Digital Review of Asia Pacific 2003/2004 Sri Lanka

Digital Review of Asia Pacific 2003/2004 Sri Lanka 157
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Sri Lanka
Nalaka Gunawardene and Chanuka Wattegama
.lk
Overview
Socioeconomic background
Sri Lanka offers an interesting case study on how a medium-
sized developing country is trying to embrace ICTs in an
attempt to modernise and to raise the living standards of its
people.
The first country in South Asia to liberalise its economy
and engage the world in 1977, the island nation has been
struggling during the quarter century since to cope with
several formidable challenges related to peace, national
security, poverty, economic development and the
preservation of cultural and natural heritage. On the plus
side, it has remained a parliamentary democracy since
political independence in 1948 and has increased the per-
capita GNP nearly seven times during that period.
1
And
thanks to consistent investment in health and education, it
has also achieved the best social indicators in South Asia
and had a Human Development Index value of 0.735 in
2001.
2
The countrys adult literacy rate exceeds 90 percent,
which is one of the highest among developing countries in
Asia. Over 4.1 million students attended the countrys 9,887
government schools in 2001. Its 13 universities could only
absorb 16 percent of students who qualified for university
admission (Central Bank, 2002).
In spite of this progress, many disparities and problems
remain. Economic growth which has averaged 5 percent
in real terms over the last decade has not kept pace with
population growth or rising aspirations. This has resulted in
high levels of poverty, unemployment, unrest and crime. The
countrys development prospects have been retarded by two
youth insurgencies
3
and a separatist struggle that evolved
into a full-scale civil war lasting two decades. These political
struggles, coupled with a residual socialist mentality, a
disproportionately large public sector
4

and bureaucratic
inertia, have held back Sri Lanka from achieving its full
potential to emerge as a dynamic player that can make
important contributions regionally and globally. There were
renewed signs of hope in 2002 as peace talks to end the
conflict made unprecedented progress, but the road to
recovery, reconstruction and revival will be long and arduous.
Telecommunications Infrastructure
Although the telecommunications history of Sri Lanka spans
more than 100 years, it was only in the mid-1980s that the
ICT infrastructure was established following economic
liberalisation and gradual deregulation. The first step in
restructuring the telecommunications sector was made in
1980 when the postal service was separated from the then
Department of Posts and Telecommunications. But it was
only in 1991, after the department was transformed into a
government-owned corporation called Sri Lanka Telecom
(SLT), that the pace of development accelerated. In 1997,
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (NTT), the Japanese
telecommunications giant, bought 35 percent of SLT shares
for US$225 million and also took over all of SLTs
management.
However, the private sectors participation in this sector
predated this by several years. In 1989, a private company
introduced the countrys first mobile phone service, which
was also the first in South Asia. In the 1990s, other
companies entered the mobile phone market, which
expanded rapidly partly because of the long periods of
waiting for fixed lines. In the mid-1990s, private companies
also introduced wireless local loop (WLL) telephone
services, which spurred competition with the fixed-line
market (Gunawardene & Wattegama, 2001).
Drastic changes have occurred in the telecom-
munications sector since 1990. Wireline telephone
connections have grown from 121,388 in 1991 to 829,282
in 2001 an increase of almost 700 percent. Similarly, the
number of cellular connections, which stood at 1,800 in 1991,
increased to 667,662 in 2001. During 2001, cellular services
expanded by 55 percent, raising the ratio of mobile phones
to fixed-line telephones to 0.81 (Central Bank, 2002). The
overall teledensity was eight telephones (fixed and mobile)
for every 100 persons in 2001.
5
In 2001, there were 9,324 pay-phone booths and 6,535
radio pagers in Sri Lanka. However, PDA usage was still
extremely limited. Commercially available satellite phone
services were introduced only in early 2002, and the number
of users remains very small, mainly because of the high cost
of hardware and operations.
158
Digital Review of Asia Pacific 2003/2004 Sri Lanka
ICT infrastructure
Sri Lanka, although an early starter in computerisation in
the late 1960s, has been considerably slow in rising to meet
the Internet challenge. A comprehensive IT policy is yet to
be announced (Aryasinha, 2002).
The computer population started growing in the late
1980s with the introduction of PCs. The latest available
data from ITU shows the total number of PCs as 150,000,
which produces a density of 0.79 PCs for every 100 persons.
This figure is only a rough estimate as there is no mechanism
to track such data.
6
Although Internet and e-mail facilities had been available
in a few selected academic institutions since 1984, Internet
access on a commercial basis became available only in April
1995, when a private company, Lanka Internet Services
Limited started operations. Sri Lanka was the first country
in South Asia to have unrestricted commercial Internet access
(Wattegama & Sreekanth, 1998). SLT introduced its own
Internet service in August 1995; and in the seven years that
followed, several more ISPs have entered the market. By
September 2002, 23 companies had obtained licences from
the telecommunications regulator to provide Internet
services. However, not all these had started Internet services
yet, while a few companies are known to offer Internet
services without a licence. Because of these irregularities,
official statistics provide only a partial picture of Internet
services and users in Sri Lanka.
According to the Telecommunications Regulatory
Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL), the total number of
Internet accounts was 61,532 in 2001.
7
ITU data for 2001
gives the total number of Internet users in Sri Lanka as
150,000. However, these figures are based only on the
Internet accounts provided by licensed ISPs and not include
those provided by corporate servers and unlicensed ISPs.
Factoring in all these, the total number of Internet accounts
in mid-2002 is estimated to be around 100,000. Using a
conservative number of 3 users per account, there are
approximately 300,000 regular Internet users in Sri Lanka.
Meanwhile, industry data shows that subscribers to Internet
and e-mail services grew by 52 percent during 2001 (Central
Bank, 2002).
Peoples access to technology
The vast majority of telecommunications and Internet users
are based in the Greater Colombo area where economic
activity is concentrated and where a fifth of the population
lives. Similarly, 70 percent of the countrys communications
infrastructure is concentrated in the Western Province, where
Colombo is located. ICT penetration outside Greater
Colombo is still limited owing to several reasons, including
the high cost of Internet access, lack of English proficiency,
computer illiteracy and technical difficulties. Because its low
Internet penetration, ISPs have not installed local Internet
servers in areas outside major cities. This means users in
such areas have to dial long distance to a server in Colombo
each time they access.
Telecommunications and Internet access charges in Sri
Lanka are relatively high compared with developed
countries. One major factor is the 20 percent value-added
tax applicable on telephone charges. An Internet user in
Greater Colombo has to pay between US$1.80 and US$2.15
per hour (including all taxes) for Internet access; the exact
amount depends on the kind of package and the number of
hours used. A resident outside Greater Colombo pays
between US$2.45 and $3.45 per hour. Cyber cafs in
Colombo charge US$1.20$1.50 per hour of access
(Wattegama, 2002b).
In an attempt to reduce the urban-rural disparity, TRCSL
has coordinated the establishment of 41 telecentres in rural
areas, each equipped with Internet and e-mail facilities.
