SLT partners ‘INET Colombo 2015’ to mark 20th anniversary of introduction of internet in SL

Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), the leading ICT solutions provider in Sri Lanka partnered INET Colombo 2015 in the capacity of Platinum Sponsor. 

The company also congratulated Sri Lanka on the 20th anniversary of the introduction of the internet to Sri Lanka, which is celebrated this year and appreciated the various organisations/bodies involved in shaping ICT and the internet in Sri Lanka over the past 20 years, including: the Internet Society Sri Lanka Chapter, Asia Pacific Bureau of Internet Society, LK domain Registry, University of Moratuwa and Lanka Education And Research Network (LEARN).

INET Colombo 2015, was organised by the Internet Society Sri Lanka Chapter together with its partners including Asia Pacific Bureau of Internet Society, LK domain Registry, University of Moratuwa and Lanka Education And Research Network (LEARN) and was held on 8 and 9 June at the Kingsbury Colombo. Remote hubs were also set up in various parts of the island including Jaffna and Kandy to enable a wider audience from around the country to participate in the event. SLT empowered these conference venues with state-of-the-art broadband technologies enabling all organisers and participants with access to Wi-Fi connectivity.

Being the National ICT Solutions Provider in the country for a period exceeding 150 years, SLT has played a key role in driving ICT and the internet revolution in the country. SLT introduced email and internet services through dial-up connectivity in the year 1996, opening up a new world of opportunities for Sri Lankans and joining Sri Lanka to the worldwide internet community. After that, the pace picked up and in 1999, SLT introduced ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) technology to Sri Lanka, enabling internet access at speeds that far exceeded those already available. Thus this service was first made available to highly commercialised areas of the country, and it also enabled the use of new applications such as video conferencing for the first time.

Giant leap in internet access speeds

The ensuing years saw SLT expanding its communication network across all parts of the island, replacing the legacy copper networks with optical fibre cabling. In 2002, SLT introduced ADSL, offering a giant leap in internet access speeds.  Sri Lanka was among the first countries in South Asia to experience and enjoy the benefits of high speed broadband which in time, became powered through multiple technologies including ADSL2+, VDSL2, Ultra Speed Optical Fibre (FTTH/x), Carrier-grade Wi-Fi and both fixed & mobile 4G LTE technologies. Today, SLT as the National Backbone Network (NBN) operator, the entire country is wired with world’s most reliable optical fibre communication medium to enable ultra-high speed data transmission island-wide. The company also strengthened international links via partnerships with undersea optical fibre links such as: SEA-ME-WE 3, SEA-ME-WE 4, Bharat-Lanka (between India and Sri Lanka) and Dhiraagu-SLT (between Maldives and Sri Lanka). Currently, SLT is in the process of implementing yet another important connectivity project, the SEA-ME-WE 5 international undersea cable system with a total design capacity of 24Tbps, 100G technology, which will deliver a massive increase in communications capacity and will be able to support growth in Sri Lanka and other member countries.

Empowering Sri Lanka’s higher education

Also, SLT was able to successfully deploy the world’s latest Internet Protocol (IP) version - IPv6 at the LK Domain Registry in Sri Lanka. IPv6 deployment is a key milestone in information communication technology (ICT) service enhancement of both Sri Lanka Telecom and the LK Domain Registry. Similarly, SLT successfully upgraded ‘LEARN’ – The National Research and Education Network, empowering Sri Lanka’s higher education. LEARN upgrade consists of enhancing both Internet Access Bandwidth up to 1.65 Gbps and the interconnecting wide area network (WAN) with island wide universities and research institutes. 

LEARN interconnects all the University Grants Commission (UGC) funded state universities, a number of public universities that function under other ministries, the UGC, the Ministry of Higher Education, and a number of national research institutions including the National Science Foundation (NSF). The LEARN also has direct connectivity with SchoolNet, the network connecting secondary schools island wide and Lanka Government Network (LGN), the network connecting government institutions in Sri Lanka.  

Since obtaining BOI approval in 2007, SLT has invested an amount in excess of Rs. 57 billion/$ 485 million towards improving the country’s telecommunication infrastructure, encompassing the expansion of multi-faceted national ICT infrastructures: Internet Data Centre (IDCs), Voice Services, Enterprise and Wholesale Services, High Speed Broadband Services, PEO TV expansion, Fibre Optic Network expansion, 4G LTE expansion, International Connectivity, Fibre to the Home (FTTH) and Wi-Fi Wireless Broadband projects.

In the present world, people’s lifestyles have been tremendously transformed by Broadband internet services and technologies. The complexities of modern lifestyles have led to the increased dependency on broadband services for daily business, educational and social lives. Internet users are now generating content and uploading them onto the web to be shared within their circles of friends. This can only be done with the wide deployment of the broadband network. Obviously, broadband has become the most critical infrastructure in modern society. Not content with the current broadband services on offer, consumers continue to demand a greater digital economy. Sophisticated ICT infrastructure and services remains the only way to fulfil the insatiable demand for connectivity, while supporting parallel platforms for interactive television, distance learning, online education, e-health, and opportunities for Cloud Computing, private business networking and much more at superior speed, with high quality and reliability.

The SLT Group remained focused to drive broadband-based consumer and enterprise services by expanding the broadband footprint via ‘Next Generation Network’ and ‘National Backbone Network’ and Next generation access of ADSL2+, VDSL2, Optical fibre, Carrier-grade Wi-Fi and both fixed and mobile 4G LTE technologies. The Group’s total integrated solution portfolio includes Voice, Networking, Data Hosting, Managed Services, Cloud Computing services and Mobile based consumer and enterprise solutions provided through our fully owned subsidiary, Mobitel via its 2.5G/3.5G/4G LTE networks. Also at present, SLT is a key regional player through its Global Services provided through its major investments in multiple international undersea cable systems.