Open Call

The telecom industry could see a major shift in policy, with the Minister hinting of a technology neutralized licensing regime. The telecom industry could see a major shift in policy, with the Minister hinting of a technology neutralized licensing regime. Post & Telecommunication Minister D M U Jayaratner told reporters in Colombo on Monday an […]

Rural Call

The Telecom Ministry is revisiting a two year old proposal that was tied to the External Gateway Operator licences, requiring license holders to cough up part of their billing to fund rural communication infrastructure.The Telecom Ministry is revisiting a two year old proposal that was tied to the External Gateway Operator licences, requiring license holders […]

Dividing Digital

A top UN agency says information communications technology in the country needs to focus more on technology as a social leveler. A top UN agency says information communications technology in the country needs to focus more on technology as a social leveler. The report by the UNDP says the government, regulators and other agencies need […]

Soft Touch

Showing it soft side, Microsoft extended its lquote Unlimited Potential (UP) grant programme to Sri Lanka to help IT based community technology and learning centers deployed by non-governmental organizations.Microsoft, has dolled out some US$ 79 million (Rupees 8137 million) in monetary grants, software, technology solutions, curriculum donations and employee volunteer hours to 78 countries through […]

Back To Front

The company, which handles back office work for large insurance firms like Norwich Union of UK and British Airways, is looking at an initial investment of around US$ 2 million. rn rnDespite some concerns over security, officials said that they would still go ahead as planned. rn rnThe first batch of recruits hired by the […]

Nomad Cell

Mobitel will tap the telecom watchdogs payphone subsidy to rollout call boxes in the Sri Lankan outback using ACeS satellite connections. The Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) cellular subsidiary signed up with Asian satellite communication services provider ACeS on Tuesday to offer satellite phone connections that work anywhere within the island and the Asian region at […]

Harvesting Time

Sri Lanka Telecom Ltd. may reap substantially higher revenue if an international call routing agreement with Indias Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. takes effect, Asia Securities said in a research report Thursday.Earnings for the fixed-line operator could increase by at least Rs.500 mn in 2004 if Bharat Sanchar Nigam makes use of the international call routing […]

Talk Shop

Insurance consultant Chandra Fernando thought very little when he signed up for a Dialog GSM connection on March 30, 1995.The 54 year old Fernando recounts that he just walked into the Dialog Arcadia Shop out of curiosity, after hearing about the new GSM cellular network.rn rnHe said he was lured by a pretty sales girl […]

Mobile Mania

With taxes slashed and handsets smuggled in, Sri Lanka is becoming a mobile phone paradise where even the islands prisons are awash with cell phones.With the price of handsets falling by about 35 percent this year, owning a mobile has never been so affordable in Sri Lanka, where vegetable vendors, taxi drivers and pavement hawkers […]

Virtual Money

The World Bank on Thursday signed a US$ 53 million deal with the Republic of Sri Lanka, funds to back its island-wide Information and Communications Technology diffusion project.The funds will be available to the ICT Agency to rollout a number of pilot projects and initiate rural telecommunications projects.rn rnKey elements of the first phase of […]

Lost In Translation

For instance, a simple and direct translation in Sinhalese for ldblquote save dblquote means rescue, while there is no commonly used local term for mouse.rn rnMicrosoft Corp., recently setup local office is booting up for a nationwide campaign to compile a glossary of terms and phrases used in daily computing.rn rnThe proposed open process will […]

Long Beep

Fixed line operator Suntel plans to infuse US$ 20 mn this year, to roll out its network islandwide.The wireless local loop operator has sought the telecom watchdogs approval to get a slot in the 800 Mhz bandwidth.rn rnSuntel officials say they applied for approval mid last year, but are yet to receive the regulators consent. […]

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