The South Asian Telecommunications Regulators’ Council (SATRC) meeting is a three day event which is being held in Colombo from the 24th till the 26th of November. Eight countries from South Asia, with Iran as a newcomer, will take part in this meeting. This yeas main objective is to bring harmony and unison between the telecommunication regulators of the region as well as discussing policies which will lessen regulatory barriers between the countries.

State spokesperson of the participating countries as well as their telecommunication representatives are in attendance at this important three day session. South Asia’s is accountable to almost 1/3 of the world’s population; compromising of almost 2 billion people said Priyantha Kariyapperuma Director General of the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission Sri Lanka at the inaugural session of the SATRC.

This year was declared the year of ICT by the President Mahinda Rajapaksa and it is therefore timely and fitting that this event is being held at this time. It is a unique window of opportunity in Sri Lanka stated the Chief Guest Professor G. L. Peiris Minister of Export Development and International Trade. He further touched on a number of issues which will be discussed during the three day council meeting, these included green technology, the need to protect cultural identity, the protection of children in cyberspace and the important topic of harmonization.

Dr. J. S. Sarma Chariman of SATRC and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India spoke about the need for the spread of broadband throughout South Asia. Sri Lanka has a growing telecommunication network and one that is fast becoming one of the most advanced network systems in South Asia with 3G, broadband, GPS, IPTV and Wimax among other sophisticated telecommunication aspects.

Now ready to step into a new era of satellite communications, the Sri Lanka authorities are on the verge of establishing Sri Lanka Space Agency (SLSA), a step towards acquiring satellite capability; another milestone in the countries telecommunication sector. The SATRC will also look at common policies and a across the board IDD rates within South Asia, in a bid to establish harmony within the sector in all the regions.