Latest IT technologies from Siemens targeted for Lanka

Shirajiv SIRIMANE

IT: Sri Lankan communication and IT industry development is far ahead of the other countries in the region and due to this FLASH OFDM 450MHz, one of the latest technologies from Siemens Networks, which was introduced to the world recently, is to be brought in to Sri Lanka soon.

Sri Lanka was also the first country to introduce 3G technology even ahead of India.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa has said on many occasions that the IT literacy in the country is far below its

 potential and due to this has launched programmes such as Nena Selas to increase this. A nation with high literacy is also a pledge in the Mahinda Chintana.

Chief Executive Officer of Siemens Networks Malaysia Joe Doering said one of the main reasons for developing countries to fall behind on IT literacy is because rural telephony penetration is very low which has resulted in E-Learning being only confined to the main cities.

Doering said the FLASH OFDM 450MHz, has the ability to deliver high speed internet unlike some of the systems that are being used and this would lead to increased E learning.

“In addition people in rural areas can receive basic voice and data connectivity previously not available through this technology,” he said.

FLASH OFDM 450MHz technology can bring tremendous economic advantages to many developing countries in Asia, including Sri Lanka.

“Many governments are taking note of the power of wireless technology because they are beginning to realise that only with wireless connections can the outer parts of their countries gain connectivity to the rest of the world”.

“Another advantage of Siemens FLASH OFDM is that in addition to its high-speed, mobile broadband wireless access is that it gives greater coverage and features low signal loss properties which will result in fewer base stations to cover a larger area compared to other wireless technologies.

This makes FLASH OFDM highly suited for use in suburban and rural areas in the country.

“It also makes the new solution much more cost-effective for mobile networks operators to implement, thus translating to greater savings for end users.”

An official of the Telecom Regulatory Commission said that they always encourage new technology to come to Sri Lanka and this FLASH OFDM 450MHz would be an ideal tool for mobile operators to increase their penetration mainly in the rural areas.

FLASH OFDM is a proven wireless broadband access technology that has been used in various countries such as the United States of America, Finland and Slovakia.