විදුලි සංදේශ නියාමන පනතේ 22 වගන්තිය යටතේ ශ්‍රී ලංකාව තුළ චන්ද්‍රිකා තාක්ෂණය ඔස්සේ අන්තර්ජාල පහසුකම් සේවාව සැපයීම සඳහා "Starlink" ස්ටර්ලින්ක් ආයතනය වෙත ශ්‍රී ලංකා විදුලි සංදේශ නියාමන කොමිෂන් සභාවේ මූලික අනුමැතිය අද ලබාදීමට කටයුතු කළා.

චන්ද්‍රිකා තාක්ෂණය ඔස්සේ මේ ආකාරයට අන්තර්ජාල පහසුකම් මෙම අන්තර්ජාල සේවාව ලබාගැනිම සඳහා පාසල් දරුවන්ට, ධීවර ජනතාවට හා පර්යේෂකයන්ට සහන පැකේජයක් ලබාදීමට ජනාධිපති රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහතා උපදෙස් ලබාදී තිබෙනවා. ඒ පිළිබඳ ඉදිරියේදී සැලසුම් සකස් කරනවා.

ශ්‍රී ලංකා විදුලි සංදේශ නියාමන කොමිෂන් සභාවේ අධ්‍යක්ෂ ජනරාල් මධුසංක දිසානායක මහතා සහ තාක්ෂණ පර්යේෂණ අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම් ආචාර්ය ධර්ම ශ්‍රී කුමාරතුංග මහතාද මෙම මාධ්ය සාකච්ඡාවට එක්විය.

Approval Granted for “Starlink” to Provide Satellite-Based Internet Services in Sri Lanka

Approval Granted for “Starlink” to Provide Satellite-Based Internet Services in Sri Lanka The President has instructed the introduction of relief packages for the education and fishing sectors. State Minister of Technology, Kanaka Herath, announced that the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) has granted preliminary approval for ‘Starlink’ to provide satellite-based internet services in Sri Lanka.

The State Minister emphasized that a two-week period has been allocated for a formal public consultation process regarding the approval of this internet service. Following this period, the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission will take steps to implement the service in Sri Lanka.

State Minister Kanaka Herath shared these remarks during a special media briefing held today (06) at the Presidential Media Centre (PMC).

The minister emphasized that this initiative will deliver a fast internet service as well as to the education, research, tourism, fisheries, and agriculture sectors, while also providing global access via this internet facility.

During his participation in the high-level session of the 10th World Water Conference in Indonesia, President Ranil Wickremesinghe held discussions with renowned businessman Mr. Elon Musk regarding expediting the application process to connect Sri Lanka with the “Starlink” network.

Consequently, “Starlink” has received approval to provide internet services via satellite technology.

Currently, approximately 2000 “Starlink” network centres are operational worldwide, providing high-speed internet access to 32 countries.

State Minister of Technology, Kanaka Herath, further said,

Starting today, we are collaborating with Starlink to provide internet facilities via satellite technology, marking a significant transformation in the technology sector. Unlike the limited internet facilities provided by towers, this satellite-based technology allows for internet connectivity from virtually anywhere. This represents a major advancement in the field of technology.

This internet facility offers significant benefits to education, research, tourism, agricultural and fisheries sectors by delivering the fastest internet service through this innovative technology. The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka has approved Starlink to offer satellite-based internet services. A fourteen -day period has been allocated for public consultation, and action will be taken within two weeks following this consultation period.

Under Section 22 of the Telecommunications Act, internet services will be provided via satellite technology. President Ranil Wickremesinghe has instructed that a relief package be made available to school children, fishermen, and researchers to ensure they can access this internet service. Plans for implementing this relief package are currently being prepared.

Director General of Sri Lanka Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, Madusanka Dissanayake,

“Starlink” is not yet established as a telephone network company in Sri Lanka. However, the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission has approved it under Sections 17 and 22 of the Telecommunications Regulatory Act, granting it a frequency license. The Act will be amended in the future to issue a Telecommunication Service provider license.

The initial setup or the registration cost, for this service ranges between US$ 400 and US$ 600, with a monthly fee of US$ 99. The satellite technology allows for internet access anywhere in the world and offers speeds several times faster than the existing fibre technology in Sri Lanka. This will significantly enhance the technology sector in the country. Secretary of the Ministry of Technology and Research Dr. Dharma Sri Kumaratunga also attended the event.

