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| Thursday, 22 January 2004 |
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Improved communication network confined to city limits - Telecom official By Shirajiv Sirimane Though much has been spoken about improving the communication in Sri Lanka, the basic mode of communication still seems to be confined only to the City limits in Colombo, a Telecom official said. Former Minister of Posts and Telecommunications and Media, Mangala Samaraweera introduced the concept of tele-shops mainly to service all communications' needs of the public. However since the peace accord there is not a single Tele-shop listed for the North East Province and many say that this area has been ignored. The last three tele-shops to be opened were in Beruwela, Ja ela and Kotte where the mode of communication is high. Similarly, the global communication highway, Internet, too is confined to the city limits. A person could access Internet in Colombo around Rs. 50 per hour. However, it is around Rs. 300 per hour out of Colombo. The main reason is that most of the leased and ADSL lines are issued only in Colombo. In Matara, one has to pay Rs. 5 per hour for logging into the net. If a person is simply using a computer to type a document the communication centre charges Rs. 4 though there is no cost for the owner. Former Vice President, Agency Post Office Association and Director Rama Agencies Ratnapura, Sunil Illeperuma said that an Internet cafe charges around Rs. 300 per hour in Ratnapura. "This is because the communication centres cannot afford to take a lease line which is Rs. 25,000 and ADSL lines are available only in selected places in Colombo." The Internet providers in rural areas offer the service through a dial up connection where the user has to pay the telephone bill (Rs. 440 per minute) as well as the monthly Internet fee. None of the tele-shops owned by Sri Lanka Telecom which provides telephone and internet connections offer internet facilities and the public has to go to a private communication centre where the charges are very high. "If one is talking about an E Sri Lanka program a computer and Internet should be within the reach of the public. "Even in Colombo the service is provided only by the private sector. It is a joke to talk about an E -Sri Lanka program without giving the public cheaper Internet access. If the government could introduce Internet facilities at Tele-shops and post offices this problem could be minimised," he said. |
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