Cyclone Ditwah did more than unleash floods and landslides across Sri Lanka it exposed the country’s alarming dependence on fragile, ground-based telecom infrastructure.
As fibre backbones snapped in 11 locations and power failures crippled nearly 4,000 of the nation’s 16,000 mobile towers, vast regions were abruptly cut off. Into this communications blackout stepped an unexpected saviour: Starlink, the low-earth-orbit satellite service brought to Sri Lanka under an initiative led by then-President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Wickremesinghe’s push to introduce Starlink in 2024 was politically explosive at the time. Then-opposition MP Sunil Handunnetti fiercely criticised the move, accusing the president of inviting “economic hitmen” such as Elon Musk into the country.
Although Handunnetti later apologised for his wording, the political firestorm contributed to delays in Starlink’s formal rollout. In an ironic turn, Handunnetti eventually entered the new administration as a minister and the same government approved Starlink while still stalling its operational launch over data-security concerns.
The recent disaster has now rewritten the political narrative. With two key fibre routes including the vital Nuwara Eliya span still down by Sunday, operators scrambled to reroute traffic through surviving corridors, but the terrestrial system was overwhelmed. In this vacuum,
Starlink’s portable terminals became a lifeline. Unlike traditional VSAT or microwave backups that require technical alignment, Starlink units were deployed by emergency workers within minutes.
They provided high-bandwidth connectivity in districts where both fibre and towers had collapsed, allowing medical teams, first responders, and district authorities to coordinate rescue operations.
Telecom specialists say Starlink’s role was far from supplementary it prevented large swathes of the interior from becoming digitally invisible.
In several central upland communities, satellite terminals enabled evacuation planning and real-time weather updates at a moment when telecom engineers were still battling blocked access roads and failing power systems.
The disaster marked the first major test of satellite broadband in Sri Lanka, and it filled a vacuum that terrestrial systems simply could not.
The crisis has triggered a long-overdue national debate: Should Sri Lanka formally build satellite broadband into its telecom-resilience strategy? The evidence points to an unavoidable “yes.”
The country currently lacks structured continuity planning for satellite-based communications during disasters.
Future preparedness must include pre-deployment agreements with satellite providers, including Starlink, ensuring access to terminals, emergency bandwidth, and rapid-activation rights before the next climate catastrophe.
Disaster-response institutions police, hospitals, district secretariats, and DMC units require permanently installed satellite fail-safes. TRCSL must also design a fast-track licensing and frequency-coordination system that activates satellite links instantly during national emergencies, avoiding bureaucratic paralysis.
Starlink is not a substitute for fibre or mobile towers, but as Cyclone Ditwah demonstrated, it is an essential fail-safe. Without hybrid terrestrial-satellite redundancy,
Sri Lanka’s telecom network will continue to collapse under climate-driven pressure. This disaster has delivered a stark message: integrating satellite broadband is no longer optional it is a national necessity.
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