State Minister of Technology Kanaka Herath announced that the TRCSL has granted preliminary approval for Starlink to provide satellite-based internet services in Sri Lanka, following a formal public consultation process.

The Sinhala Press Release is annexed herewith, Tamil & English Press Releases will follow

• Details : https://bit.ly/4bSoXpR
• Photos Link : https://we.tl/t-0Ztk9cLPGn
• Video Link : https://we.tl/t-LmOTuLmP7R

කුඩා හා මධ්‍ය පරිමාණ ව්‍යාපාර සඳහා තාක්ෂණික නවෝත්පාදනය කෙරෙහි අවධානය යොමු කරවීමේ සුවිශේෂී වැඩසටහනක් 2024 ජූනි 3 දින අරණායක ප්‍රාදේශීය ලේකම් කාර්යාලයේදී පැවැත්විණ. ඒ සඳහා 250 අධික දේශීය ව්‍යවසායකයින් සහභාගී විය.

මෙහිදී මොවුන්ට GMP සහතික ලබාගැනීම පිළිබඳ ව්‍යවසායකයින් දැනුම්වත්කිරීම (ශ්‍රී ලංකා ප්‍රමිති ආයතනය), අන්තර්ජාලය හරහා වෙළඳ පහසුකම් ලබා ගැනීම පිළිබඳ දැනුවත් කිරීම හා Freelancing පිළිබඳ හදුන්වා දීම (ICTA), ව්‍යවසායකයන් වෙනුවෙන් හදුන්වා දී ඇති තාක්ෂණික යන්ත්‍රෝපකරණ පිළිබඳ දැනුම්වත් කිරීම (NERD) සිදුවිය.

මෙයට තාක්ෂණ අමාත්යංශ ලේකම් ධර්මශ්‍රී කුමාරතුංග, අතිරේක ලේකම් AKR අලවත්ත යන මහත්වරු මෙන්ම, අපනයන සංවර්ධන මණ්ඩලය (EDB), කාර්මික සංවර්ධන මණ්ඩලය (IDB), විදාතා අංශය, සමූපකාර සංවර්ධන දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව, ලංකා බැංකුව හා මහජන බැංකුව ආදී ආයතන වල නියෝජිතයින් ද මේ සඳහා සහභාගි විය.

Digiecon Global Investment Summit 2024 is scheduled happen on the 25th of June in Colombo & The Media Conference about this event was held at the President’s Media Center.

DigiEcon Global Investment Summit 2024 will focus on connecting domestic and foreign investors with Sri Lanka’s leading tech startups, allowing them to showcase their innovative products and services.

It will also facilitate knowledge sharing between the government and industry, thereby supporting the vision of Sri Lanka becoming a digital-first nation.

The summit will include a host of activities, such as keynote address by subject matter experts, panel discussions involving government and industry representatives, and one-to-one interactions between investors and startups. The event will delve into subjects, such as emerging technologies, fintech, and the potential of the digital economy.

his summit is a must-attend for investors, innovators, and policymakers interested in Sri Lanka's thriving tech scene. Ministry of Technology of Sri Lanka is organizing the event in association with Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sri Lanka Ministry of Investment Promotions & also Finance Ministry.

The event will be powered by Mastercard and the industry partners for the event will be Computer Society of Sri Lanka (CSSL), BCS The Chartered Institute for IT (Sri Lanka Section), SLASSCOM and FITIS.

Uber, the global ride hailing and food and grocery delivery platform, hosted ‘Uber Springboard’, an initiative to encourage Sri Lankan start-ups to strengthen the country’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

With support from the Technology Ministry, government of Sri Lanka, Uber has selected three start-ups from a tech start-up competition that are set to travel to Uber’s centre of excellence in India for a mentorship programme.

As part of DIGIECON 2030, Uber’s tech leaders interacted with 26 Sri Lankan start-ups and provided feedback and guidance. After a rigorous evaluation process, the jury of Uber Springboard has selected three start-ups for further mentorship, which include KReader, ManKiwwa and Megic.

At the showcase event in Colombo, the start-up founders shared their story with Technology Ministry Secretary Dharmasri Kumaratunge, who was the guest of honor for the event. US Embassy Economic Officer Andrew Shinn and Information and Communication Technology Agency (ICTA) Associate Chief Digital Economy Officer Sachindra Samaratne also lent support to the initiative.