Parallel to this, commercial operators are encouraged and
Sri Lanka facts
Total population: 18.73 million (2001)
31
Rural population as a percentage of
total population: 70% (2001 estimated)
32
Key economic sectors (with percentages
of GDP): Agriculture (19.4%), industry
(26.5%), services (54.1%)
33
Literacy in the national language(s):
91.4% (1999)
34
Literacy in English: Not officially measured,
but believed to be around 35%
Computer ownership per 100 inhabitants:
0.79 (2001)
35
Telephone lines per 100 inhabitants: 8.0
(fixed and mobile combined) (2001)
36
Internet hosts per 10,000 inhabitants:
1.20 (2001)
37
Internet cafs/telecentres per 10,000
inhabitants: no data available on
telecentres, but Internet cafs
estimated to be around 0.1 per 10,000
Internet users per 100 inhabitants:
0.785 (2001)
38
Cell phone subscribers per
100 inhabitants: 3.6 (2001)
39
Number of websites in the national
language(s): Estimated to be around 500
for both Sinhala and Tamil
40
Number of websites in English and other
languages: 25,000 (estimated)
41
Sources:
See Notes.
provided with incentives to expand payphone services in
rural areas (Central Bank, 2002). Meanwhile, a proposed
Telecom Development Fund, to be supported by private
sector and donor money, will assist telecommunications
projects in rural areas, giving subsidies to make up for
operators working in uneconomic circumstances and possibly
funding common infrastructure in these areas.
8
Many well-intentioned civil society initiatives aimed at
bridging the digital divide have been restricted to the
donation of hardware to rural or disadvantaged schools and
groups, without addressing content needs or maintenance
issues. An exception is the multipurpose community
telecentres (MCTs) being tested at the district centres of
Sarvodaya, Sri Lankas largest development-oriented NGO.
9
If rolled out widely, these MCTs could use Sarvodayas
extensive network of 11,400 village centres to provide a
variety of ICT services, including Internet access to the
community while building local content (Samaranayake &
Ratnathican, 2002).
Quality of Internet access
The quality of Internet access varies in different parts of the
island, and comparisons are not possible owing to the lack
of research and data. Several factors determine the speed of
Internet access. The lack of international bandwidth has been
a major issue ever since commercial Internet facilities
commenced, and the poor quality of telecommunications
facilities is another limiting factor. Although high-speed
ADSL (2 MB) and ISDN (64 Kbps) facilities are available
in the Colombo city and some suburbs, their high costs
prevent wide use. Data transfer speeds on narrowband access,
using modems of up to 56 Kbps capacity, vary between 28
and 36 Kbps, while in rural areas this speed is sometimes as
low as 14.4 Kbps.
In the absence of an organised consumer group that
safeguards user interests, ISPs have been known to offer
substandard service. Many ISPs have not expanded their
modem pool to match the growth of their customer base,
which results in severe difficulties in dial-up access during
peak hours. Some ISPs lack adequate back-up systems for
complete redundancy; in times of power failures or technical
problems, servers have been known to remain out of order for
several days, severely inconveniencing users. The lackadaisical
attitude of leading ISPs has prompted frustrated subscribers to
migrate to new ISPs who promise better service (Gunawardene
& Wattegama, 2001).
Development of indigenous fonts and scripts
The use of Sinhala and Tamil the two indigenous languages
in the IT environment is still limited, largely because of
difficulties in using native language fonts. Both languages
have large numbers of characters, which make it difficult to
map every character to the 108 keys in the standard
QWERTY keyboard.
Another constraint has been the unavailability of standard
fonts. Though Unicode maps for both Sinhala and Tamil
have been developed by academics, many font developers
have ignored them and developed their own standards. Some
content developers in Tamil have adopted fonts developed
in India, which has a much larger concentration of Tamil
speakers. Sinhala, being unique to Sri Lanka, faces additional
challenges in font development (Wattegama, 1997).
The lack of a universally standardised Sinhala font set
has largely constrained Sinhala content generation online.
Currently, visitors to Sinhala websites have to first download
fonts and install them in their PCs before perusing the
content. Only a few Sri Lankan websites make significant
use of either Sinhala or Tamil fonts and content. In spite of
Sinhala and Tamil being the official languages of Sri Lanka,
most government websites use only English. The dominant
native language websites are the web editions of several
Sinhala and Tamil daily and weekly newspapers.
Digital Research (Sri Lanka) <http://www.info.lk> and
Science Land Corporation <http://www.scienceland.lk> are
the key players in font development of Sinhala and Tamil.
Science Land also released the first Sinhala electronic spell-
checker and the first Sinhala online dictionary in 2000.
One ISP, Dialog, has recently started offering local
language e-mailing through the phonetic approach, where
a user types from an English keyboard to generate characters
in Sinhala or Tamil. This is enabled by software developed
by Microimage, a local company.
10
Internet user profile
Given the lack of data, it is difficult to map out ICT user
profiles in Sri Lanka. The Internet users are largely urban
residents and corporations, who can afford the high
connection charges and the necessary equipment for access.
One study of 560 Internet users in Sri Lanka (Shrestha
& Amarasinghe, 2001) provided the following insights:
Among the respondents, 71 percent were male and 17
percent female (12 percent did not indicate their gender).
The largest number of Internet users was aged 2635
years (23 percent), followed by 3645 years (21 percent)
and 1925 years (19 percent).
Nearly 6 percent of the users were 18 years or younger,
while users above 56 years accounted for only 8 percent.
More than a third of the users had completed at least a
basic degree; 13 percent were still engaged in full-time
studies.
Content
Sri Lanka produces content in the two local languages and
in English in print, broadcast and new media. The 1990s
saw the private sector entering radio and television
broadcasting, leading to a proliferation of channels and
diversification of content. As audited newspaper circulation
160
data are not available and companies do not disclose their
circulation figures, it is the secondary academic sources that
provide estimates. In 1999, the aggregate daily circulation of
newspapers in all three languages was 524,000, or 2.8 copies
per 100 people, which gives a daily readership of 2.6 million
people (Gunaratna, 2000).
Given the pace at which new radio and television
channels are emerging, statistical compilations are not totally
accurate. The state-run Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation
has a rapidly diminishing share of radio broadcasting, even
though it still offers services in all three languages. In 1999,
it had seven home, three regional, six community and seven
overseas services. Eleven private sector radio-broadcasting
services have emerged since the government relaxed its
monopoly in 1994, all of them offering FM transmissions
on a commercial basis. There are no community radio
stations; and even though several non-profit groups have
applied for licences, none has been granted.
Television remained a state monopoly until 1992, and
the state continues to manage national television broadcaster,
Rupavahini (broadcasting over two channels), and ITN Sri
Lanka. Four private companies compete by offering a total
of seven channels, all of them free-to-air terrestrial channels.
In 1999, direct-to-home pay television services were
introduced, but they have yet to achieve a significant market
share.
Important local sources of
online content
Infolanka.com <http://www.infolanka.com>
One of the earliest websites to cater to Sri Lankans
worldwide, Infolanka has evolved into a multifaceted portal.
It is non-political and showcases information, imagery and
updates about the country. The site also offers one of the
most popular Sri Lankan chatrooms, a Sri Lankan jokes page,
e-cards, classified advertisements and a list of Sri Lankans
personal websites. Visitors can engage in discussions on
social and political issues.
Daily News <http://www.dailynews.lk>
The first Sri Lankan daily newspaper to go online, Daily
News has maintained a steady web presence since September
1995. Being the flagship publication of the government-
owned and managed Lake House Group, it is perceived as a
definitive source of official news, views and announcements,
although it has tried to assert greater editorial independence
recently. The absence of an archive before August 2001 is a
major limitation of this English language site.
