Telecommunication is driving growth:

Are you geared to cope with 2020 speed?

Charmaine Fernando

Telecommunication technology had elbowed out other technologies to propel itself forward as the most impacting medium of connection which is the most innovative and revolutionary power of the future. Without innovation, nothing changes; without change, nothing progresses. Without progress a nation loses its chances for survival.

Realizing this universal truth, Sri Lankan leaders and visionaries have come up with exacting strategies to build up its telecommunications in line with progressive nations. Due to this far sighted vision we are on the way to becoming a remarkable nation in the region; the wonder of Asia.

Telecommunication is key to progress

With a population of almost 7 billion today the world is forging ahead with new innovations in technology, especially in the telecommunications field. With population growth it would otherwise be hard to connect the world and work in unison in a smooth flow without being hampered with undue delays.

The developed countries are expanding their telecommunications network in leaps and bounds. How quickly can the rest of the world catch up with world technology leaders?

With a mere 21,324, 791 population according to 2009 statistics, Sri Lanka, spread in an area of 65, 610 sq. km is comparatively doing good, sitting pretty on the map of advanced telecommunications for its people to connect and grow as a world economy in its own right.

With 1,163, 500 Internet users recorded in September 2009 it is interesting to note that we boast 5.5 percent penetration per ITU, relatively high percentage in comparison to the countries in the South Asian region.

Besides there have been an upsurge in broadband subscribers, amounting to 101,900 per ITU as recorded in December 2009. which is encouraging for a tiny island nation.

Internet key to economic growth

A consensus is emerging that high-speed Internet, like a telephone, should be available to every Sri Lankan.

But how many are willing to pay to fund those rural lines? Without government subsidies, telephone companies might never have expanded service to far-flung corners of the country, where the cost of building a phone line for a few remote houses would otherwise not be worth the trouble.

The same goes for broadband service. North and East are just two districts where broadband availability could improve drastically over the next 10 years. But extending it to rural parts of the country also requires heavy investment in the form of foreign fund to the government.

Currently, phone companies nationwide are investing heavily, taking the burden upon them to install the telecommunication towers.

It has become a kind of heavy competition among the local and foreign investors in the mobile telecommunications and landlines telephones companies to compete with each other to be the most wide spread services and clearest reception provider.

However the competition is extremely healthy creating a platform for the consumer to have a wide choice of services at pocket easy spend.

Speeding up growth

Broadband Speed in 2020 would be an ubiquitous one gigabit-per-second speed, fast enough to download a feature-length high-definition movie in minutes and about five times faster than what’s envisioned. Sooner than later, within the next 24 months, it is expected that bustling cities the calibre of Los Angeles and New York, Tokyo and New Delhi, Brussels and Stokholm, Beijing and London, Sydney and Toronto, even Mexico and Colombo may turn into high-speed broadband meccas, as an experiment to understand the possibilities of universally available fast connections.

Media hype or publicity stunt, Google has announced that they will wire the chosen towns in USA with high-speed fiber lines and invite developers to dream up applications to harness them.

It is interesting note that dynamic entities have risen to the occasion and have already expressed interest in the pilot program at the onset to earn an early edge.

Google initiative

Google’s initiative would offer a speed to everyone — one gigabit per second — that the FCC has otherwise targeted for hospitals, libraries, and other “core institutions.” It’s far beyond what most Internet users would ever need, but Google’s premise is that if it builds such a network, innovators will dream up applications simply not conceivable with today’s pipes.

News critics say even a 10th of that speed could support a futuristic video-conferencing session in which multiple participants interacted as holograms, their likenesses beamed from video projectors lining the room. It’d be like having a virtual cocktail party, some insist. It’s no fairytale stuff nor space fiction but a possibility at the rate telecommunication industry is skyrocketing.

We are exceedingly emerging in to the fashionable virtual 3D space films in reality minus the proverbial jackets of its famous hero material. It would seem a dream; but it’s obviously some visionary dream, dreamt under the brain stimulating water, is being made in to a reality, shrinking the entire globe in to tennis ball in one’s hand.

What is awe inspiring about the whole episode is, it’s happening within our lifetime and we will be stars in the cast, live whether we ever had starry eyes or not; with or without makeover!

Internet is spearheading growth

Against the latest world population statistics of 2010, the entire globe holds a 6,825, 094,396 population while it’s interesting to note that a good 360,985,492 or 28.7 percent are hooked on the Internet.

Asia has an astounding 21.5 percent penetration in to its 3,834,792,852 population while North America with a population of 344,124,450 scores a staggering number one position boasting a 77.4 percent Internet savvy citizenry.

It is not a revelation to find that Africa with its astounding 1,031,770,050 population stands at the end of the line with the lowest technology penetration power of a mere 10.9 percent behind Asia’s 21.5 percent.

According to the statistics Europe is in a far satisfactory stance in the grasp of new technology penetrating in to 58.4 percent of its 475.069.448 population while Australia and Oceania with its 34,700, 201 small population numbers have absorbed a good 61.3 percent in to the progressive highway of the Internet.

Latin American and the Caribbeans record a 34.5 percent Internet savvy population from among its whole of 204, 689, 836 people. Despite the oil rich power of the Middle East only a 29.8 percent are recorded as internet hooked against their 212, 336,924 population.

The world network

Considering the number of heads netted in to the Internet Asia hold the number one position while Australia and Oceania is pushed to the end of the line with a mere 1.1 percent persons against the world’s 100 percent.

Middle East is the next on the ladder with a 3.2 percent of the world population while Africa hold 5.6 percent. Second to Asia’s first position on the head count stands Europe with a 24.2 percent while North America is next on line with a 13.5 percent.

Latin America and the Caribbeans despite being some of the poorer and illiterate nations in comparison to its big-brother USA, trails immediately behind them with a 10.4 percent Internet savvy population against the world head count.

Asia is emerging

The poorer countries show a staggering growth rate over the last decade where Africa records a staggering 2,357.3 percent to record the highest growth rate; Latin America and the Caribbean 1,032.8; while the oil rich Mid-East records a growth rate of 1,825.3 percent. It’s strange enough to note that USA, Europe and Australia records alarming low growth rates while Asia shows decently interesting growth of 621.8 percent over the past ten years.

In considering the records of growth in telecommunications technology one cannot but foresee Asia emerging its peak performance at a visionary high. Sri Lanka, as against the region is poised to sky rocket at the rate it’s going right now.

It won’t be just another dream envisioned at day time that the resplendent isle will outshine them all as the wonder of Asia. Looking back at the hurdles conquered with graceful ease and precision, with lionhearted pride and vision, Sri Lanka is emerging and will be unstoppable.