Commenting on the initiative, Technology State Minister Kanaka Herath said, “I want to applaud Uber for their outstanding efforts in recognising start-ups in Sri Lanka. I am also deeply grateful to the Government of Telangana for extending a special invitation to these startups to attend the Telangana Global AI Summit. This exposure to cutting-edge knowledge will be invaluable.”

The long-awaited amended Bill to revise the Telecommunications Regulatory Act, after 28 years, will be submitted to Parliament today.

Previously, regulations concerning undersea cables were non-existent. Now, legislation addressing this matter has become feasible, revealed State Minister for Technology Kanaka Herath during a briefing at the Presidential Media Centre.

He also outlined plans for the formulation of the National Cyber Security Act.

Hon. Minister said the user base across all social networks has surged from 60 to 74 million. However, there is an imperative for a National Cyber Security Act. Consequently, plans are underway to draft the pertinent legislation by May 2024.

Additionally, collaborative efforts involving 29 Government agencies, alongside Sri Lanka Computer Emergency Readiness Team (SL CERT), have been undertaken to strengthen cyber security, resulting in the implementation of five projects.

The State Minister also said the Cabinet approval has endorsed the National Digital Strategy 2030, featuring six key points. Among these, the initial focus is on infrastructure, connectivity, access, skills, literacy, industries, jobs, and establishing a connected digital government.

Moreover, emphasis is placed on cyber security, data security, privacy, digital financial services, and the digitization of small and medium-sized businesses. Additionally, a global project promotion conference, in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Investment Promotion is scheduled for 25th June, 2024.

Minister of Technology Hon. Kanaka Herath had a visit to the University College Computing (UCSC) to review the significant advancements in AI research underway.

Dr. Ajantha Athukorala, Director of the University's Department of Computing, and Professor Kasun de Soyza, provided a thorough overview of the projects.

Notably, research efforts by faculty, undergraduate and postgraduate students are strategically aligned with the national priorities set by the Ministry of Technology along with the GOSL.

Following this, the team toured the research laboratory, including a fascinating exhibit of vintage computer equipment used by the university since 1967, highlighting the institution's rich history in computing.

The visit included Dr. Dharmasri Kumaratunge -Secretary Ministry of Technology, AI Strategy Committee Chairman Dr. Romesh Ranawana, Committee Member Dr. Srinath Perera, Ministry of Technology Development Director Janaka Geekiyanage and Ministry of Technology Information Technology Director - Chanaki Mallikarachchi.

ශ්‍රී ලංකා තොරතුරු හා සන්නිවේදන තාක්ෂණ නීතිඥ සංසදය විසින් සංවිධානය කරනු ලැබූ නීති සඟරාව සහ වෙබ් අඩවිය එළිදැක්වීමේ උත්සවයේදී.

"අපගේ ඩිජිටල් භූ දර්ශනයට මඟ පෙන්වීම සඳහා අපගේ නීති ප්‍රජාවේ තීරණාත්මක කාර්යභාරය" අවධාරණය කරමින් ශ්‍රී ලංකා තොරතුරු හා සන්නිවේදන තාක්ෂණ ජර්නලය සහ වෙබ් අඩවිය දියත් කිරීමේ අවස්ථාවට සහභාගී විය.

තාක්‍ෂණය අපගේ ලෝකය නැවත හැඩගස්වන විට, සයිබර් තර්ජන සහ සයිබර් අපරාධ සඳහා වන ගෝලීය පිරිවැය 2022 දී ඩොලර් ට්‍රිලියන 8.44 සිට 2027 වන විට ඩොලර් ට්‍රිලියන 23.84 දක්වා ඉහළ යනු ඇති බව ගණන් බලා ඇත.

ලෝක බැංකුවේ අනුග්‍රහය ඇතිව අපගේ තාක්ෂණ අමාත්‍යාංශය, සුරක්ෂිත ඩිජිටල් අනාගතයකට මග පාදමින්, ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ ජාතික ඩිජිටල් ආර්ථික උපායමාර්ගය 2030 ඉදිරිපත් කර ඇති මේ අවස්ථාවේ අධ්‍යාපන අමාත්‍යාංශයේ වෙබ් අඩවියට අනවසරයෙන් ඇතුළුවීම වැනි මෑතකාලීන සයිබර් ආරක්ෂණ අභියෝග සමඟ, අපි සයිබර් තර්ජනවලට එරෙහිව සටන් කිරීමට සහ පුරවැසියන්ගේ දත්ත ආරක්ෂා කිරීමට නව සයිබර් ආරක්ෂණ පනතක්ද කෙටුම්පත් කරමින් පවතී.

