Telecom Museum: A call from the past to the future

By Ryhaana Sallie

If you hear the two words, telecom and Padukka together, you will most probably think of only one thing - the giant satellite dish that was Sri Lanka’s only gateway to the rest of the world until the modern Internet-based telecom age began. It is famous as the only place where Sri Lanka could get access to live pictures from the Moon exactly 47 years ago, on July 20, 1969 during the first Moon landing.

But, that is not all. Sri Lanka Telecom has now converted that iconic satellite station into a museum – the country’s first and only National Telecommunications Museum. It showcases Sri Lanka’s progress in the telecom sector right from the days of Alexander Graham Bell, and even earlier – from 1857, when the Ceylon Telegraph Department was established. The museum has some of the earliest examples of telephones that were used during this period and many other telecom equipment numbering over 500 from an early Morse Code transmitter to old manual telephone exchanges. It is in fact, South Asia’s largest telecom museum.

The Telecom Museum, which opened its doors to the public in May this year, tells a fascinating story. In 1858, the first telegraphic circuit was constructed between Galle and Colombo. This pioneering effort consisted of a 74-mile long telegraph line stretching between the two town centres, using the ubiquitous coconut trees in place of telegraph poles. The technology used was that of the needle telegraph, invented by Cooke and Wheatstone. From 1864 to 1878, telegraph lines were extended from Kandy through Dambulla to Trincomalee and from Colombo to Nuwara Eliya, Jaffna, Badulla, Batticaloa and Panadura.

The first international telegraph link was established between Ceylon and India.

In 1880, the Post and Telegraph Department was established amalgamating the two services under the control of the Government of Ceylon. The first telephone lines were installed in 1881 by the Oriental Telephone Company.

Microwave link

The Central Telegraph Office (CTO) building was opened in 1911. The following year, the Colombo Wireless Telegraph Station was set up and opened to the public. In 1935 - The first international telephone link was commissioned between Ceylon and India. Just four years later, Colombo’s Central Exchange went automatic.

International operations were handed over to the Cable & Wireless Company of England in 1941, but upon gaining independence in 1948, its operations were taken over by the Post and Telecommunications Department of Ceylon in 1951.

Subscriber Trunk Dialling (STD) services were introduced in 1968, and Sri Lanka’s first satellite earth station (Standard A) was commissioned at Padukka.

In 1980, Postal and Telegraph services were separated, and the Department of Telecommunications established, and International Direct Dialling (IDD) services were introduced.

In 1981, the first digital master exchange was installed.

The following year, a microwave link was set up between India and Sri Lanka. The first fibre optic cable was laid in 1986. The cable was commissioned to link Primrose Hill Microwave Radio Terminal Station to the Kandy Transmission Station. The graded index cable carried three 34 Mbps systems to provide 512 digital channels. As technology improved with time, the utilization of fibre optic cables for inland communication grew rapidly, and by 1989, 140 Mbps systems were introduced in the Colombo metropolitan area.

The first mobile telephone licence was issued in 1988.

Digital packet switching service was introduced in the 1990s. In 1993, Mobitel was established as a joint venture between SLT and Telstra Australia. A fully digital Standard A satellite earth station was commissioned at Padukka in 1995. Sri Lanka Telecom was privatized in 1997. Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corporation (NTT) of Japan became SLT’s strategic partner. Just two years later, SLT installed its 500,000th telephone connection. By 2000, the first optical fibre transmission ring connected 15 cities.

SLT launched CDMA telephone in 2005.

SLT welcomed its one-millionth customer a few months later. In 2007, SLT launched Peo TV (Sri Lanka’s first IPTV service). By 2010, SLT expanded the fibre optic information superhighway to the Northern Peninsula, reaching the 200,000th Broadband customer milestone.

SLT’s 100Mbps super-fast broadband internet went live in Sri Lanka in 2012. SLT launched fixed 4G/LTE technology in 2014, while partnering 15 global telcoms to connect continents via SEA-ME-WE 5 submarine cable system. SLT launched world class ‘Carrier-grade’ public Wi-Fi ‘hotspots’ for the first time in the country. SLT also launched 100G Ultra Speed National Backbone Network.

A visit to the Telecom Museum in Padukka is a must for all telecom enthusiasts and also for students who are keen to learn about the history of telecommunications in Sri Lanka from the 1870s to the present day. It is located on the Meepe-Bope Road, close to the Meepe junction with easy access by public and private transport.

It is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Saturday. You can reserve a tour online or if you can’t go there, you can take a virtual tour at slt.lk.

Climate controlled

If you have unused old telecom equipment lying around in your home or office, you can donate them to the museum for posterity, where they will be kept in climate controlled conditions for years to come.

All the exhibits in the museum are originals, not reproductions and some of them are still in working condition, though modern (digital) technology has progressed beyond their lifespan. It is a fascinating glimpse into the past and a harbinger of a high-tech future.