In an article published on 31 December 2025 in the Daily FT, LIRNEasia Chair Professor Rohan Samarajiva highlights how the Ditwah disaster exposed major vulnerabilities in telecom networks. He emphasizes that numerous telecom sites across the country were affected, leaving many districts without mobile or data services for days, which restricted access and delayed restoration efforts. Professor Samarajiva questions whether post-disaster telecom infrastructure rebuilding should aim for mere resilience or true “building back better.” Resilience, which means restoring networks to pre-disaster conditions, may simply repeat failures. Building back better, he emphasizes, requires treating telecom infrastructure as critical and addressing the root causes of failure. 
In an article published on 31 December 2025 in the Daily FT, LIRNEasia Chair Professor Rohan Samarajiva highlights how the Ditwah disaster exposed major vulnerabilities in telecom networks. He emphasizes that numerous telecom sites across the country were affected, leaving many districts without mobile or data services for days, which restricted access and delayed restoration efforts. Professor Samarajiva questions whether post-disaster telecom infrastructure rebuilding should aim for mere resilience or true “building back better.” Resilience, which means restoring networks to pre-disaster conditions, may simply repeat failures. Building back better, he emphasizes, requires treating telecom infrastructure as critical and addressing the root causes of failure. 
Sri Lanka is preparing to roll out Starlink, an innovative satellite-based telecommunications service provider. In an article published in Views Bangladesh on June 2, 2025, LIRNEasia Chair Professor Rohan Samarajiva examined the legal and regulatory dimensions of Starlink’s entry into Sri Lanka. He examined the complexities surrounding the licensing framework, public policy obligations, and the reported absence of clear provisions for lawful interception in the license. He also highlighted the technical and legal challenges posed by the absence of a local gateway, noting that lawful interception would be significantly complicated under such conditions. “News reports claim that the Starlink license does not include provisions on lawful interception.