Central Bank of Sri Lanka
<http://www.centralbanklanka.org>
This is the most authoritative site for economic, financial
and banking-related information. Launched in 1997, it has
archived the Central Bank annual reports since 1998, its
monthly statistical bulletins and selected publications. The
site also offers exchange rates, Sri Lanka interbank
borrowing rates and money market rates on a daily basis.
This is probably the only government site that gives the
e-mail addresses of all its staff members.
Community Web Sri Lanka <http://www.info.lk>
Coming close to an unofficial Sri Lankan web portal, this
website genuinely tries to cater to Sinhala-, Tamil- and
English- speaking Sri Lankans everywhere. Its strength is
in numerous links offered to useful and authentic websites.
Content and links include news, economics, cricket,
statistical data and classified advertising; and the site comes
with freely downloadable Sinhala and Tamil fonts to view
local language content. Under the same management are
Kaputa.com, a Sinhala and English website showcasing the
diversity and richness of Sri Lankan life, culture and outlook;
and Manthri.com, another Sinhala and English site providing
political news and unbiased analysis. Interactive features
allow visitors to vote and air views on key political issues
of the day.
Lanka Business Online
<http://www.lankabusinessonline.com>
A project of the pioneer ISP, Lanka Internet Services, this
English language site is probably the best current example
of outstanding online journalism in Sri Lanka. Its news and
features are investigative, informative and well written. They
cover a broad spectrum from macroeconomic and global
issues to sectoral ones, including energy, tourism and IT.
The site is updated daily, and it often breaks news ahead of
the business section of mainstream newspapers. A special
section archives all papers presented at the Sri Lanka
Development Forum held in June 2002, which brought
together all aid donors to Sri Lanka.
www.lankacricket.lk <http://www-sl.cricket.org/link_
to_database/NATIONAL/SL>
This is among the growing number of specialised sites
offering exhaustive information and analysis on cricket the
most popular sport in Sri Lanka. Its strength is in numerous
links to practically every data source that matters in the
cricketing universe, providing everything from live coverage
of matches underway and statistical analysis to news, gossip
and speculations. All content is in English.
The Lanka Academic <http://www.theacademic.org>
This site is managed by the Lanka Academic Network
(LAcNet), a non-profit organisation in the USA comprising
expatriate Sri Lankans.
11
The all-English website is a
collation of international media reports on Sri Lankan politics,
sports, culture and economics, reproduced verbatim with links
to original sources. Recent attempts to generate original content
have largely failed because of the content managers lack of
journalistic experience. This and evident political bias have
eroded the sites credibility.
Tamilnet.com <http://www.tamilnet.com>
Contrary to popular belief, this is not the official website of
the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). However, it
is frequently visited by both those supporting and opposing
the militant group. Its popularity can be attributed to its speed
and reliability in presenting news. It was able to present news
immediately after various key incidents in the Sri Lankan
war. For this reason, journalists in Colombo regularly refer
to this site for the latest news. While the general belief is that
this site sympathises with LTTE, a closer look reveals it has
sometimes carried information not favourable to the group. This
site is presented in English and Tamil, and it is one of the few
Sri Lankan sites that can be accessed by WAP-enabled mobile
phones.
Lakbima <http://www.lakbima.lk>
The online edition of two Sinhala newspapers, Lakbima
(daily) and Irida Lakbima (Sunday), it largely mirrors the
print editions, presenting news, features, interviews, editorial
and a special tabloid section. A Sinhala font needs to be
downloaded from the site for reading the pages. The site is
updated daily and archives the past few weeks issues.
Wow.lk <http://www.wow.lk>
This web portal is hosted by Suntel, a leading
telecommunications provider, and incorporates a chatroom,
currency converter, classifieds, jokes, online games, cricket
information and a special section for children. It also allows
visitors to send messages free via a short message service
(SMS) to cell phones, and also to receive such messages.
Lankaweb.com <http://www.lankaweb.com>
This Sinhala and English site collates interesting information
on Sri Lanka. It is evidently biased towards Sinhala Buddhist
ideology and sometimes counter-attacks websites supportive
of LTTE. In addition to news, classified advertisements, diary
of events and features, the site also offers daily exchange
rates, a currency converter and flight schedules of Sri Lankan
Airlines.
Online services
A common characteristic in most Sri Lankan websites is
their lack of interactivity. Most organisations whether
government, non-profit or corporate use the Web mainly as a
one-way promotional tool. As a result, none of the online
services have so far been developed to their full potential.
E-government
Despite many promises, pledges and plans over several years,
Sri Lanka has yet to achieve a proper and complete
e-government in any area. As at mid-2002, there was not a
single fully fledged e-government service available from any
agency or arm of the government. While many have launched
websites for promotional and information dissemination
purposes, none offer a seamless, complete process using
ICTs; visits to offices are still necessary, and paper signatures
are deemed mandatory.
Many public sector institutions in Sri Lanka have
developed their own websites. They include ministries,
departments, public corporations and other statutory
bodies.
12
However, most of these websites are not interactive;
they are no more than electronic brochures, press releases
and announcements. Few government forms are available
online and none are accepted electronically. Updating of sites
is also infrequent, with some government websites listing
names of cabinet ministers or officials who have long ceased
to hold office.
Some government agencies, especially those dealing with
foreign and local entrepreneurs, are trying hard to offer
electronic options to their customers to the extent that laws,
capacity and in-house technology permit. The Department of
Registrar of Companies <http://www.drc.gov.lk>, for example,
has placed online some but not all functions related to
registering a new company.
Among the other government institutions that maintain
useful websites are:
Department of Examinations <http://www.doenets.lk>,
which releases public examination results online
Central Bank of Sri Lanka <http://www.centralbank
lanka.org>, which publishes online exchange rates of major
currencies, repo rates, call money rates, etc.
Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment <http://
www.slbfe.lk>, which issues information seeking foreign
employment
Department of Immigration and Emigration <http://www.
immigration.gov.lk>, which posts information on consular
services and visa requirements
Department of Information <http://www.news.lk>,
which issues government press releases and statements on a
daily basis
Department of Meteorology <http://www.meteo.slt.lk>,
which releases daily online weather forecasts in Sinhala and
English
As evidenced by the above, there is absolutely no
consistency in the naming of government website addresses
or URLs. Few of them bother to use the domain .gov, and
the country domain .lk is also missing in some URLs. This
illustrates a wider lack of systematic approach to ICTs in
the public sector. As Professor R.P. Gunawardane, a former
secretary to the Ministry of IT, has commented, IT systems
have been developed at the initiative of individual officers,
but no well-organised action plan has been initiated by the
government to computerise state sector activities and
services. Although some departments and ministries have
established e-mail, Internet connection, LANs or intranets,
and partially computerise certain services, the use of ICTs
in the public sector is lagging behind (Gunawardane, 2002).
162
Sri Lankas attempts at achieving functional
e-government are also constrained by several factors,
including the lack of automation, lack of trained IT staff,
absence of enabling laws and regulations, and sometimes
the absence of a vision to use ICT tools to improve and
streamline government interfaces with the public. The low
levels of Internet penetration, with English being the
dominant language of websites, are further impediments. A
vast majority of government websites offer only English
content, while a majority of Sri Lankans speak only Sinhala
and Tamil.
13
The public sectors procedure-heavy mentality and
worker attitudes will further hinder the realisation of
e-government. According to one commentator, the trade unions
are likely to object to any e-government system, and fighting
the trade unions mentality can be the most critical challenge in
launching an e-government system (Wattegama, 2002e).
No government institutions offer an online service that
has a direct impact on the lives or livelihoods of the rural
people.
