Sri Lanka would soon be making mobile telephone numbers portable, telecom minister Rauf Hakeem said addressing the Sri Lanka Economic Summit 2007.

Financial Times – Daily Mirror – 09-June-2007

The telecom industry will be ensured with a mobile number portability that is expected to result in more growth, Posts and Telecommunications Minister Rauff Hakeem said yesterday.

It was observed that the government was currently involved in conducting discussions in a bid to tackle this issue. In this respect, Hakeem pointed out that they will be able to ensure affordable services but the government will try to resolve the issues on hand.

The minister addressing the Sri Lanka Economic Summit 2007 yesterday on the concluding day highlighted that this would provide with a more level playing field especially for the smaller and newer operators.
Pointing out the challenges ahead, he noted that it was the aim of the government to ensure affordable service to all parts of the country, opening a multitude of opportunities especially in the rural areas.

Fully aware of the bottlenecks faced by the operators, Hakeem stated that he will take it on to ensure there would be the establishment of policy for the approvals for the erection of base stations.

In addition, he pointed out that there is an increased growth in the mobile telecom industry although penetration is at a low presently; there is possibility of ensuring a 50% penetration by the end of 2007 and 75% in 2008.