Communication

Telephone facilities in the country

 
Telephone facilities are available extensively throughout the country. There are many telephone booths which accept coins, but the clarity and talk times may be short. Telephone bureaus are quite common with most offering IDD and internet facilities. Some offer the cheaper net-to-phone facilities, but quality is not always reliable. IDD facilities are available in most tourist hotels.

Country code and dialing area codes

Dialing in - Sri Lanka’s country code is 94, (E.g. If you need to call a number in Colombo, dial (++94 11 2XXXXXX). If you are calling a mobile number, you dial the number after the country code dial (++94 7XX XXXXXX).
Dialing within/ out - If you need to take an overseas call, you’ll have to dial ‘00’. You do not have to dial the area code if you are within the area. However, the area code must be dialled if you want to take an outstation call (e.g. calling within Colombo, dial 2XXXXXX, Calling Kandy from Colombo, dial 081 22XXXXX). 

Mobile technologies supported in Sri Lanka

All mobile operators support the GSM technology on GSM 900/ 1800 bands. WAP & GPRS is widely supported. 3G and wireless broadband is available around the country . Wifi zones are available in selected spots in major towns.

Purchasing a local mobile connection while on holiday

It’s a good option to purchase a local SIM card and top up cards while you are on holiday. The mobile call rates are relatively cheap for both local and IDD calls.  There are many mobile operators in the country (E.g. Dialog, Mobitel, Etisalat, Airtel etc.,). Dialog and Mobitel have counters at the Colombo Airport and you can obtain a connection on arrival.Be sure that your phone is `dual band’ and unlocked.

Internet access

Most hotels provide internet facilities. There are internet cafes in most towns with ADSL connection. Connections in smaller towns will be slow.  The average cost of surfing in a Cybercafe  is about Euro .50 per hour. Many large 5 star and some boutique hotels provide Wifi facilities.