100% broadband facility to 10 districts by end of year

By Ifham Nizam

Sri Lanka targets USD 3 million in foreign investment into developing the country’s rural digital infrastructure by 2024, Director-General of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) Oshada Senanayake said.

He  said usually Sri Lanka got USD 1.5 million per year and expecting USD 1.8 million in the current year.

The DG TRC said they were already constructing the required communication pylons to take IT technology to rural areas by meeting fifty per cent of the cost from TRC funds.Before the end of the year ten Districts would have 100 per cent broadband cover and by end of 2022 the entire country would have the facility, he said.

Senanayake pointed out that although the communication towers under construction were previously imported from foreign countries, they had now been able to empower a new economic sector by producing them locally. Although the fixtures in the coverage area are currently used for 4G technology, they are designed to be compatible with 5G technology with the upcoming technological revolution.

He also said that through fibre technology school and university study facilities would be further strengthened. Currently Sri Lanka was one of the country’s which provides data at a cheaper rate, he added.Citing examples, he said a classroom at Royal College, Colombo could be connected to school at Siybalaanduwa, so that students at both places could gain the same information at the same time. He said communication was a powerful factor in the national economy, and it was President’s vision to implement a programme aimed at boosting the national economy through the growth of telecommunications.Senanayake also said mobile phone subscribers will be able to retain their number when changing telecom service providers under the Mobile Number Portability (MNP) Service facility.He said that in that regard they had sought advice from Pakistan Regulatory Commission as they were one of the best in the region.According to the DG of TRCSL, preliminary steps in that regard were taken last year and legal approval had been given to enable this facility to the customers.Accordingly, MNP enables mobile subscribers to retain their mobile numbers when switching from one service provider to another.