Bharti Airtel, a leading global telecommunications company with operations in 17 countries across Asia and Africa, pioneered to assist those who are affected by the recent floods. Anyone can locate a missing Airtel customer through the number 0752443443 to find the last location of their loved ones during the disaster.

As at 01st of June 2017, ninety six (96) people are still missing after the torrential rains wreak havoc across fifteen districts of the Island. Victimized families are at unrest, largely depending on rescue missions to find information about missing people. Airtel rose with their trusted telecommunication facilities to help the affected community to recover from this adverse situation.

The facility aids to locate the missing ones via a SMS sent to Airtel. Airtel requests to SMS, the AIRTEL NUMBER (space) NAME of the missing person to 0752443443 and Airtel will revert to the customer with the last location of the missing person. Based on the location which the specific number was last used, the location is notified to the requester and the missing person will also be notified via SMS.

Concerned about the safety of the nation, Airtel has further initiated a free of charge safety alerts system to inform safe and risk-prone locations to its customers.

Acknowledging the vitality of being connected during an emergency, Airtel managed to restore all the affected towers within days. Airtel dedicated to provide uninterrupted service to its customers by keeping all their networks functioning while letting providing free calls & SMSs and were given higher recharge loans for Airtel user in the disaster areas to stay connected with the loved ones during the nation’s disaster situation.

Apart from the technological support given, Airtel employees volunteered to hand over much needed recovery items for the disaster victims impacting over 5000 members across kalawana, Molkawa, Thalawama and Agalawatte effected communities.

Testimony from Rathnapura: “Airtel network was the only network which was connected during the 3 days of the heavy rain” – Ms. Pavithra Nisansala Wimalasooriya – Asst. Divisional Secretary, Kalawana – Ratnapura District.

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There are many claims in the market of varying internet speeds, the only body authorised to carry out speed test in Sri Lanka the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL), released its latest publication of internet speeds by service providers on their website ( www.trc.gov.lk). Accordingly Airtel recorded the fastest mobile internet service provider in the country recording a maximum data speed of 24.2 Mbps and an average speed of 12.4 Mbps on their 3G network. A position they have held onto since November 2016.

Sri Lankan smart phone user on an average spends 3 hours a day using the internet. TRCSL monthly speed test has become the benchmark by which discerning customers make their choice for an internet service provider. Bharti Airtel Lanka as the Sri Lanka’s fastest 3G internet service provider for the 6th consecutive publications, a feat not achieved by any network since the inception of the speed tests.

Commenting on the on the results, Mr. Jinesh Hegde CEO of Airtel Lanka said, “The use of mobile devices have shifted prominently from making calls to the use of data. We at Airtel having seen these signs a couple of years ago we continuously invested towards amazing customer online experience with the deployment of technologies resulting in a 40% increase in speeds. Our engineers work around the clock to ensure we keep to these standards and it is testament of their hard work. We will continue to improve our online customer experience in keeping with our organization’s mission of enriching lives of our community”

Airtel’s success story lies in its adaptation of advanced technological application to generate high speed data delivery. Airtel incorporates ‘Smart Cache Technology’ which regularly stores the frequently used content of a customer in local servers instead of off shore servers. This method not only enables Airtel to deliver content much faster to customers, as it eliminates external interruptions. In addition, Airtel uses ‘Dual Carrier Technology’ which uses 2 channels for data transfer, doubling the internet speeds to offer hassle-free user experience exclusively for the Airtel customers.

With its focus on delivering an unmatched internet experience for Sri Lankans, Airtel has seen a commendable rise in market share and subscriber base especially among the youth in the country. Recent research studies revealed Airtel to be the preferred mobile network for Sri Lanka’s youth. With further endorsements from social media giant Facebook as the most relevant choice for Sri Lankan youth, Airtel has truly cemented its position as the leading mobile internet service provider in the country.

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For the first time in Sri Lanka customers will be able to purchase apps and other digital content through their Airtel recharges or reloads on Google Play. This Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) service will permit prepaid customers to have their purchases deducted from their remaining balances, while postpaid customers will have their purchases incurred to their monthly phone bill.

Given that the circulation of credit cards is still considerably low, especially among the youth of Sri Lanka. Airtel’s recent collaboration with Google Play will introduce a great alternative to online purchases for those who currently do not have a credit or a debit card. Airtel customers will be the first to be able to purchase digital content from the comfort of their smartphones, reaping the benefits of Airtel’s 40% faster internet and Google Play security. Airtel customers will now have access to millions of paid apps on Google Play store, including new movies, music, educational content and games.

