Sri Lanka Telecom presents one of the globally emerging topics of the Digital Economy, through a knowledge sharing programme themed, “TelcoNext - Empowering the Digital Economy, Together”. The programme is to be held at the Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo on 9th May, 2018 from 6.00pm onwards. The Company expects to share its expertise among the tech savvy professionals in the corporate, IT, BPO, BPM, public sectors as well as academics through the programme. The Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) and the Federation of Information Technology Industry Sri Lanka (FITIS) also will join hands with SLT to support this worthy endeavour of Empowering the Digital Economy in Sri Lanka.

This much talked about ‘Digital Economy’ is promising to create greater agility to accelerate e-commerce market development in Sri Lanka. Also when operating in a digital economy, experts say there is significant cost savings and expedited time to launch new products in the market. Being the national ICT solutions provider, the company believes that ICT infrastructure forms the backbone of the digital economy, which Sri Lanka Telecom has tirelessly built over the period of its legacy, 160 years in operation.

The keynote speaker of the programme will be Eng. Anuradha Udunuwara – A visiting Industrial Fellow of the University of Hertfordshire UK, Faculty of Commonwealth Telecommunications Organization UK, A guest lecturer at the University of Peradeniya and a Senior Telecommunications Expert. The panellists are Dr. Himal Suraweera, Senior lecturer, Dept. of Electrical and Electronic Engineering University of Peradeniya and Eng. Rasantha Hettithanthrige, Senior General Manager, Engineering & Operations, Mobitel (Pvt) Limited.

Commenting on this programme, Mr. Ajantha Seneviratne, Group Chief Marketing Officer of SLT said, “As the national ICT solutions provider, SLT continues to add to its iconic status in Sri Lanka by strengthening the country’s state-of-the-art ICT/digital infrastructure. By seizing the opportunities brought about by the digital economy, SLT is well poised to lead Sri Lanka into the digital future. We too believe that, digital is not just a part of the economy — it is the economy in the future. It has enormous potential to fast forward progress on the Global Sustainable Development Goals and improve people's lives in fundamental ways.”

Access to ICT/digital infrastructure is critical to the development of all aspects of a nation’s economy including manufacturing, banking, education, agriculture, and Government. The synergy effect of the digital economy where information becomes more accessible and available makes communication a lot easier.

2018 will continue to see the growth of the digital economy and the better integration of Internet of Things and digital services. Sri Lanka’s global connectivity via undersea cables and rollout of 4.5G, and fibre optic broadband services will strengthen the emerging ICT sector. The highly competitive environment will result in wide coverage, fast speeds, and low retail tariffs which will benefit customers and usher the country towards digital economic growth.

Digital transformation is a key driver of sweeping change in the modern world. The digital market is developing into a global digital economy. Digitalisation has the potential to improve the quality of life and move towards greater societal good. The telecommunication industry is at the heart of global digitalisation as a key enabler by providing the essential connectivity infrastructure for functioning in the digital economy.

Tickets for the programme are priced at Rs. 2,250/= and are available at eTeleshop.