ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka government will table amendments for Telecommunications Regulatory Commission Act for the first time in 28 years and the key changes will include “third party” being allowed to build towers, State Technology Minister Kanaka Herath said.
The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) was established in 1996 with an aim to promote sustained development in the telecommunication industry by shaping the regulatory process, protecting public interest and being responsive to challenges in an increasingly competitive market.
Ensure competition in the market in is open, fair and effective is also the TRC’s core objective.
“We will table the amendment tomorrow. We expect to have the parliament debate within two months,” Herath told reporters at a media briefing in Colombo.
Regulating under sea cabal network and allowing other parties to build telecom towers are included in the amendment, he said.
“Right now what we do is the telco companies are the ones who develp them. The TRC allocate 50% of it and telco companies build it. After this amendment of the TRC Act, we will be able to open it for independent companies. So that they will be able to develop the towers and hand it over to any telco company.”
He said the government has targeted building 276 towers to boost faster communication and connectivity in the country with an aim to expand the digital economy to $15 billion in 2030 from the last year’s $2.3 billion.
The TRC has witnessed building on 50 towers last year and another 150 towers need to be build this year. The towers are built by telecommunication firms and shared among all the telecom firms.
However, financial constraints after an unprecedented economic crisis have forced telecom companies to reduce their budgets for towers.
“Right now when we build towers, we share it. Say if Dialog builds a tower, they share it with (Sri Lanka) Telecom and with other telco companies,” he said.
“Similarly we are trying to give it to the third party so that it will develop faster than we have right now.”
“This will be only for building towers. All other equipment will be provided by telco companies similar to others. The third party will only be building the towers.”
He said the third party to build the tower is likely to be chosen through tender process. (Colombo/May 09/2024)