Distance education and e-learning
Although several institutions, including the University of
Colombo School of Computing, the Open University of Sri
Lanka and Singapore Informatics, have been planning to
introduce web-based distance education services, these have
yet to become a reality. In the meantime, a small but growing
number of wired individuals are pursuing diploma,
professional or degree programmes offered by overseas
institutions via the Internet.
In 2001, the World Bank assisted the establishment of a
Distance Learning Centre. Located at the Sri Lanka Institute
of Development Administration, it is part of the Global
Development Learning Network <http://www.
gdln.org> and addresses the training needs of managers. The
centre is owned by the government and operates in
collaboration with the public and private sectors. It has begun
offering short-term courses that involve real-time
interactivity between participants in Colombo and tutors or
resource persons outside Sri Lanka.
E-commerce and e-business
Apart from Internet banking, e-commerce has yet to take
off in Sri Lanka. The countrys first electronic shopping mall
is the Avakasa Kade <http://www.avakasakade.com>,
launched by the Ceylinco Group, a large business
conglomerate. This facility, started in early 1999, offers the
products and services of more than 150 local companies. Its
technology supports online auctions, online membership,
dynamic catalogue creation, targeted advertising, site
analysis and personalisation. Another indigenous site named
Kapruka <http://www.lanka.info> offers Sri Lankan books
online. Eceylinco <http://www.eceylinco.com> offers several
products and services ranging from computers to fast food.
However, all these services are still at an early stage of
development, and the volume of transactions remains small
because of limited promotion and a generally low level of
e-commerce activity in Sri Lanka. These pioneering services
are likely to gain a market advantage in the long term.
Internet banking is the only area where e-commence has
really taken off. As at mid-2002, six major commercial banks
were offering Internet banking services.
14
The range of
services offered online by different banks varies, as do the
quality and clarity of their service. No local bank has
introduced a system where a customer can interface with
the bank entirely online. A number of transactions, such as
opening a savings or current account, requires the customer
to visit the bank to provide an actual signature. Some banks
also offer online services through mobile phone networks
so that a customer can access them even without a PC.
However, a handset with SMS or WAP capability is required
(Wattegama, 2002b).
The facilities offered through online banking are limited
because of the absence of the necessary legal, financial and
technical infrastructures. Transactions are confined to in-
house networks within each bank: there are no online
transactions or settlement between different commercial
banks as there is no common interbank Internet payment
system. This has hampered the growth of Internet banking
to a large extent. No laws recognising the authenticity of digital
signatures have been passed, but the Financial Reform
Committee of the government says this is being pursued.
As yet, Internet banking facilities are used only by a small
portion of the total banking population in Sri Lanka. The
reasons for this include the high cost of Internet access, low
computer literacy and/or English proficiency, and an overall
lack of awareness and appreciation of the benefits of using
Internet-based banking. Unless these broader issues are
resolved, this activity will remain confined to a few
(Wattegama, 2002b).
A small but growing number of utility and
telecommunications companies now offer the facility to settle
their bills through the Internet. Again, user rates remain low
for the same reasons outlined above.
According to media reports, a national e-commerce
gateway was launched in early 2003. It provides fast-track
clearance for exporters and importers by shortening
turnaround time for ports, customs, freight forwarders and
shipping lines. The service promises to minimise
documentation, expedite procedures and reduce the cost of
processing as well.
15
Telemedicine
Automation levels are still low in the Sri Lankan health-
care sector, and ICTs are regarded as specialised tools that
require high levels of skill, investment and maintenance.
However, a few basic telemedicine services have been
introduced by private sector companies.
Ceycom Telemedicine Ltd has introduced a low-cost
telemedicine service which involves image-transfer
technologies. Using these technologies, the requesting
physician can send patient information to a specialised
clinical service provider of the patients choice
(Gunawardana & Dantanarayana, 2002).
Western Infirmary Hospital Ltd. has introduced emed.lk,
which provides medical advice and information via e-mail,
fax or a website to anyone who poses a health-related query.
A multidisciplinary panel of medical experts responds to
these queries.
16
A company named e-Channelling enables people to make
appointments online with medical specialists at selected
private hospitals. This service is operated through the site
<http://www.echannelling.com>, as well as through certain
telephone networks, bank branches and designated
pharmacies.
E-community
The Lanka Academic Network <http://www.lacnet.org> is
probably the most visible example of an e-community. Its
forerunner, Sri Lanka Net (SLNet), was formed in 1986 as a
small electronic mailing list by a group of Sri Lankan graduate
students studying at universities overseas. It carried news
from Sri Lanka that was not easily available at the time from
any other sources. By 1990, both the compilers and users
had increased, with hundreds of Sri Lankans joining the
mailing list. That year, a Usenet bulletin board named
soc.culture-sri-lanka was created to discuss political and
other events in Sri Lanka. With the rapid growth of SLNet
and the resultant linking of many Sri Lankans of various
talents and interests, it was felt that the collective expertise
of the membership could be used to support humanitarian
and educational projects back in Sri Lanka. In June 1991, a
new organisation named the Lanka Academic Network
(LAcNet) was registered as a non-profit organisation in the
USA. Its objectives are to develop worldwide electronic
networks within and outside Sri Lanka; to disseminate
information on, and of interest to, Sri Lanka; and to enhance
educational facilities and opportunities within and outside
Sri Lanka. Office bearers are elected annually, and all members
and officers work voluntarily. LAcNet has launched initiatives
to bridge the digital divide in rural Sri Lanka and runs the online
newspaper The Lanka Academic <http://www.
theacademic.org> (Gunawardene & Wattegama, 2001).
ICT industries and services
Hardware manufacturing and assembly
Sri Lanka has not developed hardware manufacturing to an
appreciable extent. Only a few electronic items and
components are manufactured locally. Attempts to
manufacture hardware items, such as hard disks and memory
chips, have not been very successful. For example, Fujitsu
once operated a branch producing hard disks in the
Katunayake Export Promotion Zone but this venture was
later abandoned as it was not cost-effective.
The assembly of PCs locally, on the other hand, is
widespread. This practice started in the early 1990s as an
alternative to the more expensive branded machines. A
locally assembled entry-level PC now costs between US$500
and $750, while a branded machine with comparable features
costs between US$900 and $1,000.
17
These PCs have
become popular especially among domestic and individual
users. An estimated 300 companies are engaged in this trade
in Colombo alone.
Software origination
The Sri Lankan software industry, though still in its infancy,
has shown impressive growth over the last five years.
Software exports, which stood at around US$5 million in
1996, increased to US$58 million in 2000. This figure was
expected to hit the US$75 million mark in 2001, but the
global recession had an adverse effect. Notwithstanding this
temporary setback, the Sri Lankan software industry has
shown an average annual growth rate of around 40 percent
during 19962001. According to the Board of Investments
(BOI), there were around 50 local software development
houses with an employee strength of 25 or more. Some of
these firms are housed at Colombos World Trade Centre,
the first software park, which was established in 1999
(Wattegama, 2002d).
Sri Lankas strengths in software development include a
well-trained labour force that can be employed at relatively
low costs, an English-speaking business community and
various tax incentives from the government. The security
concern that deterred some foreign investors improved
considerably during 2002. BOI <http://www.boisrilanka.org>
has introduced special incentives to encourage companies
engaged in software development. A software company that
exports more than 70 percent of its output is given an 8 year
comprehensive tax holiday, followed by a 12-year 15 percent
concessionary tax holiday. A software company that mainly
caters to the local market gets a 5 year tax holiday.
