SLT-MOBITEL, the National ICT, Telecommunications and Mobile Services Provider, is proud to announce its partner ANANKE IoT Services (Pvt) Ltd has been conferred a Gold award under the ‘Start-up of the Year – IT Category’ at the 16th Annual 2021 IT World Awards. Organizers of the world’s premier business awards programs and business ranking lists, The Globee® Awards; recognised ANANKE IoT’s Smart Bins Project, powered by NB-IoT technology from SLT-MOBITEL, the undisputed leader of IoT services and related digital transformation in Sri Lanka.

SLT-MOBITEL’s NB-IoT network enables the entire device connectivity chain of the Smart Bins Project and is Sri Lanka’s only such network to-date. NB-IoT is the GSMA standard for Low-Power-Wide-Area Internet of Things connectivity, which is particularly suited to ensure the battery life of a sensor extends to up to 10 years. As the only telco to offer this advanced technology in Sri Lanka, SLT-MOBITEL was perfectly positioned to support ANANKE IoT Services for quick deployment of its Smart Bins solution. This is the first large-scale NB-IoT enabled hardware project in Sri Lanka and utilizes, ANANKE IoT’s in-house built proprietary platform. (SLT)

Furthering its efforts to ensure that no child is left behind in continuing their education, Dialog Axiata Group, Sri Lanka’s premier connectivity provider, extended free access to its education bouquet Nenasa Sinhala, Nenasa Tamil and Guru TV channels through Dialog Television and ViU App.

Despite the learning loss that ensued the pandemic, Dialog remains committed in its resolve to ensuring that children across the country have equitable access to education. Both Dialog Television prepaid and postpaid customers can access these channels for free. Nenasa Sinhala (Ch. 24) and Nenasa Tamil (Ch. 25) cover grade 3 to 13 Government syllabi, while Guru TV (Ch. 22) covers grade 5 to 13 Government syllabi, all conducted by qualified teachers with immersive, engaging and innovative teaching techniques. Furthermore, this education channel bouquet and over 160 supplementary lessons and educational content can also be accessed via ViU App on any smartphone, ViU Hub and ViU Mini for free, without any data charges on the Dialog network.

Commenting, Chirantha De Zoysa, Head of Business – Dialog Television said, “Extending Nenasa Sinhala, Nenasa Tamil and Guru TV education channels for free is part of our overarching efforts in providing schoolchildren across the country with equitable access to education to achieve their aspirations. While the pandemic has magnified the disparities in education and underscored the importance of inclusive education, Dialog remains resolute in continuing to bridge this gap.”

This is yet another initiative by Dialog in its continued efforts of supporting students across the country with their educational endeavours. In addition to this initiative, Dialog powers a range of educational platforms under the Nenasa initiative; Nenasa TV, Nenasa Smart School, Nenasa App and the toll-free Nenasa 1916 distance learning helpline. Dialog also endeavoured to provide 100,000 schoolchildren in need with Data Scholarships under the ‘NanaDiri Data Scholarship’ programme to facilitate their online learning from home. Furthermore, the company extended free access without any data charges to e-Thaksalawa, the National Learning Content Management System (LCMS)/Learning Management System (LMS) and to all official e-Learning platforms of State Universities under the purview of the University Grants Commission.

Allianz Insurance Limited (Allianz Lanka) has entered into an agreement with HSBC Sri Lanka to offer the bank’s affluent customers two world-class insurance products with flexible 0% installment plans, namely Global Health Medical Insurance that provides high quality healthcare services worldwide, and Student Companion to provide insurance solutions for students travelling overseas for education. These new offerings are part of a 10-year exclusive bancassurance distribution agreement signed between the Allianz Group and HSBC covering key markets in Asia such as Australia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan and Sri Lanka.

In recent times, increases in the cost of living and unexpected medical expenses due to the pandemic, have put pressure on many customers and their families. Due to these uncertainties, customers are looking for the assurance of a safety net, which protects their loved ones, both locally and overseas. Value added services such as international family care support with access to advice from overseas doctors/international care specialists have proven to be even more valuable today for customers.