අපගේ ඩිජිටල් නීති හැඩගැස්වීම සඳහා අපගේ තොරතුරු හා සන්නිවේදන තාක්ෂණ නීති ප්‍රජාවේ කැපවීම ගැන කෘතඥ වෙනවා. ශ්‍රී ලංකා තොරතුරු හා සන්නිවේදන තාක්ෂණ නීති සඟරාව සහ වෙබ් අඩවිය නීති වෘත්තිකයන්ට සහ පුරවැසියන්ට අගනා සම්පත් වනු ඇත. මෙම අවස්ථාවට නීතිපති, තාක්ෂණ අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම් සහ ශ්‍රී ලංකා තොරතුරු හා සන්නිවේදන තාක්ෂණ නීතිඥ සංසදය සහභාගී විය.

තාක්ෂණ අමාත්‍යාංශය සහ ඉන්දීය මහ කොමසාරිස් කාර්යාලය සහ ශ්‍රී ලංකාව සමඟ එක්ව ඩිජිටල් පොදු යටිතල පහසුකම් පිළිබඳ සම්මන්ත්‍රණයක් අඟහරුවාදා (මාර්තු 26) කොළඹදී සංවිධානය කරන ලදී.

ජනාධිපති රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ මහතා විසින් පවත්වන ලද ප්‍රධාන දේශනය සමඟින් සැසිවාර තුනක් මෙම සමුළුවට ඇතුළත් වූ අතර, එහිදී සමුළුව කාලෝචිත වීම පිළිබඳව ඔහු ප්‍රශංසා කළේය.

ඉන්දියාවෙන් පැමිණි විශේෂඥයින් සහ ඔවුන්ගේ ශ්‍රී ලංකා සගයන් මෙන්ම අනෙකුත් පාර්ශ්වකරුවන් තාක්ෂණ අමාත්‍යාංශයේ ලේකම් ආචාර්ය ධර්මශ්‍රී කුමාරතුංග, Dialog Axiata ප්‍රධාන විධායක නිලධාරී සහ සමූහ විධායක අධ්‍යක්ෂ -ආචාර්ය හාන්ස් විජයසූරිය, ඉන්දීය රජයේ ඉලෙක්ට්‍රොනික හා තොරතුරු තාක්ෂණ අමාත්‍යාංශයේ අධ්‍යක්ෂ විද්‍යාඥ රාජේෂ් කුමාර් මහතා; මදු රත්නායක මහතා, NASSCOM සභාපති රාජේෂ් නම්බියාර් මහතා, පැවති සැසි කිහිපයකින් මෙම සමුළුව විශේෂයෙන් පොහොසත් විය.

මෙහි ප්‍රධාන විශේෂත්වය වූයේ ඩිජිටල් ආර්ථිකය පිළිබඳ ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජයේ ක්‍රියාකාරී කණ්ඩායම් හට නායකත්වය දෙන ජ්‍යෙෂ්ඨ නිලධාරීන් සමඟ ඩිජිටල් ඉන්දියා සහ ආරම්භක ඉන්දියා වැඩසටහන් හසුරුවන ඉන්දීය රජයේ අමාත්‍යාංශවල සංචාරයක ජ්‍යෙෂ්ඨ නිලධාරීන්ගේ අන්තර් ක්‍රියාකාරිත්වයයි.

අනාගත පරපුර සමඟ අති නවීන දැනුම බෙදා ගැනීමේ උත්සාහයක් ලෙස, මෙම සම්මන්ත්‍රණය තොරතුරු තාක්ෂණ දෙපාර්තමේන්තුව, රුහුණු විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය; ඉංජිනේරු පීඨය, යාපනය විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය; කොතලාවල ආරක්ෂක විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය; NSBM හරිත විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය, ශ්‍රී ලංකා සබරගමුව විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය, SLIIT මාලබේ, තාක්ෂණ අධ්‍යයන පීඨය, වවුනියාව විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය ඇතුළු ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ විශ්වවිද්‍යාල කිහිපයකට සජීවීව විකාශය කරන ලදී.

