The Hon. Eranga Weeraratne

¶ 01 Thank you, Hon. Presiding Member.

¶ 02 There are several errors in what the Hon. Member said. Worldwide, it is no longer only telecom operators that build towers. Separate tower companies exist. Infrastructure development is a separate licence because infrastructure must be shared. Big telecom companies have used their scale advantage to gain undue market power through proprietary towers. To prevent that, infrastructure sharing has been introduced. Bringing tower-only companies to Sri Lanka allows every operator to access the same tower at the same cost and price. That is why an infrastructure licence is issued.

¶ 03 This is a licence, not exclusive to one firm. Multiple companies can qualify upon meeting requirements. Two companies—EDOTCO and TowerCo—already hold licences. Another local company has applied and will obtain it, and more may follow. With multiple infrastructure providers, all telecom operators can procure access on equal terms within our legal framework for infrastructure sharing, fostering a competitive market and enabling affordable prices for the public.