It is nice to know that we at LIRNEasia have been ahead of the curve on Broadband QoSE, including on understanding it as more than simply download speed. Professor Gonsalves’s paper on the subject is here.
The NYT today carried a story that says many of the things we have been talking about for the past two years.
Tracking the speed of Internet service is becoming more and more important as everyone asks the Internet to do more than handle e-mail messages and Web pages. A few lines of text can take its time arriving, but applications sending voice calls or streaming video become unusable if there is too much delay in delivery.
Some Web sites and software packages let users test the speed of data through their Internet service provider, or I.S.P. All the providers offer a glimpse at the quality of the connection, but that information is just one bit of data; each new request for a Web site or a file involves dozens of computers, and any of them could be a weak link.
“Even in Web browsing, pages are getting more complicated,” Professor Odlyzko said. “You click on a link and you end up setting dozens of connections. Ads are being served. You end up doing a database lookup. Any extra latency gets compounded because you have many, many stages.”
The difference between the QoSE problem in the US and the rest of the world is that they live practically inside the Internet cloud. The entire discussion about what the ISP is responsible for does not apply in our parts, where the ISP has to get us to the Internet cloud through Singapore or wherever. ISP’s responsibility is not limited to the ISP domain, but extends to the first landing in the continental US (a point we took from the Singapore IDA). When we used the AT Tester in N America, we tested it using sites in Europe.
6 Comments
unhappy user
I tried to use AT tester on Airtel sri lanka mobile bb and couldnt even register at your server??Why is that??It worked well with SLT ADSL same time??
Chanuka Wattegama
@unhappy user,
For some reason, Airtel does not allow us to ping to their site. We tried to fix this problem, but with our developers outside the country they cannot fully simulate local conditions. Sorry about this. It works fine with everything else.
Perhaps a solution will come with the new mobile broadband test applications to be released shortly.
unhappy user
Is there any laws / a place we can actually get help (I mean some place who really care about user complaints) about bad Qos in bb?Is there a minimum Qos for an ISP to operate?Looking forward for that new app:-)
Rohan Samarajiva
The Consumer Relations Unit at the TRC is the official entity. They do seem to be interested in QoS these days, see: http://lirneasia.net/2009/12/sri-lanka-regulator-asleep-at-the-switch/
Request For Proposals: Sri Lanka Educational Technology Survey
LIRNEasia is inviting proposals from qualified research organisations to develop a study on Sri Lanka’s Educational Technology (EdTech) landscape. The study aims to examine the current state of EdTech adoption, innovations, and the enabling and constraining factors across Sri Lanka’s education system, while assessing how educational decision-makers perceive and use EdTech and data systems.
Protecting Children Online: What is Missing from Sri Lanka’s Proposed Bill?
In an article published in the Daily FT on 30 June 2026, Attorney-at-Law and LIRNEasia Researcher Sachini Ranasinghe examines the Private Member’s Bill proposed by Opposition MP Faiszer Musthapha, which seeks to restrict social media access for children under the age of 16 in Sri Lanka. She argues that the key question is not whether children need stronger protection online, but whether Sri Lanka is proposing the right solution and has undertaken the groundwork necessary to make such legislation effective.
LIRNEasia leads new Asia Observatory on Responsible AI Innovations for Development
In February 2026, the Asia AI4D Observatory: A policy and innovation network on responsible artificial intelligence was launched with the support of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) of Canada and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. LIRNEasia, East-West Management Institute, JustJobs Network, and EngageMedia, this three-year initiative will support Asia’s capacity to design, govern, and scale responsible (i.
Links
User Login
Themes
Social
Twitter
Facebook
RSS Feed
Contact
9A 1/1, Balcombe Place
Colombo 08
Sri Lanka
+94 (0)11 267 1160
+94 (0)11 267 5212
info [at] lirneasia [dot] net
Copyright © 2026 LIRNEasia
a regional ICT policy and regulation think tank active across the Asia Pacific