ICT services
Among the services on offer are digitalising services, creation
of digital videos, and the development and hosting of
websites. However, the volume of business in these ventures
has not reached appreciable levels.IT- related consultancy
services are also in their early stages, although several
management consultancy firms have added IT-related
services, such as IT strategy preparation, business process
reengineering, post implementation reviews, and business
contingency plans.
164
A new area now being developed is offshore call centres,
where Sri Lanka-based staff respond over long distances, to
customer enquiries directed at multinational corporations.
The first call centre was commissioned in February 2002
and uses voice over Internet phone (VoIP) technology. These
centres are serving British and North American-based clients.
Examples of innovative and
key initiatives
The Sri Lakan media, NGOs and the private sector have
launched various programmes to expose more people to ICTs
and to enable access to disadvantaged communities. Four
examples of such programmes aimed at addressing the digital
divide follow:
Wijeya Pariganaka: This is a monthly Sinhala magazine
covering ICTs. It is published by Wijeya Newspapers Ltd.
Since its launch in 1997, the magazine has blazed a new
trail in nurturing indigenous traditions and talent to meet
ICT challenges. Its editorials offer perceptive analysis of
ICT policies and practices, while its combination of
journalistic and instructional material has helped clarify and
demystify the role of ICTs in economic, social and personal
development. Because it does not engage in the promotion
of individuals or companies, this magazine comes closest to
a chronicle of emerging ICT culture in Sri Lanka.
Antharjalaya Obe Niwasata (Internet to Your Home): This
was a weekly television programme, broadcast live during
evening prime time by the national broadcaster,
Rupavahini.
18
It took viewers on a guided tour of interesting
websites and provided answers to their questions on the
Internet and IT. Although targeted at those who had no access
to the Web, the programme gained a wide following and
was instrumental in popularising the new medium among
Sri Lankans. It registered the highest audience ratings for a
factual programme during 19992000 but was discontinued
in 2001. It has since been replaced by IT@Rupavahini, in a
different format and reduced to 30 minutes in length.
19
Kotmale Internet Radio Project:
20
This project used a rural
transmission of the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation to
bring the World Wide Web closer to its listeners. A daily
two-hour interactive radio programme allowed listeners to
request (live by telephone or through the post) specific
information on any topic, which the presenters then sourced
from the relevant websites and summarised on air in Sinhala.
This helped overcome the twin problems of access and
English proficiency.
21
The station also provided Internet
access free of charge at two public libraries in its signal
coverage area and operated a cyber caf at the station itself.
The project ended in 2001 after donor funds ran out.
VillagePDA: This is a portable device that provides real-
time access to e-mail, contacts, calendar and messaging
functions and is an end-to-end solution designed to help
bridge the digital divide and to address the core
communication needs of rural communities. Designed in
2001 by the Sri Lankan company MediaSolv, it is the worlds
first Bluetooth-enabled PDA and has all the low-cost,
wireless, Internet-ready attributes of ETHERchip, an
embedded application for personal area networks developed
by the same company. The device costs between US$25 and
$50 and has already been field-tested in Kenya and Sri Lanka.
Sri Lankan diplomat Ravinatha Aryasinha, who in 2001
studied the development of the Internet and other ICTs in
South Asia, notes that such empowerment and innovative
projects remain mainly as micro-level exercises. In most
cases, sustainability is a major concern given that they run
on grants and subsidies and have little potential for
replication on a broader scale (Aryasinha, 2002).
At the macro level, most Sri Lankan civil society groups
have yet to embrace ICTs meaningfully. This is due to the
relatively high initial investment required and a lack of
understanding of the potential and limitations of ICTs. Many
groups have used ICTs for office automation or to achieve a
basic web presence by posting their brochures, papers and
news items online. But very few have seized ICTs potential
for campaigning, lobbying, fundraising and nurturing e-
communities around a theme or issue. The thrust for this
will probably come from civil society groups that are formed
by, or are linked with, expatriate Sri Lankans.
Ironically, one example of a Sri Lankan group effectively
using the Web is the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(LTTE), the militant group that waged an armed struggle
against the government from 1980 to 2001. It ran a
propaganda campaign over the Internet for many years. The
group recently abandoned its struggle for a separate state
and entered peace negotiations. In the early 1990s, IT experts
among the separatist organisations far-flung network of
supporters realised the Webs potential for extending their
struggle into the domain of information. They helped launch
and manage a number of websites that promoted concepts
and causes, such as a Tamil cultural identity, a separate Tamil
homeland (Eelam), Tamil interpretations of developments
in the conflict, etc. By the time Sri Lanka developed
commercial Internet access in 1995, LTTE had already
established a strong web presence using its offshore bases.
As senior journalist Lakshman Jayawardene wrote:
There was hardly any opposition to them [LTTE] in the
information war. They campaigned quite early on the
Internet, and the general information scene, more or less
unopposed; and in this way, they built a bank of international
sympathy, leading to misinterpretation of facts about Sri
Lanka, the government, its armed forces, efforts towards
peace, and so on. They gained much political as well as
economic advantages assisted by these international links.
There are supposed to be about 25 Internet websites
spreading false news and misinformation on behalf of the
LTTE, whereas, for a long time, any established counter-
action was not forthcoming (Jayawardene, 1997).
The Tamil Eelam homepage at <http://www.eelam.com>
provides what appears to be official statements of LTTE. It
is complemented by other sites, such as Tamil Nation <http:/
/www.tamilnation.org> and Tamilnet. The latter is a news
and feature service providing reliable and accurate
information on issues concerning Tamil people (see earlier).
Interestingly, none of these sites are managed or hosted from
Sri Lanka; they are based mostly in North America or
Western Europe. Most sites employ professional webmasters,
as evident from the sites regular updates, visual appeal and
interactivity.
The governmental information machinery did not use
the Internet until late 1996, and even then the initial responses
were amateurish, uncoordinated and largely ineffective. This
scattered and ad hoc approach was both confused and
complicated by some expatriate Sri Lankans starting
personally managed websites that claimed to support the
Colombo government and/or the Sinhala cause.
Enabling policies
In 2002, Sri Lanka has gone through yet another review and
realigning of national policies related to IT and
telecommunications. Even though every government has
recognised the important role of these sectors to the economy,
the absence of clear and consistent policies has hindered
their rapid and systematic growth in the country. The current
government has declared a vision for Sri Lanka to be the
financial and service hub to the South Asian subregion, with
connectivity to the rest of the world. It envisions the capital
It would cost a staggering US$82.6 billion if
Africa were to achieve the current level of
Internet penetration as North America
assuming an average cost of US$750 per PC.
A joint US-Sri Lankan IT company has
proposed a solution that can bring down this
figure to US$5.5 billion. Even if that ambitious
goal may not be attainable just yet, the
VillagePDA could soon be a formidable tool in
global attempts to bridge the digital divide.
Contributing to a PCs costs are many
expensive features and applications yet 90
percent of the time these are not used. The
VillagePDA is a no-frills innovation: it is a
portable device that provides real-time access
to e-mail, contacts, calendar and messaging
functions at a fraction of a PCs costs and
using only one-twentieth of the bandwidth a
PC needs for Internet connectivity. In industry
terms, its an end-to-end solution designed to
address the core communication needs of
rural and remote communities.
