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Private company

Etisalat Sri Lanka

Telecoms company in Sri Lanka

Etisalat (Sinhalese: එටිසලාට් Etisalat; Tamil: எடிசலாட்) (formerly known as Celltel and later Tigo), was a mobile telecommunications network in Sri Lanka. It was owned by the UAE based telecommunications operator Etisalat until December 2018. Etisalat had over 4.2 million customers at the end of February 2012.2 It is headquartered in Colombo.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1989Founded1
  • Industrymobile phone industry, telecommunications industry1
  • HeadquartersColombo1
  • Websitewww.etisalat.lk
  • Slogan“It's about you”1

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Etisalat (Sinhalese: එටිසලාට් Etisalat; Tamil: எடிசலாட்) (formerly known as Celltel and later Tigo), was a mobile telecommunications network in Sri Lanka. It was owned by the UAE based telecommunications operator Etisalat until December 2018. Etisalat had over 4.2 million customers at the end of February 2012. The company announced the commercial launch of Dual Carrier HSPA+ services on 15 August 2012, becoming the first operator in South Asia to do so. In April 2018 CK Hutchison Group and Etisalat Group have entered into a definitive agreement to merge their mobile telecommunications businesses in Sri Lanka. Upon completion of the transaction, CKHH Group will have the majority and controlling stake in the combined entity. CK Hutchison completed the acquisition of Etisalat Lanka on 30 November 2018.2

Corporate structure

Etisalat Sri Lanka is part of a group headed by etisalat. 22 entities, 12 countries on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

  • etisalat Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
    • Etisalat Sri Lanka Colombo
    • Maroc Telecom Subsidiary · 53.09% · Rabat
    • Mobily Subsidiary · 27.99% · Saudi Arabia
    • etisalat Egypt Subsidiary · Cairo
    • Ufone Subsidiary · Islāmābād
    • PTCL Stake · 26% · Islamabad
    • e& International Holding Subsidiary · 100% · United Arab Emirates
    • e& PPF Telecom Group B.V. Subsidiary · 100% · Amsterdam, Netherlands
      • CETIN International N.V. Subsidiary · 100% · Amsterdam, Netherlands
        • CETIN Hungary Zartkoruen Mukodo Reszvenytarsasag (CETIN Hungary Zártkörűen Működő Részvénytársaság) Subsidiary · Törökbálint, Hungary
      • PPF TMT Bidco 1 N.V. Subsidiary · 100% · Amsterdam, Netherlands
        • Yettel Magyarorszag Zartkoruen Mukodo Reszvenytarsasag (Yettel Magyarország Zártkörűen Működő Részvénytársaság) Subsidiary · Törökbálint, Hungary
    • Atlas 2022 Holdings Limited Subsidiary · George Town, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands
    • ETISALAT INTERNATIONAL INDONESIA LIMITED Subsidiary · Dubai, United Arab Emirates
    • Gevora Hotel Owned · Emirate of Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0). Each entity in the chart links to its source.

The story

Celltel and Tigo

Celltel was founded on 18 June 1989 on a Motorola TACS system, becoming the first cellular network in Sri Lanka and 36th operator in world. It was then re-branded by Millicom International in January 2007, as Tigo (Sri Lanka). then it was acquired by Etisalat.

Acquisition by Etisalat

Etisalat acquired Sri Lankan operations of Millicom International (Tigo Sri Lanka). The acquisition was completed with a total enterprise value of 207 Million US$, out of which 155 Million US$ was in cash. Etisalat changed the Operator/Brand Name Tigo to Etisalat on 25 February 2010.

Acquisition by Hutch

In April 2018 CK Hutchison Holdings and Etisalat Group have entered into a definitive agreement to merge their mobile telecommunications businesses in Sri Lanka. Upon completion of the transaction, CKHH Group will have the majority and controlling stake in the combined entity. CK Hutchison completed the acquisition of Etisalat Lanka on 30 November 2018.

From Wikipedia’s article on Etisalat (Sri Lanka), shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Products and brands

  • mobile telephony

Listed on Wikidata.1

Etisalat Lanka operated a GSM/EDGE supported network using 900 / 1800 MHz. The company on 5 May 2011 launched HSPA+ services over 2100 MHz, becoming a LTE ready mobile network in the country. The company announced the commercial launch of DC-HSPA+ service on 15 August 2012, was the first operator in the South Asian region and the 63rd in the world to do so.

From Wikipedia’s article on Etisalat (Sri Lanka), shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. 1989Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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