At the moment however interconnect settlement rates between operators are slightly higher at around 1.90 rupees a unit with taxes, he said.
"But interconnect charges broadly balance out, so we will not have to pay out a lot of money," Abeywardene told LBO.
"Price competition on telecom services is getting tougher and the operator that can run the most cost-efficient network will win in the end."
Electroteks has been a pioneer wireless communications firm which has a range of licenses dating back to 1983. It has also fabricated and sometimes exported communications equipments.
Abeywardene says his company already has a fibre-optic network covering the greater Colombo area. Electroteks mostly serves corporate customers and provides international calling card services.
Electroteks is planning to keep cost down by fabricating its own equipment. Even now it is fabricating hardware such as routers and switches for around a quarter of the price paid by other operators, Abeywardene said.
In the first phase of Eletroteks broadband services it would cover greater Colombo and move to cover a coastal stretch starting from Puttalam to Hambantota, Abeywardene said.
Several Sri Lankan telcos are now offering HSPA (high speed packet access) based services with somewhat higher internet download speeds, and voice calling capability as well as Wi-Max.
ADSL (asymmetrical digital subscriber line) services are now priced at just under 20 dollars a month, but Electroteks says it will give higher download speeds.
"We are still working out the pricing. The main factor is the international bandwidth cost," says Abeywardene.
"We already have satellite capacity, but submarine cable costs are lower."
The island is connected to the SEA-ME-WE cables via Sri Lanka Telecom, and to Flag through Lanka Bell, a wireless fixed access provider.
Electroteks has a strong record in providing price competition and has previously been involved in breaking the country's international voice monopoly through internet telephony, using an obscure license it had for 'enhanced voice.'
It is evident that current operators who report whopping profits every quarter and year end in billions of rupees. Crowded or overcrowded it is not a concern for the poor consumer. Concern is price and quality both are being promissed by the sixth player.
No doubt all players must come down on prices to be in the market which is good news for the poor consumers.
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