“Although a lot of people are online, their ability to transact has been limited because of the requirement to own a credit card. This alliance will give our customers the ability to do so in a convenient and safe manner.” said Jinesh Hegde, CEO/ MD at Bharti Airtel Lanka. “This is a highly customizable payment solution that gives digital merchants and app stores direct access to mobile operators’ wallet”

Customers can easily activate DCB on their android handsets by adding ‘Use Airtel Billing’ in the payment methods of their Google Play account menu. Once the activation is complete, the user can simply click on ‘Buy’ on their favorite content, select ‘Bill my Airtel account’, and provide their Google account password to confirm the purchase.

To boost customer trust and avoid accidental purchases, DCB comes with a refund option that is visible immediately on the purchased app and lasts for two hours users can keep full track of their DCB purchases via ‘Order History’ in their Google Play account menu.

With many partners to come, Airtel customers are well poised to expand the number of e-commerce services that are supported by operator payment options thus making bookings, appointments, and other services a click away.

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A live chat platform was also launched, allowing customers to interact with Airtel Sales, Customer Service, and Technical Support agents through airtel.lk, ‘My Airtel’ app and on the ‘Airtel life’ Facebook Page & Messenger. The chat platform will provide customers with an ‘anywhere-anytime’ access to support with their package, technical support or any other inquiry related to their Airtel connection.

Further enhancing the subscriber experience, customers can now obtain services and support from over 13,000 outlets spread across Sri Lanka. The Airtel outlets are specifically geared to offer premier services such as mobile data services, reloads and recharges, SIM registration and replacements, and bill payments.

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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — January 12th, 2018: Airtel Lanka celebrated its 10th year in Sri Lanka, unveiling its biggest digital consumer programme – #AirtelThanks to delight its valued customers with exclusive benefits. #AirtelThanks is a first of its kind consumer program that will bring a range of exciting benefits to customers at no additional charge. Some of these would include complementary content access, exclusive recharge deals and attractive partner offers. All these and more will now be available to select Airtel customers throughout the year and the entire experience will be delivered digitally through the My Airtel App.

To commemorate the 10th anniversary, the operator has also rewarded 10 of its the oldest customers with a lifetime of free calls. As a token of appreciation, all the customers who joined the network in the first month of operations in Sri Lanka receive Rs.1000 worth of calling benefit and 10GB worth of data free of charge.

Commenting on this latest and significant milestone, Bharti Airtel Lanka’s Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Jinesh Hegde stated: “We are excited to celebrate an entire decade of Airtel in Sri Lanka. While we have changed the way mobile communications work in the country through the introduction of several innovative services which include the concept of no hidden costs, customised internet packages and handset bundle offers, we have received an amazing love and support from the people of Sri Lanka. And thanks to their support, Airtel has become one of the most successful international brands to be established in Sri Lanka in terms of connectivity and accessibility across the Country.”

“#AirtelThanks is our biggest initiative to celebrate our relationships with customers. This is also a win-win programme for our customers and partners as it gives brands the opportunity to reach customers with highly targeted offerings,” he added.

Along with the commitment towards enhancing Airtel’s network presence across Sri Lanka and continuing to work towards new ways of delivering a seamless network experience to customers, Hegde further stated: “We are thankful to the customers and channel partners who have been with us for the last 10 years. We hope to continue our customer-centric approach with innovative solutions, catering to the needs of the people whilst delivering on our promises hinged on reliability, affordability and accessibility.”

As part of this extensive expansion project, Airtel will continue to deploy robust and world-class network infrastructure and equipment to strengthen its customers’ high-speed data connectivity and mobile internet experience. Airtel has been consistently investing towards Sri Lanka’s critical infrastructure and the telco’s comprehensive network offers unbeatable coverage in urban, suburban and rural pockets across all districts of the country.

Airtel’s impact in the country has not only seen the introduction of affordable technology paired with critical infrastructure but has also provided direct and indirect employment opportunities for over 60,000 citizens island-wide.

Photo caption:
Saumya Narain – Executive Committee of Airtel Sri Lanka rewarding long-standing customers since their inception.

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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The Buffer Free Data Network; Bharti Airtel Lanka (“Airtel”), is looking to ignite the cricketing landscape with an island wide hunt for Sri Lanka’s fastest bowler. ‘Airtel’s Fastest’ will commence on the 23rd of Feb and will be holding fast bowling auditions across the country; looking to finally unearth Sri Lanka’s fastest Amateur, School Boy and Female in the country.

