VSNL Lanka Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd, on Tuesday said that it has been granted an external gateway operator license by the Telecom Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka.
The EGO license, which was acquired against a license fee of $50,000, will enable VSNL to offer international long distance voice and data services, a company release said in New Delhi.
The company's entry into Sri Lanka will help it tap the 400 million minute ILD market of the country, it said.
The company has already received in principle approval from the Board of Investments as also the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka for the formation of a public limited company.
Commenting on the development, S K Gupta, managing director, VSNL said, "By entering into new markets, we can leverage upon this expertise to grow in the emerging new market and optimise our investments in infrastructure."
"Our infrastructure, which today covers 12 gateways, 47 earth stations and five operational submarine cable systems will help us extend our unmatched quality service offerings to the island of Sri Lanka," Gupta said.
The development follows the recent liberalisation of the Sri Lankan ILD market after the ceasure of Sri Lanka Telecom's monopoly in the country.
This is VSNL's second international venture after United Telecom, a joint venture along with MTNL, Telecom Consultants India Ltd and Nepal Ventures Private Ltd for WLL-based basic services in Nepal.
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