urban areas.

The main perceived benefits of phone access in Sri Lanka are emergency communication, maintaining relations and saving on travel.

"The key economic benefit of phones is reducing travel," it said, noting that there was little use of mobiles for productive purposes.

About 71 percent of poor consumers, in a segment known as BOP or bottom-of-the-pyramid, own a mobile with many on a second handset, the study found.

"Multiple-SIM ownership is high in the north and east. The main reason is because of lower call rates.

Cheaper 'on-net' or the same network calls were the main reason for multiple ownership of SIMs or subscriber identity modules used to identify and authenticate subscribers.

Related Info :

• Sri Lanka Telephone Density Reaches 100.8 Lines per 100 Persons in 2010 as Fixed & Mobile Connections Overtake Population

Construction to Start on 350metre $103mn Lotus Tower in February. Seven Level Colombo TV Tower Project by TRCSL

05th January 2011, www.dailynews.lk, Sanjeevi Jayasuriya

The final Bill Of Quantities (BOQ) of the proposed Colombo TV tower project is now being finalized.

The Telecommunication Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) expects to start construction work of the tower next month.

The 350-metre tower in Peliyagoda will be constructed with an investment of US $ 103 million. This Lotus Tower will be the latest in the country with seven levels, TRCSL Director General Anusha Palpita told Daily News Business.

The tower is scheduled to be completed within 30 months and will be managed by a public company owned by the TRCSL.

Its shares will be issued to the public once the construction process is completed.

The country has sufficient TV and radio stations to match the frequencies available and we are in the process of re-aligning the radio frequencies to provide a better service to customers. A committee is appointed to study the situation, as at present there are more stations than the country can afford.

“A specialized team of engineers is working on this matter to provide a solution,” he said.

Though there is no room for another mobile service provider the TRCSL will take measures to introduce a player to the market in the event the present mobile industrialists fail to increase broadband penetration in the country.

The TRCSL’s aim is to increase penetration in urban and rural areas, as there is low penetration currently.

The TRCSL is concerned about the broadband speed provided by operators and to ascertain the speed subscribers will have the opportunity of speed testing utility from their own network shortly.

It is in the process of carrying out the initial work on the formulation of a national policy on broadband to enable an effective service, Palpita said.