National Broadband Policy to be introduced shortly

Rasika Somarathna

Sri Lanka has set in motion plans to develop a policy and regulatory framework for Next Generation Network and is also set to unveil a National Broadband Policy shortly.

Presidential Secretary Lalith Weeratunga

Secretary to the President and chairman of the Telecommunication Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) Lalith Weeratunga said the government is making many efforts to expand and develop the ICT sector and ensure equity of access.

He said one is to introduce a National Broadband Policy. He was speaking to the media after the inauguration and the morning session of the 12th Global Symposium for Regulators at Hotel, Hilton, Colombo.

"The government of Sri Lanka gives very high priority to placing Sri Lanka at the cutting edge of new technologies, such as, broadband mobile and the spread of digital technology throughout the length and breadth of the country, particularly in the rural and remote areas, as we steer our country forward, in line with our vision and goal of making Sri Lanka the 'Wonder of Asia' and the key regional hub" Weeratunge said.

During his speech at the inauguration of the event, President Mahinda Rajapaksa too mentioned the above whilst adding that a Broadband Policy will be unveiled before the end of this year.

"We see the importance of broadband connectivity through-out the land for our people to fully benefit from the speedy advances in ICT" he added during his speech.

The general idea behind the NGN is that one network transports all information and services (voice, data, and all sorts of media such as video) by encapsulating these into packets, similar to those used on the Internet.

In answer to a question from the media on the relevance of holding the ITU-GSR 2012 in Sri Lanka,Weeratunge stated this could be viewed in two broad paths, one was to promote the country among the international community and secondly the exchange of knowledge and using it to make further advances in the field of ICT for the benefit of the people. He also added choosing Sri Lanka as the venue for this very significant global symposium too was a proud moment for the TRCSL and the country in general. He said it was also another opportunity to show the world the advances and gains made by the country in the short span of three years since ending terrorism

He said the ITU considers many salient factors before choosing a host for its annual symposium, such as, its capabilities in hosting the event, advances the country has made in ICT, what it can offer to participants in terms of knowledge, whether the country concerned has the commitment and potential to take advantage of it to further capabilities in ICT etc..

Speaking on the morning session he said that there was a very fruitful debate among participants on the topics of Make the World One: Regulation in the Global Village and Net Neutrality: To Regulate or Not To Regulate.

ITU Secretary General Dr.Hamadoun I Toure, TRCSL Director General Anusha Palpita and ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau Director Brahima Sanou were also present at the press conference.