Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), the national ICT service provider successfully demonstrated its 4G LTE fixed broadband technology at a ceremony held at the Dr. N. M. Perera Memorial Hall in Ruwanwella, Kegalle recently. SLT’s 4G LTE speeds and access capabilities were demonstrated to Hon. Ranjith Siyambalapitiya, Minister of Telecommunications and Information Technology and Hon. Athauda Seneviratne, Senior Minister Rural Affairs in the presence of Mr. Lalith De Silva, Group CEO of SLT and many other top officials. At the event through SLT’s 4G LTE broadband service, the company demonstrated speeds of up to 50 Mbps downlink. On this occasion, SLT donated its latest 4G LTE broadband services to both the Public Library and the National School, Ruwanwella for the benefit of the country’s future generations.

SLT’s technology leadership continues to revolutionize internet usage across the country whilst expanding Sri Lanka’s broadband capacity, availability and affordability to empower Sri Lankan internet users with consistent, uninterrupted, high-speed broadband internet access with the highest reliability.

This 4G LTE demonstration was organised to coincide with Deyata Kirula national development programme which is to be held in February this year covering Puttalam and Kurunegala districts in the North Western Province and Kegalle District in the Sabaragamuwa Province. This service is currently available in multiple locations and will be extended to all other regions of the country as well in the very near future.

“The vision of the Deyata Kirula national development exhibition is to bring development to all regions and sectors of the country. Within this context, SLT has put in a lot of effort to align with the vision of Deyata Kirula and has commenced developments in Kegalle district in order to expand the telecommunication infrastructure in the area. However, these developments will not be limited to Kegalle district, but will be expanded into other areas as well in the future,” commented Hon. Ranjith Siyambalapitiya, Minister of Telecommunications & IT. “Introduction of these new technologies and services are critical to bring about economic, social and cultural developments planned for under the “Mahinda Chinthanaya”, and expedite the establishment of e-government in Sri Lanka.”

Mr. Anusha Palpita, ‎Director General of The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) sending his best wishes said, “Availability of Telecommunication and IT services to all Sri Lankans is essential to achieve the knowledge centred developments. Enhancements and improvements in Telecommunications sector will be the key to achieve expected socio-economic developments in the country in the years to come. I congratulate SLT for launching 4G LTE services to support the country’s development goals.”

SLT’s advanced 4G/LTE is the latest addition to its broadband access technologies which will further strengthen the company’s vision to serve the nation with faster and superior broadband services to seamlessly connect all Sri Lankans with world-class information, communication and entertainment services.

Group Chief Executive Officer of SLT, Lalith De Silva gave his comments saying, “Through the timely introduction of new technologies such as 4G LTE, SLT fully supports the GoSL’s vision of a SMART Sri Lanka and expanding the broadband footprint of the country to promote a digital economy with the ultimate aim of improving living standards of Sri Lankans. As the National Backbone Network (NBN) service provider, SLT has established a fibre optic network that spans over 20,000km within the country. SLT is the only ICT solutions provider with multiple global connectivity options. Through the company’s domestic and global connectivity options, SLT provides the backbone for other operators to enhance their services to their customers.”

In this new year, SLT has plans to introduce latest technologies and services in response to increasing customer requirements that come along with the country’s economic and social development. In this endeavour the company continues to introduce new products and services to suit every segment and lifestyle. Towards this end, SLT enhanced data volumes of its broadband packages with no extra cost in the beginning of the year to uplift customer experience. Being the pioneer in introducing broadband services to Sri Lanka, SLT is committed to contribute towards the country’s ICT vision of improving e-literacy in Sri Lanka for the development of the country’s economy.

Elaborating further Mr. De Silva said, “ICT will transform this country to a SMART Sri Lanka by creating a globally competitive economy through the adoption of ICT in commerce and extending benefits to citizens through ICT. With the NBN rollout, the industry will be empowered to provide high speed broadband access at affordable and competitive prices. Access to world class broadband technologies such as 4G LTE, Carrier-grade Wi-Fi & Fibre technologies will support the enterprises, growing SME segment and also the public sector to become more resilient in achieving a SMART Sri Lanka. Further the Company has successfully managed to upgrade its network in coverage, quality, capacity and speed to cater to the ever growing demands of the education sector in enabling the Government’s broader vision of making Sri Lanka the knowledge hub of Asia.”