Dialog Axiata Trials 5G for the First Time in South Asia

Mr. Asanga Priyadarshana, Head of Business - Mobile Telecommunications, Dialog Axiata PLC, Mr. Michael Macdonald, Chief Technical Officer, Huawei South Asia Region, Mr. Shunli Wang, CEO Huawei Lanka, Mr. M. Kingsly Fernando, Actg. Director General of Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka, Mr. Supun Weerasinghe, Director/Group Chief Executive, Dialog Axiata PLC , Mr. Austin Fernando, Secretary to the President and Chairman of Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka, Mr. Todd Ashton, President Ericsson Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Mr. Vinod Samarawickrama, Country Manager Ericsson Sri Lanka & Maldives, Mr. Pradeep De Almeida, Group Chief Technology Officer, Dialog Axiata PLC

Sri Lanka yet again showcased its dominance as the regional hub for telecommunications with Dialog Axiata demonstrating 5G (Generation) Technology for the first time in South Asia, paving the way for next generation wireless connectivity with speeds in excess of 35 Gbps (Gigabits Per Second).

The ground-breaking 5G technology capability trial was carried out by Dialog Axiata with technology partners Ericsson and Huawei at the Dialog Iconic in Colombo, in the presence of Mr. Austin Fernando, Secretary to the President and Chairman of Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka, Mr. Dumindra Ratnayaka, Chairman of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka and Mr. M. Kingsly Fernando, Actg. Director General of Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka. The demonstration established the capabilities of 5G technology to deliver throughputs in excess of 35 Gbps on the 5G Radio (Air) Interface, setting a solid foundation for the future evolution of the nation’s Broadband connectivity to a technology generation well ahead of South Asia. 

During the demonstration, invitees were guided through 5G technology solutions including, Massive MIMO (multiple-input and multiple-output), cloud radio and included futuristic technology applications such as IoT (Internet of Things) based smart parking, Real time 4K video streaming, Industry automation and augmented reality using robots and demonstrations on Digital Business Solutions. 
5G connectivity offers ultra-low latency, which will enable major breakthroughs in areas such as robotics, remote surgery, autonomous transport and next generation entertainment. 

Dialog Broadband in June this year commercially launched 4.5G technology establishing yet another milestone in the region’s broadband technology landscape featuring download speeds in excess of 1Gbps.

In April 2013, Dialog secured the distinction of becoming the first service provider in South Asia to commence commercial operations of mobile 4G-LTE services, having previously introduced 3G to the region as far back as 2006. Dialog’s 4G-LTE networks have since evolved to deliver burst speeds up to 100 Mbps (Megabits Per Second). 

“As Sri Lanka’s leading telecommunications provider, we are excited to conduct the first demonstration of mobile 5G Technology in Sri Lanka. As espoused in our signature, The Future. Today., Dialog is committed towards delivering the very latest in technology and connectivity to Sri Lankans and this 5G trial is a yet another milestone in our journey towards  offering Gigabit speeds with near zero latency that will deliver next generation Broadband and enable industrial applications such as autonomous manufacturing and robotics,” Supun Weerasinghe, Group Chief Executive, Dialog Axiata PLC said.