ICT sector performance review for Sri Lanka
Date
2011-04
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Publisher
LIRNEasia, Colombo, LK
Abstract
The telecom sector in Sri Lanka is one of the country's most dynamic sectors, contributing
significantly both directly and indirectly to investment, employment, productivity, innovation, and overall
economic growth. The expansion of information and communications technology (ICT) is a major
objective under Sri Lanka’s development vision of becoming the ‘Emerging Wonder of Asia’ as outlined in
the Mahinda Chintana – Vision for the Future:the development plan set forth by the government in 2010.
As set out in the international literature and evidenced in the reform process in countries around the
world, regulatory governance plays a significant role in policy outcomes and sector performance. The
objective of this report is to evaluate regulatory efficacy as it pertains to Sri Lanka’s telecom sector; to
understand the dynamics between regulatory governance and sector performance; and, to reach
informed and relevant conclusions targeting policy makers, operators, and the regulator.
The 2010/11 Telecom Regulatory Environment survey (TRE) is a perception assessment where informed
stakeholders assess telecom regulatory efficacy, with respect to seven dimensions in the fixed, mobile
and broadband sectors: market entry, access to scarce resources, interconnection, tariff regulation,
anti‐competitive practices, Universal Service Obligations (USOs) and Quality of Service (QoS). Key
regulatory and policy events from the latter part of 2009 to the beginning of 2011 provide the contextual
background for the survey questionnaire. This report also compares the TRE scores for 2010/11 with that
of 2006 and 2008, capturing perception trends over three periods and providing a more comprehensive
analysis of regulatory governance and sector performance over time.
The results of the 2010/11 TRE survey indicate a below average score across all seven dimensions, with
two of the seven dimensions demonstrating significantly lower scores: allocation of scarce resources and
regulation of anticompetitive practices. When comparing the survey results with that of 2006 and 2008,
allocation of scarce resources and market entry in the mobile sector show a declining trend.
Description
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IDRC-Related Report
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Keywords
SRI LANKA, TELECOM REGULATORY ENVIRONMENT, ECONOMIC GROWTH, ICT, TELECOMMUNICATIONS, MONOPOLIES, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, POVERTY ALLEVIATION