“Gamata Sannivedanaya” (Connect Sri Lanka) Project

The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) commenced the project “Gamata Sannivedanaya” (Connect Sri Lanka) to fulfill country-wide 100% 4G/Fiber broadband coverage.

With utmost focus provided on Digital Transformation and the embracement of technology in driving the country towards a digitally enabled government and a digital economy through the government vision defined on the vistas of prosperity and splendor, the underlying infrastructure for the digitalization of the country is the mandatory requirement of connectivity. Broadband internet coverage across the country with a focus on affordability will be a key success factor in ensuring that citizens are provided universal access.

The Gamata Sannivedanaya program launched by the TRCSL in 2019 is now in progress to address the lack of broadband connectivity and preliminary work concluded with a yearlong exercise of a survey across all 25 districts and 14,000 plus Grama Seva administrative areas in understanding the ground realities of actual coverage issues.

Under this project, the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRCSL) provides monetary support to the telecom operators through the Telecommunications Development Charge (TDC) fund to achieve 4G/Fiber broadband coverage for identified areas.   Further, it is intended to develop and promote a high-speed, affordable, and sustainable 4G/Fiber broadband network with a focus on last-mile connectivity as well as enhance the quality of life of rural communities.

The TRCSL successfully implemented the first phase of the 4G/ fiber broadband deployment project in ten districts including Rathnapura, Kurunegala, Matara, Anuradhapura, Kandy, Badulla Kalutara, Kegalle, Jaffna, and Trincomalee. It is estimated that approximately 276 new telecommunication tower sites would be required to complete the 4G coverage under the “Gamata Sannivedanaya” project. Accordingly, 57 tower sites have been already commissioned by the operators in the Rathnapura, Kurunegala, Badulla Kalutara, and Kegalle districts. Further operators planned to construct new towers and the rest of the areas and balance are in the process of acquiring lands and obtaining approvals from relevant government authorities.

The below table shows the progress summary of the telecommunication tower construction.
Gamata Sannivedanaya Project – Summary as at 01.01.2024

In the year 2023, three towers in Rathnapura District, eleven towers in Kurunegala District, and one tower in Badulla are on air. Additionally, two towers in the Kegalle District and one tower in the Kalutara District are temporarily operational to address the urgent needs of rural communities.

Due to the unfavorable economic situation faced by the country in the year 2022, Telecommunications equipment and construction costs were increased. Considering the cost escalation of tower constructions, the Commission decided to increase the per-site TDC disbursement up to 27.4m. Further to that Guidelines were amended to expedite the tower construction process under the “Gamata Sannivedanaya” Project.