Commenting at the launch, Minister of Sports, Harin Fernando said “This was something I was deliberating putting together, and am grateful that Airtel stepped up with this timely initiative. There is a lot of undiscovered talent across Sri Lanka, all looking for a way to make their dreams of playing for the national team a reality. ‘Airtel’s Fastest’ is a great opportunity for them and I am confident we will unearth a few stars who will represent the country with distinction.”

Anyone between the ages of 16 – 24 can participate in the open auditions, which will kick off in February 2019 covering, Jaffna, Pollonnaruwa, Batticaloa, Matara, Badulla, Ruwanwella, Gampaha, Kurunegala, Kandy, Horana and Colombo. A hundred fast bowlers will be selected from these trials and will be then put through a coaching camp with Airtel’s ‘Super Star coaching team’ consisting of Lasith Malinga, Anusha Samaranayake and Chaminda Vaas. After which they will be put through a series of challenges to select the fastest in each category.

“Airtel has always stood for youth empowerment, we believe in bringing an exciting platforms and opportunities to showcase and develop their talents. ‘Airtel’s Fastest’ is another example. We’ve invested in some of the best fast bowling coaching talent in the world, and are sure the young boys and girls will benefit from their experience”. We are also exited to announce that the entire talent hunt will be turned into a 20 episode TV reality show with the help of our partners in this project Derana TV” said Mr Jinesh Hegde CEO of Bharti Airtel Lanka.

Bowling legends of the Sri Lankan Cricket team too, took the opportunity in highlighting the importance of initiating local competitions such as “Airtel’s fastest” and how this will impact in building up much stronger national cricket teams in Sri Lanka, in both men and women sectors.

Highlighting the opportunities it creates in powering up the future national cricket team of Sri Lanka, Right arm fast bowling legend and brand ambassador, Lasith Malinga said “At a time when Sri Lanka is in need of fresh talent at national level, this initiative made by Bharti Airtel Lanka is a golden ticket for the young bowlers of Sri Lanka to come into the limelight. I urge all budding fast bowlers to come forward and grab this opportunity with both hands.”

Details of trial locations and dates as well as applications for the competition can be found on Airtel’s facebook page ‘airtellife’. The organisers have also ensured that registrations can be done on the day of the event at the locations. Participants are urged to bring along some kind of photo identification when registering.

Photo caption:
Saumya Narain – With the presence of Sports Minister Harin Fernando, the past and present Cricketers challenge budding fast bowlers to come strike fear into batsmen at the launch of ‘Airtel’s fastest’ with Derena TV.

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Illustrating the Company’s leadership prowess, Airtel Lanka clinched the ‘Company with Great Managers’ title as well as three individual awards for the second consecutive year at the Great Manager Awards 2018 held at the Kingsbury Hotel recently. The Company’s Head of Business Intelligence Rumal Warnakulasuriya, Head of Brand Strategy and Corporate Communications Charith De Chickera and Zonal Business Manager, Shamil Amit received accolades for their leadership skills and performance. The Great Manager Awards identifies, assess and recognize the managerial and leadership quotient of exceptional managers in organisations, providing an avenue for mangers to benchmark with the best, ascertain their strengths, provide guidance for development and enable them to become the best in their domain.

Commenting on the prestigious accolades, Bharti Airtel Lanka CEO/MD Jinesh Hegde said, “The recognition we received at the Great Manager Awards 2018 is testament to the organization’s continuous commitment and efforts in people development. The awards recognize and honour the caliber of our managers and the success of the ‘Lead Right’ programme which is the flagship people manager development programme of Airtel. Through fostering more great managers with specific training and development interventions, we envisage the growth and development of a dynamic and effective leadership pipeline across our organization.”

Great Manager Awards select winners based on a global research-based model known as R-OPTI. The model evaluates management style, focus on results, execution, people management, building team effectiveness and integrity of leaders. A global HR management initiative that revolves around identifying and rewarding inspiring and effective leaders in managerial positions, the Great Manager Awards foster a culture of improving performance capabilities and business acumen of management bodies in organisations.

Photo caption:
Charith De Chickera, Rumal Warnakulasuriya and Shamil Amit receiving the Great Manager awards. Jinesh Hegde-CEO of Airtel Lanka receiving the award for the company with Great Managers

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Unlimited voice calls for Rs 98 from today

Colombo, June 25, 2019: In a move that is set to revolutionize the telecom industry, Airtel Lanka has introduced a new product offering unlimited voice calls. With a price point of Rs 98, many industry analysts see this as something that will create real traction among telecom consumers.

