The Hon. Sunil Handunnetti - Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, today we are debating Regulations presented under the Sri Lanka Telecommunications Act. Ordinarily, when Regulations are added under such an Act, it is the Opposition that asks for a debate.

¶ 02 There are a few ways to handle such amendments. If needed, the Parliamentary Business Committee could decide to approve them without debate. If the Opposition has nothing to say on these Regulations, we could save time for other important topics. However, the Opposition requested a debate today on new amendments related to the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC); presumably because they had points to raise.

¶ 03 If they had nothing to raise, they could have proposed amendments, or allowed approval without debate; then taken up an important topic when the House was adjourned. If they wanted to talk about alleged insults to Buddhism, or the India–US tariff issue, or factory closures, or traineeship issues, they should have agreed at the Party Leaders’ meeting: “We have nothing to say on these telecom Regulations; let us discuss a significant topic.” They did not. The Opposition sought this debate, but has not spoken on the topic. So far—not sure about later—no Opposition Member has spoken a word on the subject they themselves asked to debate. I am not saying other issues are unimportant. If they were important, they should have scheduled a dedicated day. With that said, let me highlight the importance of this topic.

¶ 04 Sri Lanka presently has 10 submarine cables: SLT has 6, Dialog 3, and Hutch 1; nine are active. In the Indian Ocean, due to its strategic importance and our location, there are 40 submarine systems operating. By linking into these, and into the data networks, we can advance digitalization, ICT, and public access.

¶ 05 We remember the early mobile era when we called everything “Celtel.” Both incoming and outgoing calls were charged. Around 1990, a SIM cost Rs. 2,500. Phones were jewelry to display, not to use. The cost was high because laying cables and building infrastructure required huge capex, which fell on the consumer. What do we do now? We enable sharing of underlying infrastructure among companies—agreeing, consolidating, and sharing base infrastructure to reduce cost. This is very important.

¶ 06 As we move to a new technology era, aim for digitalization, and position Sri Lanka as a regional ICT hub, we must reduce unit costs by setting up common infrastructure. Then, operators must consent to share and the TRC must be empowered to require sharing. After these Regulations are approved, the TRC will be tasked with securing such consent and enforcing sharing. Previously, this wasn’t clearly within TRC’s mandate.

¶ 07 What is most important here? There are infrastructure builders and frequency users. All such categories must adopt measures to reduce unit costs under powers granted to the TRC by Section 17(2) of the Act. In the passive network domain—generators and related items—as well as radio network signal towers, the basic, ground infrastructure will be unified through sharing. For frequencies like for 5G: currently two operators; moving to three. This process is underway to expand service and reduce unit costs.

¶ 08 Crucially, core networking sharing is expressly prohibited by these Regulations. Core networks will not be shared due to national security concerns. But the underlying infrastructure—civils, power, towers, cabling, and radio access—can be shared among all operators to deliver telecom and data services. This reduces investor capex and protects the environment. In a small island, right-of-way and land corridors are limited; sharing reduces environmental impact and urban planning burdens and supports eco-friendly zones.

¶ 09 In the past, when allocating space for network cables, people surrendered parts of their land; later removal was hard. Now there will be clear regulation. The end goal is to make masts, mounted equipment, power systems, associated facilities, and the radio access network shareable. Though some sharing exists, the TRC did not have sufficient, explicit power to regulate providers and operators. These Regulations provide that power.

¶ 10 Further, the TRC must be equipped with technical tools, equipment, and systems to exercise this mandate. I believe, given the progress in the past year, it can be done. In 2024, TRC revenue was Rs. 37 billion; expenditure Rs. 8.6 billion. In 2025, projected revenue is Rs. 45.3 billion; expenditure Rs. 5.4 billion. Compared to the previous regime, expenditure has been cut by curbing waste and corruption, while revenue rose due to efficiency. The benefits of these revenues must go to the public.

¶ 11 In the early “Celtel” days, absent such sharing, capex costs were passed to consumers: high connection fees; phones became luxury items. Today, it is a household commodity. The point is to ensure the benefits of technological progress reach ordinary people—through data sharing, improved networks, and lower prices—fast.

¶ 12 These are the first amendments to the telecom Regulations in 28 years. On such a significant measure, the Opposition asked for a debate yet failed to study or present substance; instead, they engaged in low-level distractions. I regret that, and I conclude.

¶ 13 Thank you.