The Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (TRC) has received seven Expressions of Interest (EOI) for the proposed broadband backbone network that has been a long time coming and it will start early next year after awarding the contract to a successfull candidate, a TRC official said.
“The EOIs to lay fibre optic lines in order to install the broadband backbone network were received three months by the TRC by both local and international parties. We will shortlist them this month and grant them the necessary applications to apply. By the first quarter of next year we will award the contract to a suitable party,” Priyantha Kariyapperuma, Director General TRC told the Business Times.
He said it is a US$200 million venture which will be supported through a World Bank grant. “We are targeting two years to complete this project,” he said, adding that this process of implementing an island wide broadband backbone network will provide persons with high speed Internet access. “This broadband backbone network and the mobile 3G and 3.5G (HSPA) networks will provide high speed Internet access even in the most rural and remote areas,” he said. |
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