Designed in 2001 by MediaSolv <http://
www.mediasolv.com>, it is the worlds first
Bluetooth-enabled personal digital assistant
(PDA). Bluetooth is a global standard for
short-range wireless connectivity currently
up to 10 metres that can establish links
between mobile phones, PCs, laptops, PDAs,
digital cameras, etc.
A VillagePDA costs between US$25 and
$50 compared to Palm Pilots, pocket PCs
and other portable alternatives to the PC, all
costing over US$200. Yet, the new device
contains all the capabilities as well as low-
cost, wireless, Internet-ready attributes. It
comes armed with the ETHERchip, an
embedded application for personal area
networks (PANS) developed by the same
company. Unlike Indias Simputer, the
VillagePDA does not require a dedicated
telephone link for each unit instead, it
operates in a wireless personal area network
using the Bluetooth standard. Up to seven
VillagePDAs can share a single phone line or
Internet connection at the same time. To save
on on-board memory, much of the user data is
stored in a central server, which can be
accessed upon user name and password
authentication.
The VillagePDA has been field-tested in Sri
Lanka and Kenya. MediaSolv has teamed up
with Inmarsat, Xantic and Dspace to set up a
demonstration project in a Kenyan village that
is being connected to the world via a
VillagePDA and satellite connection. Initially,
50 users will be supported in their
communication needs. Instead of mass
producing the device itself, MediaSolv
encourages global electronic companies to
take on the innovation. The Kenyan
demonstration will determine the future of this
tool.
VillagePDA to bridge the digital divide
166
Colombo as a multifaceted service centre, with five economic
zones coordinating development at the provincial level.
With the onset of peace after two decades of internal
conflict, the government is hopeful of achieving an initial
economic growth rate of 5 percent per year for 20022004
and higher annual rates of 89 percent thereafter. High
expectations are placed on the IT and telecommunications
sectors to generate foreign exchange and employment.
Leading politicians and officials have recently made
statements that indicate a strategic approach. They have
stressed the need for a single point of contact for all
approvals, facilitating knowledge transfer and attracting
leading-edge and world-class companies. Milinda Moragoda,
Minister of Economic Reform, Science and Technology,
whose ministry covers the IT sector, told Parliament in April
2002: Our aim should be to become an IT hub where East
meets West. To do so, we might need to create a strategic
authority, somewhere along the lines of Malaysias
Multimedia Development Corporation, which acts as the
nodal authority for . . . the multimedia super corridor.
However, our authority should be faster, small and more
proactive than the MDC (Moragoda, 2002).
In mid-2002, the World Bank reviewed the countrys IT
sector and recommended five action programmes. These
cover building implementation capacities and infrastructure,
creating world-class IT professionals and human resources,
and delivering services to the people. Prime Minister Ranil
Wickremasinghe told the World Banks expert team that his
government would unshackle the binding constraints in the
area of IT.
22
Minister Moragoda remarked to the same team
that many existing regulations were acting as an impediment
to the future development of IT.
23
Barriers and constraints
Notwithstanding these statements, major institutional, legal
and procedural barriers remain. Chief among them is the
inadequate legal environment: a draft Computer Crimes Bill
has been in the making for over seven years without being
tabled in Parliament (see also under Regulatory
Environment). Other major barriers include the shortage of
manpower, poor infrastructure (particularly telecom-
munications facilities), small size of the local market, and
institutional overlaps and weaknesses (Gunawardane, 2001).
The human resource issue is receiving increasing
attention, given that Sri Lanka needs an estimated 25,000
workers in the near future to cater to the growing demand of
the IT market. There is a shortage in both the quantity and
quality of the IT workforce. Although several excellent
courses are available at the basic levels, the overall quality
of training is not uniform and there are many unresolved
issues in standardisation and certification. Most computer
training institutes offer courses in now outdated skills or
software, or where market demand and salary levels are low.
Very few courses are as yet available in areas such as web-
based technology, multimedia computing, database
management, object-oriented technology, networking
technology and systems administration. Limited admissions to
the state universities, which provide free education, have
resulted in many joining training programmes of suspect
quality (Samaranayake & Ratnathican, 2002, p.284). The
Ministry of Tertiary Education and Training is working on
formulating a national policy to rationalise and standardise
the public and private sector training programmes on IT
(Liyanage, 2002). Meanwhile, some industry watchers are
concerned about overestimating the future employment
needs of the IT industry and point out that top priority should
be given to developing the software industry to be a major
revenue and employment generator (Wattegama, 2002a).
The telecommunications system in Sri Lanka is still at
an early stage in its modernisation, with serious limitations
in the quality and delivery of services, as well as major
bandwidth problems. A large part of the telecommunications
network is antiquated, and the government has not been able
to mobilise resources for an overall upgrade. A decade of
partial liberalisation has inspired some market dynamism,
but private sector investments are centred in and around
metropolitan areas, while the majority of rural areas are
underserved or neglected. Along with high
telecommunications costs,
24
infrastructure limitations
present a real bottleneck for the proliferation and
development of ICTs in Sri Lanka. The ending of the state
telecommunications monopoly and increasing private sector
participation have not led to a reduction in rates.
The multiplicity of government institutions, overlapping
of their administrative areas and the lack of coordination
among them are also formidable constraints. The
demarcation of administrative areas of government ministries
has not taken into account the emerging trends in media
convergence. While the IT sector comes under the ministry
in charge of science and technology, telecommunications
has been grouped together with mass media. This separation
does not augur well in a country where inter-ministerial
sharing and coordination are traditionally weak.
The formidable challenge for the government is to
overcome these long-standing and deeply entrenched
barriers. As Minister Moragoda has declared, Sri Lanka
needs to ensure competition and provide quality services at
the lowest prices to encourage maximum penetration
(Moragoda, 2002).
In this task, Sri Lanka is relying heavily on both foreign
investors and its own diaspora. The increasing dominance
of South Asian diasporas in the IT sector is of particular
strategic significance. Viewed in the broader context of
globalisation, countries in South Asia will increasingly find
that decisions at home are influenced, if not conditioned, by
forces outside their respective states. Diaspora communities,
largely using the Internet as its source, will play a critical
role in shaping these events (Aryasinha, 2002). With over a
million Sri Lankans working and living overseas,
25
this has
immediate practical implications for the country. The private
sector and the government are trying to lure IT professionals
among the Sri Lankan diaspora to develop the IT industry
and to assist in IT-related human resource development.
Academic and research links with overseas centres of
excellence are to be promoted to attract such expatriates
(Samaranayake, 2002). The Chamber of Commerce and BOI
have launched a website dedicated to this purpose <http://
www.returntolanka.com>.
Draft new telecommunications policy
Sri Lanka was going through a review and change of its
telecommunications policy and regulatory framework at the
time of writing. According to the top government official
handling media and telecommunications, the partial
liberalisation approach adopted thus far has left a number of
complicated issues which thwart the rapid growth of the
ICT industry. Among the concerns he identified are
monopoly versus perfect competition; a black market in
telecommunications with the presence of illegal operators;
marginalisation of the rural economy; market asymmetries;
and bandwidth problems (Abeysinghe, 2002).
A draft new telecommunications policy was published
in early 2002, accompanied by an invitation for public
comments.
