National Broadband Consultative Committee

An initiative under the Presidential Secretariat

www.nbcc.lk

National Broadband Consultative Committee - NBCC

National Broadband Consultative Committee is a special Committee appointed by the Government of Sri Lanka to accelerate and promote high speed broadband Internet availability in the country. To provide affordable high speed Internet access to all citizens in the country the Committee will be taking all necessary measures through a strategic process under this accelerated project. To convert Sri Lanka in to an IT hub in the region and to empower the society with knowledge and information people must be provided with fast affordable Internet access irrespective of the place of living and social standards. The committee will address the obstacles that prevent the country from achieving these goals in the past.In this regard an initiative has been taken by the Presidential Secretariat. The main structure comprises of three organizations including Presidential Secretariat, TRCSL and ICTA.

Since its introduction, broadband has managed to create many excitements in the world.  The social and economic revolution created by broadband would have been the main reason for the creation of these excitements. Broadband is recognized as the novel data communication technology that drives social and economic development in the world effectively over the IT platform. Wider bandwidth and higher data transfer speeds coexistent in modern broadband technology promise large sum of benefits to economies upon successful integration. Today the high speed Internet based on broadband technology has become the catalyst for economic development in all over the world. The relationship between broadband adoption and the increase in GDP further reflects the significance of broadband.

However in Sri Lanka, high speed broadband Internet has not become the dominant player in economic development process. People in the country are not aware about its benefits and very rarely use it in their daily tasks. However the other regional countries have taken national level initiatives to increase broadband penetration in their counties by further assuring its remunerations to their citizens. The state-backed national initiatives have been taken by respective Governments to promote and integrate high speed Internet services in their countries. In this regard national policies were implemented and certain measures have also been taken to attain explosive growth in broadband development.

To promote high speed broadband Internet in Sri Lanka, a national policy for high speed broadband is urgently needed. The delay in implementing such policy so far has prevented the country from achieving its social and economic goals timely. Lack of Government’s intervention and failure in recognizing the importance of broadband would have been the main reason for the creation of such condition. However national policy for high speed broadband Internet would be capable of addressing these issues through a legislative approach.