New Telecom Act tightens regulations

By Dinali Goonewardene 

Stronger provisions enabling the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) to obtain information have been included, Director of Legal Affairs, Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka, Ms. P. R. Amarasiri told The Sunday Times Business Desk. The TRC may require any person to furnish documents, accounting records, etc. and failure to provide information may result in an order being issued or a fine imposed. Furnishing of false or incorrect information will also result in a penalty.

While the draft act retains the need for ministerial representation, the quantum of fines has also been raised. It also permits the suspension of licences to operators in the event the Telecommunications Act is violated or acts which endanger national security by telecommunications bureaus. Stronger provisions to enforce licensing conditions for spectrum licences have also been included.

The draft enforces the sharing of facilities (such as towers) by operators. This is intended to enhance environmental protection, regulatory sources said.

The draft introduces a Universal Services Fund facilitated through a licence payment. The fund will be used to enhance rural telecommunication access, facilitated through a licence payment. Fees will also be charged to cover expenses in carrying out inspections of operators' premises.

While the Telecommunication Act in operation stipulates that radio frequency apparatus can be used only if licensed, the new draft makes even the possession of such unlicensed apparatus an offence.

The new draft seeks to amend the Sri Lanka Telecommunications Act No. 25 of 1991 which was subsequently amended by the Sri Lanka Telecommunications (Amendment) Act No. 27 of 1996.

The drafting committee for the proposed amendment consisted of representatives from the Legal Draftsmanís Department, the TRC, Public Enterprises Reforms Commission, Attorney General's Department and Health Ministry. R. K. W. Gunesekera, a top Sri Lankan lawyer, chaired the committee

Right of reply

PERC report not disputed, says Shell

They accurately reflect SGLL's financial performance over the past five years.

"What we advised your reporter was that Shell looks at its performance in Sri Lanka on the basis of the combined performance of its two LP gas companies here: SGLL and Shell Terminal Lanka (Pvt) Ltd (STLL). Shell invested heavily in both companies during the course of the past five years," Shell said

Whilst SGLL did manage to record a positive income from 1998 to 2000, the combined performance of SGLL and STLL reflected losses in each year except 1999 with accumulated losses of Rs. 1.1 billion during the five-year monopoly period.

Our reporter's comments: Shell has publicly in the past said it was running at a loss when asked why gas prices were been raised. It hasn't (conveniently) spoken about the profits it makes – as the PERC website shows – in selling and marketing the gas. 

Its losses are from the terminal operation. On the other hand shouldn't PERC be conveying the combined Shell performance and give the public a clearer picture of Shell's financial position instead of only the positive side?

Comet Cable subscribers complain of poor service

By Akhry Ameer

Several subscribers have been denied access to cable TV for as long as three months after the decoders allotted by the company had failed.

Technicians who recently visited a residence of a subscriber to check a fault had said that there are no standby units available as all available units have already been given as replacements to other subscribers whose decoders were defective.

Recently the company also came in for criticism from subscribers for its interruption of the promised channels. Cricket fans who primarily subscribed to the service because of the ESPN and Star Sports channels had missed many cricket tournaments as the company had transmitted various other channels in lieu of it. Some others said they had subscribed because they were told that the 24-hour 'BBC News Channel' was uncensored.

"They are having financial problems hence they cannot afford to pay the channel owners the license fees. So whenever they don't pay, the channel owners disconnect their services. That is why the channels are being telecasted on and off. The delay in getting decoders may probably be due to lack of funds," alleged a subscriber.

Another subscriber said Comet Cable service is generally good, there are no billing problems and they attend to faults immediately. "They don't charge a subscription fee until they replace the decoder. But what is the point if we have to wait over two months? There's no point disconnecting the service because there is no refund on the connection fee of Rs. 12,000," the subscriber added.

Comet Cable is a Pay TV service offered by Ruhunu 2001 Multivision (Pvt) Ltd. Comet Cable's transmission is received through a special antenna and decoder installed by the company at the subscriber's residence. Meanwhile, another Pay TV operator has entered the market and is in the process of setting up masts and cables in Colombo for their transmissions.

