Sri Lanka moves to fix major phone and Internet outages

A special meeting was held yesterday at the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka to address the breakdown of telephone and internet services caused by the severe weather affecting many parts of the country.

Government officials and senior representatives of major telecom operators met to discuss urgent steps needed to restore disrupted communication lines. The meeting was organised by the Presidential Secretariat, the Clean Sri Lanka Secretariat, the Ministry of Digital Economy and the TRCSL.

Officials noted that power cuts at transmission towers and extensive network failures due to heavy rainfall had left many people in affected areas unable to contact their families. This issue received high priority during the discussions.

As an immediate measure, it was agreed that telecom service providers will work directly with the Ceylon Electricity Board to supply generators or other power sources to towers that have lost electricity. The Government’s transport and security authorities will also assist in sending technical teams to repair damaged towers in areas hit by the disaster.

The telecommunications companies also agreed to give priority to emergency calls during disaster situations and reduce congestion on their networks.

Deputy Minister of Digital Economy Eranga Weeraratne stated that the Government is fully committed to supporting the restoration work.

Parliamentarian Dr Najith Indika, TRCSL Director General Air Vice Marshal Bandula Herath (Retired), senior officials from the Clean Sri Lanka Secretariat and representatives from Dialog, SLT Mobitel, Hutch and Airtel were present at the meeting.