• 5G currently in trial stage

• Spectrum allocation by third quarter 

By Zahida Rizvi    [caption id="attachment_133121" align="alignright" width="282"] TRCSL Director General Oshada Senanayake[/caption] The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) is in the trial stage to activate 5G broadband, and if the trial is completed successfully, the Commission hopes to launch 5G broadband for the whole island by 2027, The Sunday Morning Business learnt.  Speaking to The Sunday Morning Business, TRCSL Director General Oshada Senanayake said that the TRCSL has launched trials for 5G broadband in the island, and is currently in the process of ensuring the spectrum is allocated to all Sri Lankan mobile network operators for the implementation of 5G technology in the third quarter of this year.  “TRCSL looks forward to implementing 5G in a period of two to three years. 5G trials were officially reinitiated with all major operators last year, as an initial step on the roadmap of launching of 5G services, which would be an imperative in the vision of creating a digitally-driven smart nation,” he stated.  Additionally, TRCSL is planning to bridge towards commercially operational 5G technology by the first quarter of next year. Dialog Axiata and Mobitel recently conducted pre-commercial 5G trials during 2019, and Dialog has thus far repurposed 20% of its LTE antennae for 5G.  The commission in collaboration of Mobile Network Operators enabled 5G trial network to the region in making available the spectrum in the 3.5 GHz band for the piloting of pre-commercial 5G services.  The trial network will act as a stepping stone for Sri Lanka to innovate new 5G-related products and services, paving the way to access the global 5G marketplace and facilitate industries to leverage the benefits of 5G. However, the 5G rollout depends on TRCSL issuing the license allocating spectrum.  Dialog, having the widest 4G roaming network in South Asia with 369 operators in 150 countries, expanded with a 5G roaming footprint providing a world-class data roaming experience to its subscribers.  According to the estimates of the Ministry of Telecommunication and Digital Infrastructure Facilities, developing 5G technology alone could account for 10% of Sri Lanka’s entire GDP by 2025, and generate over at least one million more jobs for years to come, and collectively add $ 8 billion to $ 20 billion in economic value by 2030 to Sri Lanka’s GDP.