The company acknowledged that there had been shortcomings in the past. However, a company official said the situation would change since the management had changed two months ago.

"We are replacing all the defective decoders at the rate of almost 25 units a day and this is currently our top priority. With regards to the non-telecasting of the promised channels, we have re-negotiated with the service providers because earlier we had an unrealistic minimum guarantee that we could not meet," said Manjula Palipane, Marketing Manager.

Sex tea'ser

By Hiran Senewiratne

Officials at Global Village Lanka (Pvt) Ltd said the company is producing this scientifically-developed aphrodisiac tea after two years of research. It is also believed to be the first of its kind in the world.

Herbs increasing sexual prowess have been used in the composition of this tea which is being sold under the brand name – "Rain Hill" and it is a 100 percent natural product. Officials said tea drinkers opting to use this special tea would not notice a change in taste when compared with any other brand. Orders for the product have been received from the US, Germany and Japan. The tea has already been exported to those countries and the response was positive.

Rain Hill aphrodisiac tea was certified by the Argos Control Laboratory Warenprufung in Germany and Sri Lankan government agencies.

Sampath sets new trends

It said this new facility has been identified by the bank as a top priority need and it fulfils a long requirement for shopping from the living room and brings the nation's marketing services closer to standards in the world marketplace.

A notable feature in the 'Internet Payment Gateway' is that all the software necessary was produced entirely by a breakthrough Sri Lankan IT Company, Interblocks (Pvt) Ltd. Transactions routed through the gateway will be fully secured with a 128-bit secure socket layer encryption with certification obtained from Verisign Inc., USA.

Initially the gateway will have select items for shopping and will be extended to customers of Sampath Bank only. The bank expects the facility to soon cover the total range of Sri Lanka's banks and merchants as the idea catches on.

The first retailer to come in was Singer (Sri Lanka), a leader in consumer products marketing. 

Several key merchants have already indicated an interest in joining the facility and will be signing up shortly.

Use of the Internet and the World Wide Web is creating a revolution in the way business and trade are conducted. The explosion of electronic commerce (e-commerce) in recent years has been one of the most striking examples of globalisation. Internet shopping has experienced rapid growth for which payment is usually through credit cards.

For the consumer, Internet shopping presents a wide range of conveniences made available at the press of a button. The customer has only to click on his/her computer and access shopping sites for any need from groceries to the total range of consumer durables and await the delivery at the doorstep.

Serious problems in CEB - union

He said in June 2000 the CEB rented a total of 100 MWTs (Thermal power) from the Agreko plant which had cost Rs.1,440 million for the first ten months in rental charges but these machines were not brand new. "However, we could have had 600 MWTs had the same machines been bought brand new by the CEB at the market price of Rs. 800 million," he said adding that these dealings have resulted in the overnight disappearance of excess cash worth Rs.3.8 billion held by the CEB in December 1999.

Dr. Perera said that repeated delays in the implementation of proposed power plants have also contributed considerably to the present crisis. He said that in the wake of the 1996 power crisis, in a move to avoid a repetition of the saga, the CEB planned to have in place by the end of 2000 -a combined cycle power plant of 150 MWT capacity. It was started at Kelanitissa but is still under construction today - at least two years late.

The non-implementation of projects is due to the whole decision making process in the government being in disarray, asserted Dr. Perera while explaining that most Independent Power Plants (IPPs) are not decided by the CEB but by the Treasury and the BOI who have neither the expertise nor the intent to make a decision in the best interests of the country. 

Driven by investment, they get the tender approved and practically shove it down the throat of the CEB which is then forced to pay for it. Dr. Perera also revealed that the drastic consequences of corruption does not end in a CEB officer receiving a sum of money for a tender but more importantly the losses incurred by the CEB through these errant dealings.

This state of affairs finally results in the consumer losing out by way of power cuts and price hikes. He maintained that the product capacity of the CEB must always be ahead of demand if a power crisis is not to be repeated. 

Building more reservoirs is not feasible because almost 99 percent of economically potential hydro capacity has already been exploited. In this respect coal, he said, is the only low cost technology available at the moment.

