LIRNEasia says mobile broadband quality is satisfactory in the western province of Sri Lanka

In a recent study, LIRNEasia, a research organization that specializes in information and communication technology (ICT) policy and regulation, revealed that the mobile broadband quality of the two largest carriers in Sri Lanka’s western province, where the capital of the country is located, is satisfactory when compared to international benchmarks.

LIRNEAsia said, “Mobile broadband users in most places in western Province can expect a reasonable quality unless a rare issue like the distance from a tower or a higher number of simultaneous users hinders it,”

The study had been carried out using post-paid SIMS from a moving vehicle. LIRNEasia researchers compared their test results with the promises made by the operators. In any case, if the operator can not be determined, researchers used international standards. The organization did not mention the name of the two carriers on which they conducted the study.

In a statement, Chanuka Wattegama, Senior Research Manager, LIRNEasia said, "We see little reason testing mobile broadband quality from fixed locations. It should be done on the move as that is how it is used……We could have done it from a car, but purposely did it from a bus to examine how conditions beyond our control can affect the performance."

The tests had been carried out on Symbian and Windows CE platforms to meter high speed packet access (HSPA) services provided by the carriers and one mega bytes per second had been used as a benchmark.