Dialog, a public company which is market leader, slipped into the red in the third quarter of 2008. Mobitel's accounts, which are consolidated with its parent, are not yet out.
Sri Lanka's four operators, which include unlisted Millicom Cellular International unit Tigo and Hutchison's Hutch, are defending their market share before the entry of India's Bharti, which is expected to compete fiercely on price.
Talk Talk
Before the entry of Bharti, whose launch was originally set for early 2008, but has been delayed, Mobitel started its Upahara package targeting state workers and pensioners with free voice and video calls within the network and all fixed lines during off-peak.
Text messages within the network cost only 25 cents compared to a standard 2.0 rupees elsewhere.
The Upahara pac