Dialog Deploys Mobile IoT Across Sri Lanka

Dialog Axiata has aggressive plans to roll out LTE-M and NB-IoT across  Sri Lanka. By the end of the first quarter of 2018, Dialog upgraded its entire LTE network to support LTE-M using the 1800MHz band, thereby providing coverage for 66% of the country’s population. Dialog will  also roll out NB-IoT in the 900MHz band and expects to achieve 70% population coverage by the end of the third quarter of 2018.

Dialog anticipates that Mobile IoT technologies will enable a wide range of new use cases and industry solutions, including power distribution network monitoring, smart electricity metering, smart waste disposal and connected wearable devices for consumers. The availability  of sufficient low cost NB-IoT chipsets and modules will spur significant  deployments in the utilities sector.

Developing consumer and enterprise propositions

As Dialog advances from pilot projects towards the commercial launches, plans to promote key features of the Mobile IoT technologies, including long battery life, high reliability, enhanced coverage and secure connectivity. Tariff plans for consumers will bundle the data and device costs, while enterprise solutions will include implementation fees and annual or monthly maintenance fees, as well as the connectivity.

Although the availability of modules and chipsets that are compatible with the 900MHz and 1800MHz bands will determine the rate of adoption, Dialog is confident that the number of NB-IoT connections will grow steadily by the fourth quarter of 2018.

In 2018, Dialog plans to build channel and device partnerships in the consumer IoT sector, before testing the market with targeted product launches with these device partners. In the enterprise IoT space, Dialog is working on multiple government initiatives to develop smart city solutions and working with enterprises across multiple vertical sectors, including retail, agriculture, smart buildings and logistics, to develop a wide array of IoT solutions.