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Saturday, 13 November 2010

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Introduction of minimum speed limits:

Broadband cost to reduce

The Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (TRC) is to introduce minimum broadband speed limits for the operators shortly to reduce the broadband service cost in the country.

The broadband cost is high and the speed is low in Sri Lanka. This has resulted in low penetration. However, an improvement in the speed of around 25 percent could be seen during the past three months and this is encouraging, Telecommunication Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) Director General Anusha Palpita told Daily News Business.


Anusha Palpita

Measures will be taken to reduce the cost of broadband service with the introduction of minimum speed limit for the operators shortly. This is expected to increase the penetration and benefit the customers as well, he said.

There are sufficient players in the telecommunication industry and only an outside operator will be considered to bring down the broadband service cost, affordability and high speed. There is room for improvement with regard to data, he said.

“We are lobbying for comparatively low rates for the BPO industry and there will be special consideration to provide support for the growth of this industry.

There is a positive relationship between the GDP growth and the internet penetration and measures will be taken to reduce the broadband cost within the next two months,” Palpita said.

“The country’s mobile industry is stabilized and most of the operators are making profits. We expect them to re-invest the profits to enable more benefits to the end-users,” he said.

The introduction of minimum floor rate, which was implemented successfully, has benefited the mobile subscribers. The TRCSL plans to further reduce the minimum floor price of around Rs 1.50 in near future.

It is estimated that there are 14.5 million subscribers in Sri Lanka at present. “We are expecting to register all the subscribers to maintain a database. It will also ensure security and support easy access to data,” he said.

The Kokavil tower construction is now completed with an investment of Rs 270 million. Discussions are under way with the telecom operators and a list from the Mass Media Ministry is expected to be finalized shortly to share the services among the TV and radio operators.

With the successful completion of Kokavil tower the decision will be taken to set up similar towers in strategic locations. The Cabinet approval has been given to Colombo TV tower project to construct a 350-meter tower in Peliyagoda with an investment of US$ 103 million. This Lotus Tower will be the tallest in the country with seven levels housing a revolving restaurant, a 1,000 pax banquet, leisure centres and an observation desk.

The basement will have a conference hall, a museum, shops and restaurants. The ground floor will provide entertainment facilities including water sports.

This tower is scheduled to be completed within 30 months of the commencement of its construction which will be within the next few months.

The tower will be managed by a public company owned by the TRCSL where its shares will be issued to the public once the construction process is completed.

There is a tender process to install fibre optic cable covering the entire country, he said.

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