The government has decided to suspend the issuance of new licences for the operation of terrestrial analogue television channels in Sri Lanka.

At present, 24 television channels, including five state-owned media channels, are operating in the country using licenses issued to 16 institutions to operate channels under the existing terrestrial analogue television technology in Sri Lanka.

At present, television channels are operating using the maximum capacity of the frequency spectrum, and therefore the Ministry of Mass Media initiated the Digital Non-Territorial Television Broadcasting Project this year to implement a single digital terrestrial broadcasting system with the objective of providing a high-quality digital experience to television viewers under modern technology.

Accordingly, an agreement has been reached between Sri Lanka and the government of Japan for the purpose, and the project is scheduled to be completed in 2029 since the old terrestrial analogue television system is due to be completely shut down two years after the completion of the project.

Therefore, the government is of the view that further licensing is not effective.

Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the joint proposal presented by the Minister of Mass Media and the President, in his capacity as the Minister of Digital Economy, to terminate the issuance of licenses for the operation of terrestrial analogue television channels with immediate effect and to allocate frequencies from the frequency spectrum for the terrestrial operation of television channels by the Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka.