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| Wednesday, 21 July 2004 |
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Overall phone tariffs to be reduced by end 2004 - D. M. Jayaratne By Shirajiv Sirimane Local telecommunication (landline) tariffs would be reduced by the end of the year assured the Minister of Posts Telecommunication and Udarata Development D. M. Jayaratne. He was addressing a media briefing at the Ceylon Continental hotel on Tuesday. He said that they have already spoken to the seven private land and Mobile operators to allow them to launch additional land line services. Only Sri Lanka Telecom, Suntel and Lanka Bell are allowed to operate fixed lines and the Ministry would now allow private operators to launch land phone systems as well. The Ministry said that this would create stiff competition and it would reduce the overall tariffs. "The SLT has also decided to reduce the land line rates by the end of this year," he said. The Minister said that the government is very keen on providing telecommunication facilities and improve connectivity in rural areas. "This is one reason that I decided to open the fixed line market," he said. The new operators would have to first provide more fixed lines to the rural areas before they decide to provide landlines to lucrative markets in the cities. Private operators have been briefed in this regard and they would submit their proposals on July 26. Over 300,000 people have applied for telephones and at the rate the SLT is progressing it seems a tall order to meet this request. "However, with this scheme we can achieve this target. My aim is to provide one million new connections by the end of the year and clear the backlog and waiting list for new connections," he said. "I will provide more than double the number of connections provided by the previous government by the end of the year," he said. The SLT said that they would also revolutionise the international call market by opening this sector which was only open to a handful of companies under the previous government. This would result in a drop of international call rates as well. The Ministry has also decided to amend the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (TRC) Act, which the Minister said was outdated. "This would also create a more friendly environment for all operators," he said. The issue of Caller Party Paying system (Free incoming calls for cell phones) was also discussed. "However, the earlier proposals had many adverse effects for land line users and we hope to look into this once again," he said. Deputy Minister Rohitha Abeygunawardane said that a special committee would be appointed to bring to book people who were involved in implementing a faulty billing system, which has caused severe problems for the SLT administration. "This is a very serious case of mishandling of public funds," he said. ***** Tilanga resigns on July 29 Minister of Posts Telecommunication and Udarata Development D. M. Jayaratne said that the Chairman of Sri Lanka Telecom Tilanga Sumathipala would tender his resignation to the SLT Board when it meets on July 29. Anil Obeysekera has been appointed new chairman of SLT. |
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