Pan Audio InFocus with projectors

By Akhry Ameer

InFocus' newest all-digital notebook LP130 projector has the smallest form factor weighing 1.36kg and is targeted at the mobile professional. It projects true 1024x768 pixel XGA (Enhanced Graphics) resolution with 400:1 contrast ratio. Its brightness strength of 1100 lumens is as much as other standard conference room multimedia projectors. A more attractive feature of this mobile projector is its compatibility with HDTV format and its all-in-one cable that provides the user with the choice of digital, analog and the newer USB (Universal Serial Bus) connectivity.

When asked how Pan Audio plans to compete with the widely popular local projector rental business, its Marketing Director, Mr. G.S. Sylvester said that as the projector rentals are also expensive, they intend to give units on a trial basis to customers and make them interested. Mr. Vincent Leung, Marketing Director - Asia/Pacific added that this was not unusual and that other countries also have rental businesses together with a direct purchase segment.

Pan Audio Company Limited was established in 1982 primarily to market data storage products. InFocus Corporation is an American company established in 1986 and specialises in digital projectors, technologies and services and marketing multimedia projection systems under three brands: InFoce, Proxima and ASK.

'Wasanthaya' boosts local enterprises

The ILO-SIYB project, which presently covers the Matara and Hambantota districts, hopes to facilitate support for programmes offered by the ministry to local and medium-scale enterprises through district-based Business Development Services (BDS) organisations, a SIYB statement said.

The objective of the 'Wasanthaya' programme is to create an environment conducive for the growth of local enterprises by reaching potential and existing entrepreneurs. It is expected to create at least 2,300 new small-scale businesses and 23,000 direct and indirect job opportunities.

The formulation of the programme framework and coordination of the various activities will fall under the purview of the ministry while the actual implementation of the 'Wasanthaya' programme will be entrusted to local institutions in the relevant districts.

In this respect a directory of district-based BDS organisations in the southern province is to be prepared under the ILO-SIYB project in the next three months. This will be followed by an analysis of training needs of identified entrepreneurs with the assistance of the IDB so as to facilitate the formulation of strategies to match the needs with services delivered by district based BDS organisations.

SYIB has urged business firms in the south to submit a brief company profile to the ILO-SIYB project office at 10, Hakmana Road, Matara, if they are interested in the 'Wasanthaya' programme.

Gateway's window to the world

The agreement between Gateway Kids School of Computing, represented by their Director, Dr. H.K. Alles, with NCC Education, UK, represented by their Managing Director, David Pottinger, is seen as a landmark agreement for a local firm involved in teaching children Information Technology (IT).

NCC Education is the world's leading independent IT testing and certification body offering a wide range of globally recognised IT education and training programmes.

It has a network of over 300 accredited partners delivering IT education in over 40 countries including the UK, Australia, Asia, Middle East, Africa, etc.

NCC has expressed their willingness to tie up with Gateway to market the children's programme worldwide along with NCC's popular and established suite of ICT programmes. 

Gateway's ICT programme for children between 4 to 16 years is similar to the British national curriculum in ICT. The programme of study is one of the most comprehensive ones available, as all aspects of ICT such as application software, programming and computer science theory are included. Gateway has published also some of their course material in the UK.

The Chairman of Gateway, Mr. R.I.T. Alles, believes it is the first time in the history of Sri Lanka that an educational programme designed and developed in Sri Lanka has been recognised and accepted by an international organisation.

Eureka Online adds more value

The new service, Eureka Mail Centre, available at http://www.eureka.lk offers a facility for which customers have long felt the need. This means, the customer will have the ability to view his or her e-mail as part of a web page and then read, reply, compose a new e-mail or delete the mail without ever having to download them and all this from any location they choose. The system allows EOL users to access their e-mails from any computer with Internet access in any part of the world without actually having to download them onto their own computer. This serves the dual function of allowing users to view and reply to e-mail, as well as protect their computers from un-known and unsolicited e-mails, which may even contain harmful viruses and large unnecessary attachment files.