26
The policy recognises the need to create optimal
opportunities for all Sri Lankans to participate fully in the
interdependent global information economy by:
creating the conditions for businesses located in Sri
Lanka to engage in all forms of e-commerce using state-of-
the-art ICTs, thereby creating skilled and rewarding
employment to Sri Lankans
creating the conditions for all citizens, be they resident
in Sri Lanka or elsewhere, to support their economic and
personal relationships and to communicate with their
government through efficient and economical use of ICTs
using ICTs to improve governance
The draft policy states the government will promote the
broad development of a comprehensive Sri Lanka
Information Infrastructure (SLII), encompassing all facets
of ICTs. It also recognises that traditional broadcast
television and radio technologies are all converging with
the telecommunications field and states that these trends
and the evolution of SLII require that this policy address
all aspects of the Sri Lankan ICT industries in an integral
manner.
It is not clear, however, whether this policy will replace
or augment the existing National IT Policy, prepared by the
Council for Information Technology (CINTEC) in 1999.
Although senior government officials have recognised
convergence as a reality, the compart-mentalised and sectoral
approach continues.
A specific policy framework relating to the use of the
Internet has yet to be made operational in Sri Lanka (India
being the only South Asian country to have done so). The
Internet is being covered within the ambit of the
telecommunications policy at the time of writing (Aryasinha,
2002).
Key agencies
The key agencies involved in overall ICT-related initiatives
are the following:
The Ministry of Economic Reform, Science and
Technology <http://www.most.gov.lk> leads the government
vision that Sri Lanka becomes a scientifically and
technologically advanced country by 2020. Two dozen
statutory bodies, state corporations and companies come
under its purview.
The Council for Information Technology <http://
www.cintec.lk>, as the apex national body on IT, provides
coordination, facilitation and advice, particularly to the state
sector.
The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of
Sri Lanka <http://www.trc.gov.lk>: Provides the policy and
regulatory framework for the telecommunications industry,
and is increasingly dealing with issues of media convergence.
Regulatory environment
Legal framework
The Computer Crimes Bill had not been adopted into law at
the time of writing. As a result, Sri Lanka lacked the legal
framework for most IT applications. Thus, digital signature
is not recognised, and the basis for e-commerce and
electronic data interchange does not exist. The country also
lacks data protection laws, a key requirement to build public
and corporate confidence in a networked environment. These
lacunae in law have been recognised by both the Judicial
Reforms Commission and the Law Commission of Sri
Lanka, but the problem is not simply the absence of enabling
legislation. While the new Computer Crimes Bills 27 sections
are fairly comprehensive, experts have cautioned that its
eventual implementation will face procedural and operational
difficulties owing to the dearth of police and judicial officials
proficient in IT.
27
Thus, even if the bill is passed in the near
future, enforcing its provisions will pose formidable
challenges.
The absence of cyber laws came under spotlight in May
2001 when a new computer virus emerged, claiming to be
Sri Lankan in origin. This Mawanella virus had a code based
on the infamous Love Bug virus, which originated from the
Philippines, and spread swiftly through networked
computers. Without creating lasting damage to a computer,
the virus disrupted its operations temporarily to display a
political message concerning a violent incident that had taken
place in the predominantly Muslim locality of Mawanella
in Sri Lanka. This is believed to be the first time that a virus
was designed to spread information relating to an ethnically
168
based incident or community (Aryasinha, 2002). This virus,
and the discovery of several pornographic websites believed
to be managed from within Sri Lanka and containing explicit
information and visuals, exposed inadequacies of both laws
and their enforcement in the new, borderless world of ICTs.
While everybody has recognised the need for amending or
introducing laws, nobody has actually ventured forth to bell
the cat as yet.
Regulation and licensing
From the beginning, Sri Lanka has allowed complete
freedom of access and content generation vis--vis the World
Wide Web. Laws and regulations only govern the operation
of ISPs and country domain name registration.
TRCSL issues licences for telecommunications service
providers, including ISPs. As at 1 October 2002, a total of
23 companies had been granted licences as ISPs, with validity
periods varying between five and ten years.
28
The regulators
decision in 1997 to charge a one-time licence fee of Rs.
3,000,000 (US$31,580) from all new ISPs has been viewed
as excessively high by licensees. ISPs in turn pass on this
cost to customers, making Internet services too expensive.
At the same time, it has been argued that this high fee will
prevent start-up companies from entering the ISP market
without adequate resources and commitment.
There are no specific laws or regulations covering the
operation of cyber cafs or telecentres.
CINTEC functions as the network information centre and
administrator for Sri Lankas country domain (.lk)
registration. On CINTECs behalf, registration is handled
by the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at
the University of Moratuwa. First- and second- level domain
names are considered for registration. While the basic policy
and procedures of domain name registration are outlined at
the registrys website <http://www.nic.lk>, the basis for
resolving disputes is not clearly articulated. Some industry
sources express concern over the arbitrary nature of name
assigning and dispute resolution. As a result, many Sri
Lankan companies have opted to obtain more universal
URLs with domain names such as .com, completely
ignoring the country domain name.
Since the state monopoly on radio and television
broadcasting ended in 1992, broadcast licensing has been
handled by the Ministry. There is no declared or established
basis for granting new licences, which is entirely
discretionary on the part of the Minister. TRCSL is involved
in allocating frequencies as part of its spectrum management
responsibilities.
Sri Lanka has well-defined policies and laws related to
intellectual property and is also a signatory to key
international conventions. The Code of Intellectual Property
Act No. 52 of 1979 embodies legislation relating to copyright,
industrial design, patents, trademarks, trade names and unfair
competition. Sri Lankas Intellectual Property Law, which
is based on the WIPO model law for developing countries,
has incorporated internationally accepted principles and
concepts of intellectual property. All trademarks, designs,
patents and copyrights need to be registered with the Registry
of Patents and Trade Marks.
In spite of these legal provisions, software piracy is
rampant in Sri Lanka. Very few institutions, even within the
government use licensed software, and there is little incentive
for them to do so as no penalties are imposed on copyright
violators. According to BOI, a new legal regime for the
protection and management of intellectual property will be
introduced shortly, giving due consideration to national
requirements and international obligations. The proposed
amendments would also streamline the enforcement
mechanism.
30
Open source movement
The IT roadmap the government is currently working on
has identified, as a first step, making Sri Lanka an open
source software hub in the region. The Software Exporters
Association is trying to capitalise on the interest in open
source software. Through a project named the International
Home for Open Source Technology, or iHost, it is trying to
position Sri Lanka as a top software destination. The iHost
Centre would support and maintain ongoing projects while
also providing users with troubleshooting facilities and
testbeds.
As at mid-2002, the only known user group that promotes
the use of open source operating systems is the Lanka Linux
User Group (LKLUG), <http://penguin.lklug.pdn.ac.lk>. Its
main objective is to promote Linux/GNU software in Sri
Lanka. It was started during a workshop on Linux for
Educational and Commercial Environments in July 1998 and
has a core of 40 members and 5 advisors. LKLUG handles
Linux installations and lends distribution kits. The Linux
mini library contains Linux journals, Linux how-tos, LaTeX
documents, CDs and many other Linux books. Users
exchange their experiences through a mailing list.
LKLUG also organises installation workshops and
seminars on Linux/GNU/TeX and associated software. The
FTP site it uses is that of the University of Peradeniya and
contains several Linux software packages. Currently, it is
open only for users coming from the .lk domain.
Research into ICTs
Sri Lankas R&D base is weak and inadequate. Many
companies in the private sector neglected research until
recently, but they are now allocating more resources to
product development and software origination to remain
competitive internationally. The private sector has provided
most of the leadership and R&D in indigenous font
development and in generating more local content on the
Web.
