"But it is very important for all players to look at long-term investment potential, and long-term returns, and long-term benefit to the consumer," he told LBO in an interview on the sidelines of a conference on new generation networks in Colombo.
"Some times, in some markets we have seen that short-term benefit to the consumer in terms of prices which are below cost can result in long-term benefit not being delivered.
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Wijayasuriya was responding to a question on the growing competition in the island's mobile phone market and whether the entry of India's Bharti Airtel, which has triggered a price war, could cause all players to lose money.
Wijayasuriya is also group chief operating officer, of Malaysia's TM International, the parent firm of Dialog Telekom.
Dialog Telek