Sri Lanka is faced with delays in launching the much anticipated Starlink internet service owned by Elon Musk’s SpaceX due to technical issues in the agreement with the company, Cabinet Spokesman Nalinda Jayatissa said.

Speaking at the cabinet decision media briefing yesterday (27), he said that technical issues in the agreement made with Starlink have delayed the launch of the internet service in Sri Lanka.

“We thought we could resolve it by April, but we were unable to do so,” Jayatissa added.

In August 2024, The Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) authorised the license of Starlink to provide satellite broadband services in Sri Lanka from 12 August 2024, but the TRCSL itself stated that the service launch was withheld until the conclusion of the presidential election, owing to some pending clearance.

Then it was announced that the launch will happen in April but has been delayed again owing to technical issues.

According to Starlink website, a residential Starlink connection will come at Rs. 15,000 per month along with a Rs. 105,000 hardware cost.

The Rs. 15,000 monthly rental offers unlimited data at speeds varying between 25-220 Mbps for downloads and 5-25 Mbps for uploads.

In January, the TRCSL approved Starlink’s ‘Priority – Fixed’ tariff plans. Monthly packages include: Rs. 20,994 for 40 GB of priority data, Rs. 62,859.24 for 1 TB, and Rs. 125,965.46 for 2 TB. For data exceeding the subscribed 1 TB, 2 TB, or 6 TB monthly plans, an additional charge of Rs. 125.57 per GB applies.

The Roam (Mobility) package is Rs. 27,000 per month regional service and Rs. 145,000 per month global service.

Last week, Starlink launched its services in Bangladesh, with monthly packages starting at $ 35. Starlink has more than two million active customers and is available on all seven continents and in over 70 countries.

The UK is keen to see Sri Lanka reduce market access barriers and improve ease of doing business and enhance transparency which will further boost the UK – Sri Lanka trade and investment relationship.

The UK Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy for Sri Lanka, Lord Hannett of Everton, is visiting Colombo from 25th-28th May. This is his first visit to Sri Lanka since he was appointed in January 2025.

Lord Hannett will meet with the Minister of Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe, Deputy Minister for Industry and Entrepreneurship Chathuranaga Abeysinghe and representatives from Sri Lanka’s Export Development Board to discuss Sri Lanka’s trade and investment landscape, opportunities for and challenges faced by UK companies, and plans on reforms and improving ease of doing business to support the shared economic growth of both countries.

Lord Hannett will be engaging with wide-ranging representation from across the business community. This will include senior UK and Sri Lankan business personalities, UK transnational education providers, women business leaders, members of the committee of the Council for Business with Britain, and visits to UK companies in the market namely London Stock Exchange Group, De La Rue, HSBC, and the Haleon factory. He will also be visiting the MAS Silueta factory.

In partnership with the International Trade Centre and Sri Lanka’s Export Development Board, Lord Hannett will be launching the SheTrades webpage on the EDB website. This is a follow up to the launch of the SheTrades Sri Lanka Hub in March this year.

Lord Hannett shared the following thoughts ahead of his visit:

“I’m excited to be visiting Colombo for the first time in my capacity as the UK’s Trade Envoy to Sri Lanka. I look forward to insightful conversations with the Government and the business community about strengthening the UK-SL trade relationship. It will also be great to witness first-hand the operations of some of the UK companies in the market.
Having recently met some of the beneficiaries of UK-funded programmes supporting Sri Lankan exports to the UK, it will be a great privilege to co-launch the SheTrades webpage, alongside Sri Lanka’s Export Development Board, a resource which will be a great support to women-led businesses in Sri Lanka looking to access international markets.

“The strength of the UK-Sri Lanka educational partnerships is particularly impressive with Sri Lanka being the second largest market for UK transnational education. I look forward to my discussion with education providers to explore how we can continue to contribute to the growth of Sri Lanka’s skilled workforce.

“The UK government is committed to supporting UK companies, both first-time exporters to the region and also companies looking to grow their existing business with Sri Lanka. Through my engagements, I hope to explore ways of strengthening the UK-Sri Lanka trade relationship to enhance economic growth in both our countries.

Sri Lanka is a valuable trading partner for the UK, with bilateral trade worth approximately £1.6bn. The trade balance is skewed in Sri Lanka’s favour with the UK as Sri Lanka’s second largest export market.

The official gazette notification listing the names of elected members to local government bodies is scheduled to be published on May 29, according to the Election Commission of Sri Lanka.

The Commission confirmed that the finalized document has already been forwarded to the Government Printing Department for publication.

Political parties and independent groups are still in the process of submitting the final name lists of their elected representatives. The Commission stated that approximately 90% of this process has been completed.

However, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) has requested the Election Commission to allow amendments to two of its submitted nomination lists for the Colombo Municipal Council.

Legal action will be taken against Local Government (LG) election candidates who fail to submit their financial disclosures in line with the provisions of the Election Expenditure Regulation Act No. 03 of 2023, Chairman of the Election Commission R.M.A.L. Rathnayake has said.

Chairman Rathnayake noted that according to the law, expense reports must be submitted within 21 days after the conclusion of the election.

These reports must be handed over to the Returning Officers of the respective electoral districts before midnight today (27). Elections Chief R.M.A.L. Rathnayake said expense reports can be submitted in person, and if that is not possible, a special website has been set up by the Commission for this purpose. Furthermore, he stated that all election offices across the country will remain open until midnight to facilitate the submission of these expense reports.

Chairman Rathnayake stressed that the deadline will not be extended under any circumstances.

The Chairman of the Election Commission noted that every candidate and political party is required to submit the relevant expense reports, whether they incurred any expenses or not, and if no expenses were made, a note to that effect must also be submitted.

The Chairman of the Election Commission further stated that information about those who fail to submit the reports by midnight will be forwarded to the relevant police stations.

Accordingly, the Election Commission will take legal action against them in the future under the provisions of the election law, Chairman R.M.A.L. Rathnayake further noted.

A Private Member’s Bill is scheduled to be tabled in Parliament to amend the Provincial Councils Elections Act (No. 2 of 1988).

The motion is scheduled to be tabled by Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) Batticaloa District Member of Parliament Shanakiyan Rasamanickam.

The bill is expected to eliminate the existing impediments to hold the delayed Provincial Council Elections.

Parliamentarian Shanakiyan Rasamanickam stated that the relevant bill will be presented in the forthcoming in parliamentary session.