Telecom Bonds

Aug 31, 2010 (LBO) - Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT) has commissioned a fibre optic cable linking the former war zone in the northern Jaffna peninsula with the rest of the country, offering high-speed communications, a statement said. The "information superhighway" to the north has been built alongside the A9 main route to Jaffna, where information technology and business process outsourcing ventures are being promoted to provide jobs for youth after the war.

SLT said its expanded fibre optic information system will improve customer access to high performance broadband, helping business expand and enabling all telecommunications operators to expand their operations bringing new facilities to the north.

The new cable has the capacity to meet all future requirements of the Northern Peninsula, it said.

Sri Lanka Telecom began the project after the end of the island's 30-year ethnic war, fought largely in the north and east, in May 2009.

Until now, SLT’s optical fibre network had been expanded to Vavuniya and Mannar, the southern parts of the Northern Province.

Because of the war, communication facilities to the northern area including Jaffna was provided with limited connectivity through microwave radio links