Sunday Nov 17, 2024
Sunday Nov 17, 2024
Friday, 23 May 2014 00:48 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The official ceremony in this regard was held on 17 May marking World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD) at the world famous elephant orphanage in Pinnawela in the presence of Minister of Telecommunication and IT Ranjith Siyambalapitiya, Chief Minister of Sabaragamuwa Province Mahipala Herath, Ministry of Telecommunications and IT Secretary S.M. Gotabaya Jayarathne and Sri Lanka Telecom Group Chief Executive Officer Lalith de Silva.
The company will be further expanding its public Wi-Fi hotspot service, which is the Next Generation Wireless Broadband Access (WBA) technology, to expand and improve the overall quality of the country’s broadband footprint to empower more citizens in the country with a superior broadband experience.
Revolutionising mobile computing experience
The company believes ‘SLT Wi-Fi’ solution is set to revolutionise the mobile computing experience for end-users. Commonly known busy places like airports, hotels and cafés with Wi-Fi connectivity, an increasing number of enterprises, SMEs and retailers are looking to offer Wi-Fi as a value added service, so customers and visitors will have a better experience for shopping etc.
Through SLT Wi-Fi Hotspots high-end enterprises, private and public institutions, SMEs and micro businesses also will get new opportunities to tap into new business models as well as to improve their businesses and attract more customers simply by creating an inviting environment for customers and visitors to spend more time within or around the premises.
Existing SLT Broadband users will get immense freedom to get connect to any of SLT’s public Wi-Fi Hotspots by using the same Broadband username and password which they use at home or office to connect to the internet. Connecting to SLT Wi-Fi Hotspots is possible with any Wi-Fi capable mobile or smart device when travelling, shopping, meeting friends, at an event, etc.
Technological advancements to rural areas
Siyambalapitiya said: “Today, the need for more options for ICT, connectivity and bandwidth is very much needed to move forward with the country’s development goals. The Government is very clear on the country’s ICT strategy and we are not only confined to urban town areas when introducing new technology and ICT services. We are also bringing technological advancements even to the farthest rural areas of the country. This is one of the classic examples where SLT has introduced carrier-grade Wi-Fi technology in Pinnawela, an area that is away from the highly commercial City Colombo. SLT’s active participation in industry level developments is very much needed at this stage of the country’s growth. I believe SLT’s public Wi-Fi deployment is one of the most significant enhancements as well as a major milestone in the telecommunications sector in Sri Lanka. I wish to congratulate SLT for their efforts in deploying state-of-the-art ICT platforms for the benefit of the industry as a whole.”
Sustainability in spite of challenges
De Silva commenting on this industry milestone said: “Users of carrier-grade Wi-Fi will be able to access rich media content, or data intensive enterprise applications while on the go, in a way that wasn’t previously possible on standard public Wi-Fi. For retail environments, this has the potential to open up a world of immersive, interactive shopping experiences for customers, and it will also allow them to share their experiences online in the most efficient and cost effective manner. Business users, on the other hand, will benefit from a high speed, reliable connection back into the company network to conduct faster, more efficient business while on the move.”
He added: “Carrier-grade Wi-Fi network provides a host of direct, targeted marketing opportunities for shop owners, companies and big brands within these environments. With our extensive country-wide fibre optic network, we’re able to provide the end-to-end infrastructure required delivering carrier-grade Wi-Fi to business locations as well as crowd-sourcing public places. We are aiming to adopt an aggressive expansion strategy for this solution, and already have a pipeline of additional retail sites that we will be launching very soon. We therefore expect that all feasible strategic locations connected to economic hub locations will be equipped with this solution to accelerate economic development in the very near future. We need to capitalise on our carrier grade Wi-Fi network with its expansion plans to ensure good-quality wireless broadband for all citizens of the country. As a nation we all should focus on sustainability in spite of challenges, taking into account how broadband can accelerate change across all key strategic and economic goals of the country.”
Futuristic global connectivity
One of the key strategic objectives of the SLT Group is to drive broadband-based consumer and enterprise services by expanding the broadband footprint via Next Generation Network and National Backbone Network and Next generation access of ADSL2+, VDSL2, Optical Fibre, Carrier-Grade Wi-Fi and both fixed and mobile 4G LTE technologies.
SLT has already taken proactive steps to invest in futuristic global connectivity via new SEA-ME-WE 5 cable system, upgrading the SEA-ME-WE 4 cable system and expanding the network to bring gigantic capacity to Sri Lanka looking at future focussed data demands.
