Oslo, Norway and Colombo, Sri Lanka – May 28, 2008
Opera Software, the leading provider of Web browsing solutions, today announced that Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel, the national mobile services provider, has chosen to distribute Opera Mini to its client base of over one million subscribers. Now, Mobitel customers can access all their favorite Web sites without the need to change their handsets.
Last year, Mobitel announced its decision to invest in additional mobile communications infrastructure for the launch of its super 3.5G services branded as M3, and further extend its GSM capacity and coverage. With the commercial launch of M3 in December 2007, Mobitel hopes to cater to the more sophisticated needs of its subscribers by presenting them with uncompromised access to the full Internet on their handsets.
Opera Mini is designed to run on any mobile phone and offers superior performance in environments with limited memory and CPU resources. With a cumulative user base of more than 44 million, Opera Mini is built on Opera’s industry leading browser technology and is the world’s most popular mobile Web browser.
“We believe in Internet on the go,” says Suren J. Amarasekera, CEO of Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel. “Compressing bulky websites into mobile-friendly sites will definitely boost Sri Lanka’s Internet penetration. We have already launched a series of campaigns on a national scale to promote Internet not only to the busy urban society but also to rural population, for the development of our country. I have strong faith that Opera Mini will shoulder a tremendous responsibility in achieving this task.”
“Consumer demand for mobile Web access in Sri Lanka has seen tremendous growth recently,” says Jon von Tetzchner, CEO, Opera Software. “There are several well-known factors contributing to this growth, as well as projections of future growth, such as the low penetration of fixed telephone lines as well as PCs and Internet access. The availability of Opera Mini on Mobitel further boosts mass market adoption of the mobile Web while delivering an innovative browsing experience to users on any device, anywhere.”
Opera Mini brings the full Web experience. People can now enjoy instant access to Websites from any location and any device. With Opera Mini, users enjoy a desktop-like browsing experience which displays Web pages as they are meant to be seen. Advanced features like Opera Zoom provide a more intuitive browsing experience. In addition, Opera Mini utilizes Opera’s compression technology to pre-process and compress Web pages by up to 90% before sending them to mobile phones, resulting in faster page downloads without compromising end user experience, at the same time, keeping download costs under control. Now users can browse all their favorite Web sites just like they do on their PC without acquiring huge costs.
Mobitel customers can download Opera Mini to their mobile phones by visiting mini.opera.com/mobitel.
About Mobitel
Sri Lanka Telecom Mobitel, the National Mobile Services Provider, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sri Lanka Telecom. In January 2004, the company launched its fully-fledged 2.5G GSM network that is EDGE/GPRS enabled and designed to operate on dual band. In December 2007 the company launched its 3.5G HSPA network which is the first and only Super 3.5G network in South Asia. Investments committed to date in its 3.5G/2.5G networks and service offering totals over US$ 200 mn and is set to increase its present 1000+ base stations to 1500 base stations by the end of the first half 2008.
For more information, please visit www.mobitel.lk