The few universities concerned with ICTs have focused
largely on teaching and consultancy work for the industry
than on R&D. The University of Moratuwas Department of
Computer Science and Engineering <http://www.cse.mrt.ac.lk>
provided the infrastructure and leadership for connecting Sri
Lanka to the Internet in 1990 through the Lanka
Experimental Academic and Research Network (LEARN)
and continues to carry out research focusing on computer
engineering. At the University of Colombo <http://
www.ucsc.cmb.ac.lk>, the main research areas include
localised natural language interfaces, network performance
monitoring, software agents, remote instrumentation and
database-user interface. The international standards for
Sinhala and Tamil have resulted from the research carried
out at this university. It has also developed a popular
multilingual software.
Future trends
It is extremely difficult to predict the future of ICTs in Sri
Lanka because the country has yet to recover from the
political, social and economic upheavals it has undergone
for two decades. The political and social environments are
still turbulent, making it impossible to construct scenarios
with any degree of certainty.
The biggest limiting factor preventing ICT growth in
Sri Lanka since the early 1980s is the armed separatist
conflict. The war not only forced the government to incur
heavy expenses, thereby diminishing funds available for
development, but also discouraged potential foreign
investors. As at December 2002, a ceasefire had held for 12
months and the government and LTTE had started
negotiations which will hopefully lead to a political solution.
However, it is too early to predict the outcome of the peace
process.
ICT growth in the country will depend critically on the
success (or failure) of peace talks. If they are successful,
and a more conducive business environment is achieved,
many international companies will want to invest in Sri
Lanka, thus revitalising the telecommunications and IT
industries. With lasting peace, the country will be able to
offer competitive rates and facilities for such investors. If
the peace talks fail, it will be very hard for the country to
recover from the heavy financial problems it now faces. Past
experience shows that annual GDP growth has to be at least
10 percent to ensure a healthy growth in the ICT industries.
With lower rates, ICT development either will not show
appreciable growth (as happened in the past few years) or
might actually decline:
Assuming that lasting peace is achieved, the following
development can take place within the next decade:
The present growth in telecommunication services, both
fixed and mobile, will continue. The number of mobile
phones will increase more rapidly. Teledensity will go up to
at least 25, maybe even 40, per 100 persons by 2010.
There will be similar growth in the number of Internet
users too, with a major part of that occurring in rural areas.
More Internet content will become available in local
languages.
Development in e-commerce will still be limited. One
reason is the ease of purchasing goods through the traditional
ways. However, the Internet will become more widely used
for delivering and obtaining different types of financial
services. The number of Internet banking accounts will rise
by five to ten times.
The software industry will expand rapidly. With the
ready availability of skilled graduates, it will become one of
the most lucrative business areas. However, local software
companies will find it hard to take on the world market on
their own; they will have to form joint ventures and
partnerships with global players.
ICT growth will be rapid and robust in the north and
east of Sri Lanka, which are just coming out of the two
decades of conflict that left most services and facilities
destroyed.
For Sri Lanka to transform itself into a truly ICT-based
nation with not just its economy but the culture and people
also adopting ICTs the people and their leaders will need
to shed long-standing myopic and negative perceptions about
ICTs in particular and new technologies in general. They
can do no better than to heed the pragmatic words of Sir
Arthur C. Clarke, the islands most famous foreign resident
and noted futurist: Our response to new communications
technologies and new information media should be a mix of
pragmatism and caution. It would be futile even stupid
to bury our heads in the sand and pretend that these rapid
developments dont affect us. We should instead explore
ways of how we can turn (perceived or real) threats and
challenges into opportunities. We must exploit the inevitable.
(Clarke & Gunawardene, 1999).
The coming decade will show if Clarkes adopted
homeland will rise to this challenge.
References
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Notes
1. GNP per capita, which was US$120 in 1948, had increased
to US$823 by 2001, equivalent to about US$2,500 on a
purchasing power parity basis.
2. In comparison, the South Asian average was 0.564;
Australia scored 0.936, Japan 0.928 and New Zealand 0.913
the three highest-ranking countries in Asia Pacific.
3. In 1971 and 198789.
4. Sri Lankas public sector employment, taken as a proportion
of the total population, is the highest in Asia according to the
Central Bank of Sri Lanka.
5. <http://www.trc.gov.lk/stats.html>. This represents a tenfold
increase within a decade.
6. The Customs Department records the number of imported
PCs to Sri Lanka, but this is only a part of the aggregate PC
population as a large number of PCs are locally assembled.
Of the PCs imported during the past few years, the
percentage that is still in use is also unknown.
7. <http://www.trc.gov.lk/stats.html>.
8. Calling Rural Folk. News item Lanka Business Online
<http://www.lankabusinessonline.com> 25 September 2002.
9. <http://www.sarvodaya.org>.
10. <http://www.dialogsl.net> and <http://www.microimage.com>.
11. <http://www.lacnet.org>.
12. The inter-ministerial website at <http://www.gov.lk>
provides links to all government institutions currently
online. However, the public sectors total lack of
coordination vis--vis its online presence is evidenced by the
fact that another website <http://www.priu.gov.lk> also
presents itself as the official website of the government of
Sri Lanka.
13. Different estimates suggest that between 5 and 20 percent of
Sri Lankans are fluent in English.
14. Union Bank, Commercial Bank of Colombo, Nations Trust
Bank, Sampath Bank, Seylan Bank and HSBC Sri Lanka.
They make up less than one-quarter of the commercial banks
operating in Sri Lanka.
15. <http://www.eservicelanka.com>.
16. <http://www.emed.lk>.
17. Locally assembled PCs achieve this cost advantage partially
by installing pirated copies of the operating system.
18. <http://www.rupavahini.lk>.
19. <http://www.rupavahini.lk/it_rupa.htm>.
20. <http://www.kothmale.net>.
21. <http://www.unesco.org/webworld/highlights
internet_radio_
130599.html>.
22. PM Committed to Remove Constraints on IT. The Island,
26 June 2002.
23. Regulations Impediment for IT Development Milinda.
The Island, 3 July 2002.
24. A ten-minute local call between two subscribers within the
same switching centre costs US$0.40 at peak time and
US$0.14 or $0.05 at different off-peak times. A similar call
between subscribers in two secondary switching centre areas
costs US$0.80 at peak time and US$0.21 or $0.05 at off-
peak times. These calculations include 20 percent
government VAT and are based on Sri Lanka Telecoms rates.
25. One in every 19 Sri Lankans lives outside its borders.
26. <http://www.trc.gov.lk/ntp.html>.
27. Proposed Computer Crimes Bill to Help Rapid Development
of IT. Sunday Times, 9 September 2001.
28. <http://www.trc.gov.lk/licence.html>.
29. <http://www.boisrilanka.org/settingup/registration_
patents.htm>.
30. Open Codes. News item, Lanka Business Online
<http://www.lankabusinessonline.com> 12 October 2002.
31. <http://www.statistics.gov.lk/Documents/census2001/
resultindex.htm>. This number goes up to 19.4 million when
all Sri Lankans currently working abroad are also counted.
32. Based on analysis and interpretations of the 2001 census
data.
33. Sri Lanka Socioeconomic Data 2002, Central Bank of Sri
Lanka, June 2002.
34. Ibid.
35. ITU, 2002.
37. ITU, 2002.
38. ITU, 2002.
40. In the absence of any formal estimate, this is the best
guesstimate by the authors.
41. Authors estimate in the absence of reliable data.

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