Perhaps to the shock of those who wholeheartedly justified the new regulations on mobile and CDMA phones, it looks as if Telecommunication Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) has decided ‘National Security’ can be compromised for another eight months. You still can afford not having a piece of paper (aka a license) to carry your phone through a check point.
We do not know how many terrorists will take advantage of TRCSL’s ‘flexibility’ or why TRCSL wanted to back off if that move were so essential for security reasons. All we know is this (temporary?) backing off will help at least one third of the population – those who don’t own the phones they use – at the bottom of the pyramid. Now a poor woman in Dehiwala can use the phone of her husband without risking an arrest.
We also see this as an example of what a timely policy intervention can achieve. Response by LIRNEasia – among others – even after the formal announcements of the regulations has made at least TRCSL rethink.
Your response might make them rethink even more. According to what their site says Director General of TRCSL can be accessed by the mail address dgtsl@trc.gov.lk. Faxes can be sent to +94-11-2689341 and just dialing 1900 from any phone will connect you to them. Please let them know what you think about the proposed regulations.
5 Comments
Nalaka Gunawardene
This news does bring a respite to the hasty and drastic regulations that were proposed over the weekend. But don’t expect the telecom and defence babudoms (aka bureaucracy) to back off so easily and nicely. It’s more likely that they found holes in what they were proposing, and after spending millions of tax payer funds advertising the new regulations in last weekend’s newspapers, they now say the matter will be reviewed.
Meanwhile, if you read my own views on this incident – taken with other recent incidents of stepmotherly treatment – that mobile phones keep receiving in Sri Lanka, you will realise the reasons run deeper: http://www.groundviews.org/2008/07/16/mobile-phones-in-sri-lanka-everymans-new-trousers/
Rohan Samarajiva
Today’s Lankadeepa carried a vague retraction of the story above. It appears that the actual start date is indeterminate; but TRC does not want to say it’s an 8 month postponement.
harsha de silva
rohan is my guest tonight [18 july 2008] on biz1st in focus at 9.30pm on mtv and shakthi tv [repeat at noon on sunday] discussing this issue along with the industry in general. catch it if you can.
LIRNEasia Senior Research Manager Gayani Hurulle at the Internet Governance Forum Sri Lanka 2026
The Internet Governance Forum Sri Lanka (IGF Sri Lanka) 2026 was held on 23 September under the theme ‘Empowering the Internet in the Age of Intelligence through Multistakeholderism’. The event brought together stakeholders from government, industry, academia, civil society and the technical community to discuss key issues in internet governance.
Is Personally Identifiable Information safe in the hands of the State?
In an article published on 25 September 2026 in the DailyFT, LIRNEasia Chair Professor Rohan Samarajiva discusses the risks of the state holding large amounts of personally identifiable information (PII). He looks at the misuse of electoral-registry information during the July 1983 pogrom, which critics of public-service digitalisation, particularly the Sri Lanka Unique Identity (SLUDI), cite as a reason for extreme caution, if not halting such initiatives.
LIRNEasia is hiring: Senior Researcher
LIRNEasia is looking for a talented individual to join the team as a Senior Researcher to drive impactful research. The full job description can be accessed below.
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