Wednesday Nov 26, 2025
Wednesday Nov 26, 2025
Wednesday, 26 November 2025 00:22 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The Government has moved to end the issuance of new terrestrial analogue television licences, marking a major policy step toward the country’s long-delayed transition to digital broadcasting.
The move was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on Monday following a joint proposal by the Mass Media Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa and President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, in his capacity as the Digital Economy Minister, to stop granting analogue TV licences and reassign frequency allocation responsibilities to the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL).
“At present, 24 television channels, including five State-owned stations, operate countrywide under licences issued to 16 institutions using traditional terrestrial analogue technology. The analogue system has reached its maximum spectrum capacity, making further licencing both impractical and counterproductive given the country’s ongoing digital transformation plans,” Cabinet Spokesman and Mass Media Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa said at the weekly post-Cabinet meeting media briefing yesterday.
To address this, he said the Mass Media Ministry launched the Digital Non-territorial Television Broadcasting Project in 2025, aimed at establishing a unified digital terrestrial broadcasting platform to replace the existing 46 analogue systems.
The initiative is backed by an agreement between the Governments of Sri Lanka and Japan, with full implementation expected by 2029. The analogue system will be completely switched off two years after project completion, allowing a gradual transition period for broadcasters and the public.
Dr. Jayatissa said the shift to digital broadcasting had been discussed for years under successive administrations but had never progressed beyond preliminary debate. “Now the technical discussions have started, and by the end of the second half of 2028 it will be completed,” added.
Dr. Jayatissa assured that the transition would not impose new fees on the public. “There is no need to pay any fee to the Government,” he said, although he cautioned that viewers may need to purchase a compatible device to access digital broadcasts once the system is in place.
With the move to digital transmission expected to free up valuable frequency spectrum and modernise the country’s broadcasting environment, the Minister said opportunities for new channels would emerge under the digital framework. Further details on new licensing structures and operational guidelines will be released as the project advances. (CDS)