The requirement of a National Digital Economy Strategy and a plan to implement it to realize and achieve the expected results of the vision of the country to create an economy earning higher revenue by the year 2048 has been recognized. Accordingly, “The National Digital Economy Strategy for Sri Lanka – 2030 “ has been prepared by the Ministry of Technology in consultation with the World Bank and the guidance of the eminencies in the public, private and professional institutions as well as vocational boards. The Cabinet of Ministers on 25th March 2024 approved the resolution furnished by the Hon. President in his office as the Minister of Technology to implement the aforementioned strategy.

It is expected that this strategy will facilitate a new economic model including digital transformation and relevant strategic measures to help the country navigate ongoing economic challenges and take advantage of the wide-reaching benefits of digital and emerging technologies, as part of an inclusive and resilient recovery. A dynamic digital economy can drive economic competitiveness and growth, employment creation, sustainable development and service delivery.

Ministry of Technology encourages everyone to provide feedback, suggestions and recommendations on the implementation of this strategy. Your contributions will assist us in refining and enhancing the implementation arrangement of our National Digital Economy Strategy 2030. Please provide your inputs through info@mot.gov.lk

• National Digital Economy Strategy – 2030 ( English )

The Ministry of Technology is in the process of preparing the National Digital Economy Strategy with technical guidance from the World Bank. In this process, as a key milestone of developing this strategy, we have planned to reach out to stakeholders of government, the private sector, and civil society to obtain valuable reviews and suggestions.

In order to ensure that our strategy incorporates diverse perspectives and addresses relevant challenges, we have developed a survey questionnaire for you to fill out. A wide range of insights and ideas will play a major role in shaping our nation's digital development journey towards becoming a digitally advanced country by 2030.

Please find the survey questionnaire below [link & the QR code to the survey]. We encourage everyone to provide feedback, suggestions, and recommendations. Your contributions will assist us in refining and enhancing our proposed National Digital Economy Strategy.

Thank you in advance for your time and for playing a vital role in building our nation's digitally empowered future. We look forward to your response by 16th October 2023.

Development of Sri Lanka’s National Digital Economy Strategy 2023 -2030​

Sri Lanka aims to become a leading digital nation with access to digital opportunities for all. A framework with six themes focuses on Broadband connectivity, Digital infrastructure, Digital transactions, Digital safeguards, Digital industry, jobs and skills, and the Acceleration of digitization in key economic sectors to achieve this vision.

The country's ambition is to integrate digital technologies fully, compete globally, and promote sustainability and inclusiveness. The national digital strategy will support building the economy's new pillars and accelerate the country's development trajectory towards becoming a developed nation by 2048. The strategy aims to enhance economic competitiveness, create high-paying jobs, and deliver trusted and inclusive public services. The focus is on maximizing private and foreign investment, making efficiency a priority, and creating a joint approach to digital development.

The government has established the High-Level Officers’ Committee (HLOC), which will draft the main digital economy strategy in collaboration with Thematic Working Groups (TWGs). HLOC will supervise the TWGs' activities and create the Digital Economy Strategy and roadmaps. The aim is to create a comprehensive National Digital Economy Strategy that identifies critical areas for investment and development and provides guidance for developing recommendations and strategies for each TWG's area of focus. Each TWG will develop a comprehensive document of recommendations that align with the broader goals of the national digital economy strategy. The focus is on reducing barriers to accessing digital technologies and utilizing digital tools to expand access to markets, employment, and educational opportunities for all.

The development of the digital strategy has reached a key milestone with the plan to gather feedback from stakeholders in government, the private sector, academia, and civil society. A survey questionnaire has been created to gather valuable insights and ideas for shaping the nation's digital development journey towards becoming a digitally advanced country by 2030. Your participation is crucial to ensure diverse perspectives and address relevant challenges.

The upcoming launch of the strategy at the DIGIECON 2030 program is set to be a milestone event in the realm of transformative experiences. In November 2023, a groundbreaking and transformative strategy is set to be launched at the prestigious DIGIECON 2030 program. This eagerly anticipated event invites all enthusiasts, experts, and innovators to embark on this momentous journey together. Join us as we explore the fascinating details of this forward-thinking initiative that promises to shape the landscape of our digital world.