Going Soft

Fixed-line giant Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) is tipped to shift part of this year's Rs.











7 billion capital spending budget to upgrade its international gateway, senior SLT officials said.







. Fixed-line giant Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) is tipped to shift part of this year's Rs. 7 billion capital spending budget to upgrade its international gateway, senior SLT officials said. . Migration to soft switch, as it is referred to, will see SLT move to a new generation packet switched network to meet future demands for international bandwidth services, Deputy Chief Operating Officer C B R Perera said.

Packet switching technology allows network operators to maximise the use of the limited bandwidth available, by transmitting the information (voice or date) in smaller units.

Under the present system, an entire channel is held up until the information reaches either end.

SLT's international bandwidth is expected to more than double as the SEA-ME-WE 4 (South-East-Asia Middle-East and Western-Europe) undersea cable kicked in last November.

The consortium cable project will also help SLT exploit its geographical location to provide future high bandwidth requirements, industry sources sa