Telecommunications in Sri Lanka commenced in 1858 after the first telegraphic circuit between Colombo and Galle was commenced. The sector continues to grow in the modern times.
Telephone
Landlines in use: 3,838,291 (December, 2021)
Mobile Phones in use: 30,824,128 (December, 2021)
* Teledensity (Fixed Phones per 100 inhabitants) : 12.9 (December, 2021)
* Mobile Subscription per 100 people : 135 (December, 2021)
Telephone Network
Excellent domestic service in urban and semi urban areas. Inadequate service in rural and remote areas (2010), good international service (2010). The latest trend is the Fixed
4G LTE
In telecommunications, long-term evolution (LTE) is a standard for wireless broadband communication for mobile devices and data terminals, based on the GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA standards. It improves on those standards' capacity and speed by us ...
and
5G technologies, because of this technology many Sri Lankans who live in rural and remote areas can now access a good telephone and broadband internet service.
Domestic
The national trunk network consists mostly of digital microwave radio relay and fiber-optic links are now in use in the
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
City and all major cities and towns
International
Two submarine cables to
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
and the
Maldives
Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...
; one Satellite earth stations -
Intelsat
Intelsat S.A. (formerly INTEL-SAT, INTELSAT, Intelsat) is a multinational satellite services provider with corporate headquarters in Luxembourg and administrative headquarters in Tysons Corner, Virginia, United States. Originally formed as In ...
(Indian Ocean) (2009)
Broadband Internet access
Fixed Broadband Service Providers
Mobile Broadband Service Providers
Internet
The history of the internet in Sri Lanka began with the launch of the
Lanka Education and Research Network (LEARN) in 1992. The network was only made available to educational and research communities. In the 1985/1986 period with the use of an old TRS 80 model which ran Xenix, computer engineers and scholars were able to demonstrate a remote login from
University of Moratuwa
(''Vidyaayev Sharvadhanam'')
, motto_lang = Sanskrit
, mottoeng = Wisdom is all Wealth
, established =
, type = Public
, chancellor = K. K. Y. W. Perera
, vice_chancellor = N. ...
(UoM) which connected a computer in
University of Colombo
(Buddhih Sarvatra Bhrajate)
, mottoeng = ''Wisdom Enlightens''
, established =
, endowment = Sri Lankan rupee, LKR 1.461 1,000,000,000 (number), billion for the first time.
* Fixed Broadband Subscriptions : 1,810,657 (June, 2020)
* Mobile Broadband Subscriptions : 11,684,649 (June, 2020)
Internet Speed
* 4G LTE Mobile Broadband : Download : 21.57Mbit/s to 300Mbit/s Upload : 10.23Mbit/s to 45Mbit/s
* 4G LTE Fixed Broadband : Download : 28.65Mbit/s to 150Mbit/s Upload : 15.41Mbit/s to 30Mbit/s
* Fiber Optics : Download : 100Mbit/s to 1000Mbit/s Upload : 50Mbit/s to 500Mbit/s data capped
Other Communication
Postal Service:
Sri Lanka Post
The Department of Posts, functioning under the brand name Sri Lanka Post ( Sinhala: ශ්රී ලංකා තැපැල් ''Shri Lanka Tæpæl''), is a government operated postal system in Sri Lanka. The postal headquarters is the Gene ...
Radio broadcast stations: AM 15, FM 54, SW 5
Television broadcast stations: 19 (2009)
Satellite Earth Stations located:
Padukka
Padukka ( si, පාදුක්ක, ta, படுகா) is a town in the district of Colombo in the Western Province of Sri Lanka. It has a population of roughly 8,000. Elevation 44feet.
Padukka, which is part of the Avissawella electorate is ...
and
Colombo
Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...
Internet Service Provider
An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise private ...
s: 9
Country code / Top-level domain: +94/LK
Telecommunications Regulatory Environment in Sri Lanka
LIRNEasia
LIRNE''asia'' (Learning Initiatives on Reforms for Network Economies ''Asia'') is an information and communication technology (ICT) policy and regulation think-tank active in the Asia Pacific region. The organization is incorporated under Sri Lanka ...
's Telecommunications Regulatory Environment (TRE) index, which summarizes stakeholders’ perception on certain TRE dimensions, provides insight into how conducive the environment is for further development and progress. The most recent survey was conducted in July 2008 in eight Asian countries, including
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
,
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
,
Maldives
Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...
,
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
,
Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
, and the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
. The tool measured seven dimensions: i) market entry; ii) access to scarce resources; iii) interconnection; iv) tariff regulation; v) anti-competitive practices; and vi) universal services; vii) quality of service, for the fixed, mobile and broadband sectors.
In Sri Lanka, the mobile sector receives higher scores than the fixed sector for all dimensions excepting interconnection. The broadband sector lags behind both the fixed and mobile sectors in all but one of the parameters (regulation of anti-competitive practices). What also emerges in the
results illustrated above is that all the sectors – other than mobile sector USOs – fall below the 5.00 average performance level.
Telecommunication research in Sri Lanka
Centre for Telecommunication Research is a research-based institute at the
Sri Lanka Technological Campus (SLTC) to carry out innovative, collaborative and industry-sponsored research works in wireless communications and networking. Research activities at the CTR, both fundamental and applied, mainly focus on technologies related to the physical, data-link and network layers of communication systems, and optical communication.
Product
Sri Lanka initiated to produce telecommunication, specially
smartphone
A smartphone is a portable computer device that combines mobile telephone and computing functions into one unit. They are distinguished from feature phones by their stronger hardware capabilities and extensive mobile operating systems, whic ...
s with the collaboration of foreign companies that already in the leading market.
See also
*
List of Sri Lanka Telephone Codes
References
External links
Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) Statistics
{{Economy of Sri Lanka