Extracted from a post at my blog..
To all the Sri Lankans.. How many of you do know that you will never EVER get to touch a Nokia N Series, E Series, any Sony Ericsson or Samsung high end device and/ or any other tech savvy gadget again ? ? ?
THE SRI LANKAN GOVERNMENT ONLY RECENTLY BANNED IMPORTING OF ANY GPS ENABLED DEVICES TO SRI LANKA. Which includes the latest mobile devices to every next generation tech gadget as all of these come with GPS preinstalled. For those of you who are not that tech savvy, GPS refers to Global Positioning System (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Positioning_System - GPS on Wikipedia) , which is operated by the government of United States. What the GPS system does is tracking your location via satellites and providing you with the latest real time navigational aid including providing real time traffic info (where available) and it is an increasingly popular and *rapidly growing* service in rich and poor, but *developing* countries due to the fact that the service is provided totally free of charge while still offering you the benefit of making things easier and for many people, the importance of GPS is that you'll never get lost in an unknown area. Because of these reasons, GPS now comes bundled with every new high end mobile phone (and also certain cars, watches etc. ) and examples include Nokia N95, Nokia N96, Nokia N81, Nokia N78, Nokia 6210 other Nokia N Series, E Series and Navigator devices, recent Sony Ericsson devices and recent Samsung devices AND the new law means the banning of all these devices in Sri Lanka. The worst part is that, the Goverment of Sri Lanka didn't issue any public notice on this (afaik and probably due to the fact that it could generate some voice of opposition) and more than 90% of Sri Lankan citizens STILL DO NOT KNOW OF THIS LAW. Now, think again. How unfair is this decision ? We agree that it is a tense situation in the country and we SUPPORT THE TROOPS FROM OUR WHOLE HEARTS, but does the government really think that the TERRORISTS IMPORT ALL THEIR ITEMS THROUGH CUSTOMS and being very loyal to the Sri Lankan law ? No. Never. Then, this law will only have an effect on the poor consumer. This means that Sri Lanka is going backwards in technology and I'm pretty sure that as most of the new tech gadgets and mobiles (you all teens !) come with GPS, you'll never get to play with them again. It is very disappointing how the goverment acts and probably this kind of decision will only add up more people to the already strong opposition to the way the government acts. If any government official reads this, I would like to respectfully suggest you to please think one more time, how many of you do really already use mobiles equipped with GPS ... PLEASE think twice on this law.Plus, whatever the government may attempt to do, they will not be able to block GPS signals to Sri Lanka as these satellites are situated thousands of kilometers away in the orbit and the government of Sri Lanka has no control of these and cannot control either.
Hence these laws aren't going to do any bother to the Tamil Tiger terrorists and they'll still tend to use GPS without any problem. And, GPS is needed for certain business in Sri Lanka (Dialog TV etc. ) and it is a question how will they react on this issue.. I believe that the government should have a broader look on this issue and not stick to a simple solution like this.
Nokia.. I know that you'll not make GPS-free versions of your devices just for Sri Lanka
Customs & BOI.. How much dollars will you lose annually
Mobitel.. Oh your newly expanded 3G coverage - now you'll have to get some 3G powered Nokia 1100s etc.
My poor self.. You were a mobile blogger - now what to blog about ?
My dear motherland - You are now one step closer to being isolated from the Global Village.. !
Good bye high-end tech gadgets - we'll *probably* never see you again ..
Sri Lanka was the first country in South Asia to launch a 3G network, but decisions like these will only make our country lag behind on technology
It is pretty clear that this will have no effect on the terrorists and the sole effect would be only on the consumer..
So, come on in and let's join the forces to make a voice of opposition and suggestion..
*GoSL - Please think broadly and try to ease the ban to allow import of mobile phones etc. , so Sri Lanka may not lag behind the latest technology
*Nokia - GPS functionality in the device can be blocked by the firmware, so please think on making a different version of at least a few of your high - end devices for Sri Lanka ( and Egypt )
We are not any kind of a terrorist or political party.
We are just some Sri Lankans who wish to see Sri Lanka develop and become a developed nation one day, and we believe that this kind of decisions only limit that development.
Someone might see our aim as impossible, BUT, we believe that by aiming for the impossible you achieve the best possible.
Feel free to join us, invite your friends and let's do our best to make this voice strong !
Please join the Facebook group against Sri Lankan government effectively banning all high - end mobile phones in the name of a GPS ban( the bigger harm can be done by GPS devices and Car Nav, then why ban only phones ? ) in Sri Lanka and help make a voice of opposition against a backward trend in a developing world
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=21650089821
