The Cabinet of Ministers has approved revised reimbursement guidelines to accelerate the implementation of the “Communication to the Village” (Gamata Sannivedanaya) national project, which aims to expand 4G broadband coverage across the island.
The project is being carried out by the Sri Lanka Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (TRC) under the Finance Act No. 11 of 2004. So far, 83 communication towers have been constructed in underserved and rural areas through a cost-sharing arrangement with mobile service providers.
However, the pace of the project had slowed due to rising operational costs and limited revenue generation from certain towers in the aftermath of the economic crisis.
To address these challenges, the TRC has introduced revised reimbursement guidelines under which either a maximum of Rs. 35 million per tower or 75 percent of the actual construction cost—whichever is lower—will be reimbursed.
Cabinet approval for the revised mechanism was granted following a proposal submitted by the President in his capacity as Minister of Digital Economy.