SRI LANKA

"First mesh internet project in Sri Lanka," by Nandasiri Wanninayaka, message to the bytesforall email list, 14 October 2007: "Please click the following links to watch a wonderful video clip on Mahavilachchiya's mesh Internet project. This is the first in its kind in Sri Lanka. English Version. Sinhala Version. You can also access the two clips from www.horizonlanka.org.
"BPO in the A'pura backwoods," Financial Times, 21 October 2007: "...Horizon Lanka, Sri Lanka's first IT village, is a revelation itself. Launched by Wanni [Nandasiri Wanninayaka], as a Mahavilachchiya school teacher, in 1998, the initiative began as an English teaching exercise for the children whose parents were mostly rice farmers. From there with one computer donated by the US embassy, impressed by an English journal that the students did, the village has progressed to a centre of IT learning where one in every eight families has a computer... Unheard of before but in these backwoods poor farmers are reading online newspapers in the comfort of their makeshift homes with up-to-date computers with the help - unbelievable again - of seven wifi zones under a new technology called MESH. Here a section of the village amidst paddy fields and streams has wireless Internet access at all times..."
"The Speech I Made on the Day of Mesh Launching Ceremony in Mahavilachchiya," by Nandasiri Wanninayaka, 4 November 2006: "...When everything was well set to start the project, the next hurdle was the problem of getting permission for the frequency. Licensing cost us a huge amount of money and if we have to renew the licenses for the next year, too, it will be a big blow to the project..."
From "Sri Lanka Telecom Brief," by Ken Zita and Akash Kapur of Network Dynamics Inc., presented at the US Trade Development Agency's South Asia Communications Infrastructure Conference, New Delhi, India (21-23 April 2004):
"...There is also ongoing discussion about delicensing the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. These bands are currently licensed, but with the spread of Wi-Fi (and other unregulated services) around the world, Sri Lanka seems ready to liberalize allocation procedures somewhat. It seems unsure, however, whether the TRC will go for a total delicensing. More likely is an initial delicensing of indoor use (with transmit powers kept below 200mW), with perhaps a somewhat more liberal licensing regime for outdoor services (in particular, the 5 GHz band might be delicensed for rural telecenter use). The TRC is also in the process of clearing some bands in the 2.4 GHz range, as frequencies above 2.43 GHz are currently being used by other operators..."
"Spectrum Allocation for Short-Range Devices," Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka. Only indoor/on-premise use of WiFi is permitted, with "Licencing fee as per the Gazette No: 929/10."
"Report on study of options for the greater use of Wi-Fi and other unregulated applications," by DJ Consulting Services Ltd. and Quotient Associates for the Ministry of Economic Reform, Science and Technology, 31 March 2003 (29 pages in English): "...we therefore recommend that the whole band between 2.400 and 2.485 GHz be freed up for unregulated applications" - after a period of (3?) years to let current licensees who cannot operate in a shared environment migrate to other bands.
"Consultation Document: Making 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz Radio Frequency Bands available for the use of Licence Excempt Terminals," Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (11 July 2003). No decision on this consultation question was found on the TRC website, but TRC proposed options ranging from "licensed indoor use only" to "unlicensed outdoor use permitted". The consultation document notes that
"According to the Sri Lanka Telecommunications Act No. 25 of 1991 as amended by Act No. 27 of 1996 Section 22, no person shall use any radio frequency or any radio frequency emitting apparatus in Sri Lanka except under the authority of a licence issued by TRCSL..."
A further consultation on the 5 GHz band was launched on 16 May 2006, with the deadline for receiving comments by 19 May (this may be a world record for the briefest consultation period ever). According to the consultation document all WLANs in the 5 GHz band are to be licensed.
RFID use of the 868-869 MHz and 920-924 MHz bands at powers of up to 100 mW requires payment of a "Once and for all licence fee," according to Sri Lanka's entry in a table of national allocations appended to the "APT Recommendation on Spectrum for UHF RFID Devices" (February 2006).
"Proposed National Communications Policy," Ministry of Mass Communication, September 2002.
Achieving Good Governance Provision of Service Information to the General Public (January 2000, in English), 52 pages. Included are radio license obligations, and application forms for different types of radio license - even a "Licence to Operate a Pair of Toy Walkie Talkies."
"The Sri Lankan government's broadcast stranglehold, by Nalaka Gunawardene, AsiaMedia, 17 November 2006: "The highly discretionary broadcast licensing system has always lacked transparency, accountability and consistency from the time private broadcasting was first permitted in 1992. Since then, several governments have been in office, and while election manifestos regularly promised the creation of a broadcasting authority, such a body has not yet materialised. By default, broadcasting is still governed by the laws and regulations that were used to set up state-owned radio and TV stations decades ago. These laws allow state-owned stations to regulate their competitors in the private sector... Both the main political parties have given out radio and TV licenses to family members or friends... Some broadcast licenses have changed hands for millions of dollars. But whatever the price, all licenses can be revoked or cancelled by the government at any time without reason. It's the Sword of Damocles that hangs over all privately owned radio and TV stations..."
"Protecting the spectrum for media freedom," by Nalaka Gunawardene - extension of remarks at the 6th "Our Media" conference in Sydney, Australia (9-13 April 2007), via the "bytesforall" YahooGroup.

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