ICT

High speed wirless data services to rural masses:

Dialog expands in rural areas

QUALCOMM Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM), a leading developer and innovator of advanced wireless technologies and data solutions, announced the launch of its Wireless Reach(tm) initiative in Sri Lanka through the opening of a Last Mile Initiative (LMI) Center in Wennappuwa.

The center, known as Easy Seva, is one of 15 that will be launched in the country with support from QUALCOMM, Dialog Telekom, the U.S.

Agency for International Development (USAID), the National Development Bank (NDB) and Synergy Strategies Group (SSG), which, through a bulk purchase package of equipment, software, content and services, have created a new, market-driven approach to establish rural community-based centers.

The centres will carry the name of this unique Easy Seva brand and are expected to provide unprecedented quality of service to the communities they serve.

The goal of the Easy Seva centres is to develop entrepreneurs in the Information Communications Technology (ICT) sector in Sri Lanka by deploying 3G mobile broadband Internet service at the village level and enabling them to offer access to affordable ICT-enabled services and content.

The centers are enabled with 3G mobile broadband connectivity based on Dialog’s HSDPA network.

They will employ an innovative franchise approach, which will aim to create a profitable and sustainable business model for extending ICT services and connectivity to rural consumers.

“We are very pleased to be partnering with Dialog Telekom and USAID on our Wireless Reach initiative to empower rural communities in Sri Lanka,” said Kanwalinder Singh, president of QUALCOMM India and SAARC.

“We congratulate Dialog Telekom for being the first operator in the SAARC region to launch HSDPA for rural applications.

It reaffirms that 3G HSDPA has the versatility to deliver next-generation services to all consumers, rural and urban, while offering a compelling business opportunity for operators and rural entrepreneurs” he said.

The Easy Seva centers also will help rural residents to acquire employment skills through online training, explore new job opportunities, receive micro-loans and other banking services, as well as to call relatives and friends overseas at low rates.

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SLT - FOGSL Sinharaja project continues

Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) is proud to take the lead in being a responsible corporate citizen through the implementation of its ‘Preserving Heritage for Tomorrow,’ programme, for the second consecutive year. The programme focuses on creating awareness on conservation of the Sinharaja Forest Reserve, which features a trip to the forest reserve, scheduled for the third week of each month, covering three days.

Thus far, a total of nine schools have participated in this pioneering programme, with 180 students and 45 teachers being given the opportunity to expand their knowledge on the importance of conservation and on the high level of bio diversity, a range of topographic and climatic variations as well as the remarkable proportion of endemic species the Sinharaja Forest Reserve has to offer.

SLT has partnered with the Field Ornithology Group of Sri Lanka (FOGSL), which is attached to the University of Colombo for the implementation of the programme, with schools being selected from across the island, regardless of language, community and stream of education.

Over the duration of the project for two years, the Kelaniya Kurugala Maha Vidyalaya; Badulla Madya Maha Vidyalaya; Holy Heart Girls Convent, Galle; Yasothara Devi GirlsSchool, Gampaha; Ratnawali Girls School, Gampaha; Lankagama Madya Maha Vidyalaya, Sinharaja; Gamini Madya Maha Vidyalaya, Kalawana; Kadawatha Madya Maha Vidyalaya and the Weerasekera Maha Vidyalaya, Pussallawa have been involved in the programme.

“We are very proud of our involvement for the continuous implementation of this project with a company that has no qualms in asserting its role as a responsible corporate citizen.

The results of this programme have been amazing, with one school per month being taken on a trip to the Sinharaja Forest Reserve. SLT is willing to incorporate taking more schools in to the forest reserve per month but we need to match up with our resources.

I deeply appreciate SLT’s promotion of conservation as a social obligation as it showcases their commitment to preserving the natural heritage of Sri Lanka,” Professor Sarath Kotagama, renowned ornithologist expert as well a leader of the FOGSL team said.

SLT believes that along-term initiative of this nature, whose primary objective is to create attitudinal change towards conservation through awareness on the core values of the country’s bio diversity, goes a long way in reaching out to the future generation.

This prrogramme gears up and uplifts the capabilities as well as the creativity of students in diversified tracks, while providing awareness on preserving nature for tomorrow.

Students have the opportunity to learn skills needed for photography, team spirit, leadership, creative writing, observation, time management, drawing, documentary compiling, and environmental awareness among others.

Students have the opportunity to improve as well as supplement skills such as time management, team spirit, leadership as the group is divided into four teams and are led by a student, sharing of limited facilities such as wash rooms, bed and food, punctuality through attending and completing scheduled sessions on time, gaining knowledge on photographic skills, documentation and presentation skills, working hard towards giving their best performance with everyone contributing towards the completion of assignments at a group level as well as encouraging different personal presentation skills such as writing, composition of poems, drawing and patchwork.

SLT as a company renowned for leading the nation through world-class high tech communication infrastructure as well as the premier telecommunication provider in the country is proud to be in the forefront in promoting nature conservation.

The company has been committed to the conservation through awareness, under its overall project ‘Preserving Heritage for Tomorrow,’ for years and it is an integral part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative.

It has published its annual calendars as well as diaries and desktop calendars with a focus on creating awareness on its heritage among the general public.

Through its commitment to making a difference, SLT contributes heavily towards broad areas of reform by providing invaluable service to schoolchildren across the country as well as helping in the development of the future generation, especially with their academic pursuits and creation of knowledge.

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Broadband Congress begins tomorrow

The debut of the first ever South Asia Broadband Congress and Expo 2007 is scheduled to take place from 5-6 September at the Cinnamon Grand Colombo. Sri Lanka Telecom is partner sponsor and US based Technology Networking International (TNI), LLC, and Technik Research, LTD are the principal organisers.

M. Z. Saleem GM Consumer Market Development, SLT says that this Congress will be the ideal networking opportunity for carriers, content owners and suppliers of broadband technology. “This forum will show them exactly how to do that,” he added.

“Congress brings together industry thought leaders in the global broadband arena and is a must for companies aiming to spearhead such innovation.”

Congress 2007 will feature industry experts at the forefront of content development and also provide information, insights and solutions for a wide range of developments that are critical to application and content developers.

Along with the biggest industry names, exhibiting companies and organizations will also encompass new technology segments and growth regions from around the world.

Dr. Zoran Milanic President Technology Networking International (TNI), LLC, says that the Sri Lanka telecommunication industry is one of the best performing sectors of the economy and that the Congress is strongly supported by many economic associations and government institutions.

Congress will provide the venue for sharing the experience among the telecom operators and internet service providers in South Asia region, promote the broadband technology benefits to the end users, and educate participants on the number of aspects of this complex technology.