The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) says that the use of communication devices including mobile phones that are not registered with the commission will be prohibited in the country in the future.

TRCSL Director General, Air Vice Marshal (Retd) Bandula Herath, stated that the objective of this move is to halt the illegal importation of communication devices into Sri Lanka.

Accordingly, the TRCSL plans to introduce a special initiative for this purpose by the end of the month.

However, the Director General emphasized that the new programme will not affect the mobile phones currently in use.

Commenting on this, the TRCSL Director General further said, “The people of the country have had to face various difficulties and obstacles by purchasing illegal communication devices that do not meet proper standards. Preventing the sale of such devices to consumers is a main responsibility of our institution. To address this, we plan to implement an automated system by the end of this month. The goal is to educate the public and ultimately stop the illegal importation of mobile phones into the country.”

He further stated that under this system, no mobile phones currently in use would be blocked, and there would be no obstacle for foreigners to use their mobile phone devices.