New director at Unilevers 

Mr. Cabraal counts 18 years with Unilever during which time he has held many positions in marketing and sales both in Sri Lanka and overseas. Besides his previous assignment as Sales and Marketing Director of Unilever Bangladesh, he has worked in Unilever companies in the United Kingdom and India.

John Keells' IT grads fly high

Janashakthi finalises NIC stake

The government still continues to retain 49 percent shares of which 10 percent will go to employees.

Following the completion of the transaction, Nissanka Wijewardane, C. T. A. Schaffter, W. T. Ellawala, L. C. R. de C. Wijetunga, T. R. Mirando and P. A. Schaffter were appointed NIC directors in addition to the five existing directors. Mr. Wijewardane was unanimously elected Chairman, Mr. C. T. A. Schaffter, Managing Director while Tryphon R. Mirando and Prakash Schaffter were appointed Executive Directors.

NIC has around 100,000 customers served by 725 employees, 800 agents and 30 branches in major provincial towns.

"Our investment in acquiring a controlling stake in NICL is a reflection of our long-term commitment to be the leader in the Sri Lanka's market. It also endorses our confidence in the medium to long-term growth prospects the country offers," JICL Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Chandra Schaffter said.

JICL has given a firm undertaking that the existing staff of NICL would not be deprived of their jobs. Last year JICL successfully completed the merger of two of its companies, which specialised in life and general business. During the financial year ended December 31, 2000, JICL turnover grew by 26 percent to Rs. 801 million. Life business increased by a healthy 33 percent to Rs. 245 million.

Food City chain boosts Cargills profit

Turnover rose by 24.4 percent to Rs. 2.9 billion. "The Food City chain of supermarkets was responsible for the improved performance," Chairman, CCL, Anthony Page, told shareholders in his annual report. The Food City chain opened four new outlets in Kurunegala, Matara, Wattala and Pelawatte. "The management will continue to expand the supermarket chain to the provinces thereby catering to a larger segment of the population," Page said.

The group had invested Rs.138 million in fixed assets compared to Rs.75.6 million the previous year. The company received a dividend income of Rs. 8.39 million from CT Land Development Ltd and Lanka Ceramics Ltd.

During the year the company had carried out a media campaign to help people overcome their reluctance to visit supermarkets. The trump card scheme was introduced to reward loyal customers.

Innovative tea auction systems brewing

By Diana Mathews

Mercantile Produce Brokers Ltd in a report on last year's tea industry said screen-based trading and the futures market are alternative methods being considered for marketing tea.

These systems, the report said, would reduce the time spent in auctions and a uniform price would also be ensured. "If the new marketing systems were enforced, uniformity of the product would be the first problem that would be resolved. The basic prerequisites for effective marketing of the commodity are uniformity in quality and adequacy of supplies and these are not always attainable in the production of tea. Atmospheric and weather changes result in the production of various grades making it even more difficult to maintain uniform quality," the report noted.

Screen-based trading would require high capital investment and expertise in this field, particularly for local traders who do not have the required capital as well as the knowledge to operate these systems. These are some of the reasons attributed for the opposition to the new systems.

Mercantile Brokers said the conventional auction system has always been praised even though some presume that this system does not provide the producers with the best possible prices.

The current system affords equal opportunities for the purchase of tea at competitive rates. This system also ensures that the produce would not be downgraded below the prevailing market prices. Other major advantages are the distribution of tea into international markets at fair prices and access to reliable information, the report added.

Improved productivity with Satellite Plus

Satellite Plus is a computerised tool that captures production events as they occur, thus enabling the management to run manufacturing facilities more productively and efficiently. 

The major benefits of Satellite Plus are improved productivity, reduction in production costs, decrease in output time and better quality. Five to twenty percent increases in productivity, progress controls, line balancing, scheduling, time attendance and statistical quality control also accrue, the statement said.

Leadtec was formed in 1978 to develop and market shop floor production control systems for garment manufacturers. The company has installed five hundred systems around the world including Mexico, Spain, Canada, Australia, Philippines, France and UK.

Lottery results from Mobitel

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