Positioned as ‘the Katha Bus,’ the new product will further simplify Airtel’s prepaid proposition and addresses customers’ need for affordability, convenience and simplicity. The recharge pack is priced at Rs. 98 with a validity period of 30 days making it much more affordable than most essentials in the current context.

With the introduction of the new pack, Airtel customers can make unlimited calls to loved ones on their Airtel mobiles. The affordable pack is suited for heavy callers, reflecting Airtel’s promise to enhance customer experience, offer a complete smartphone experience, and help subscribers to always stay connected.

In addition to unlimited Airtel calls, the recharge card offers up to 1,000 SMS’s and 100 MB of data for free with a validity period of 30 days. The plan was designed to accommodate customer needs for all mobile services to be built into a single recharge pack. By catering to the needs of its customers and delivering on its promise to provide affordable services, Airtel Lanka hopes to continue its customer-centric approach with the launch of many more innovative solutions.

Airtel has always been innovative and unique in its customer offerings, constantly striving to revolutionise the industry. With the launch of the new product, Airtel once again lives up to its reputation.

Jinesh Hegde, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Bharti Airtel Lanka said, “Our customers crave for uninterrupted connectivity to support their busy lifestyle. This revolutionary recharge pack is designed to truly simplify the customer experience and offer great value to anyone. Customers no longer have to curtail voice calling in order to save money.”

He further noted, ”Additionally, with the rise of smartphones in Sri Lanka, consumers won’t necessarily have to go for higher-priced plans in order to enjoy their devices.”

The recharge packs will be available islandwide at any Airtel Store and can be activated via the MyAirtel App, by logging into facebook.com/airtellife/ or https://recharge.airtel.lk/.

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Illustrating the company’s inspiring and conducive working environment, Airtel Lanka has been recognised as a ‘Top 25 Best Workplace’ for the third time by the independent analysts, Great Place to Work Institute. Airtel Lanka has set in place a trust based, empowering relationship; a winning formula for both the company and its employees. Great Place to Work Sri Lanka conducts an anonymous employee survey, an evaluation of people practices and an in-depth culture audit prior to bestowing the credential of Great Place to Work on any company.

“Airtel’s promise is ‘an enabling work environment and an enriching work experience’ which are essential components of a great workplace. The workplace culture at Airtel Sri Lanka is a part of our legacy and is influenced by the notion that a company is only as good as its people.” commented Head of Human Resources at Airtel Lanka, Kanishka Ranaweera.

Building on the values of being ‘Alive, Inclusive and Respectful’, Airtel’s culture respects diversity and promotes equal opportunity for all. Airtel practices an open office culture where even the CEO sits amongst employees, promoting a culture of collaboration. The company upholds equality through open and transparent people practices including the availability of an independent ombudsman based offshore.

Airtel has developed a unique approach to executing the company’s business strategy which is driven by 22 cross functional project teams. This helps to eliminate the fragmented department mentality enabling all employees to pursue a collective goal and be accountable.

“We strive to drive innovation and technology to make telecommunication services accessible and useful to everyone. And We have recognized that in order to achieve that level of success, we have to consistently set the pace for a great work place and prepare for future needs.” commented Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Lanka, Jinesh Hegde.

Airtel provides flexible working arrangements to employees which include flexible hours, a relaxed dress code and sabbatical leave. Women are entitled to 26 weeks of maternity leave, above the legal requirement and also provide paternity leave and adoption leave.

Moreover, Airtel actively promotes Women in Management and accommodate the varying needs of modern working women. The company’s most recent initiative provides training opportunities for the differently abled individuals in collaboration with the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon.

Concluding the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Lanka, Jinesh Hegde added “Our People have always been our ultimate differentiator. In an Industry where everything else is generic, our success has continuously been our People. It’s only owing to them we are who we are – a Best Place to Work”.

Great Place to Work, headquartered in the USA, is the global authority on high-trust, high-performance workplace cultures. Through proprietary assessment tools, advisory services, and certification programs, including Best Workplaces lists and workplace reviews, Great Place to Work provides the benchmarks, framework, and expertise needed to create, sustain, and recognise outstanding workplace cultures. Great Place to Work provides executive advisory and culture consulting services to businesses, non-profits, and government agencies in over 57 countries across five continents, including Sri Lanka.

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