Motorists beware – you are on CCTV at key junctions in Colombo

Sri Lanka Telecom has successfully connected the country’s first and largest Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) surveillance system through its advanced Fibre optic based Metro Ethernet Network (MEN) infrastructure.

This is to improve road safety and national security by providing facilities to authorities of the Sri Lanka Police Department to carry out real-time video monitoring, control cameras remotely, record, store and playback, the telecom company said.

Driver distraction and road-user behaviour, which includes “text messaging” and interfacing with in-vehicle navigation or communication systems while driving, are among the leading contributors to road traffic fatalities and injuries.

SLT quoted statistics which reveals that there are approximately 100 traffic related accidents per day, out of which approximately six peo- ple are killed each day in Sri Lanka.

In terms of damages to public property, the country suffers an estimated Rs. 10 million loss. “Sri Lanka reported a reduction in traffic related accidents to 2300 incidents in 2012 from 2498 in 2011. Therefore, statistics reflect the positive impact of ICTs in minimising traffic related accidents. The implementation of ICT solutions in road traffic handling, monitoring and management, will ensure that roads will be a safer place for all citizens of the country,” the release said.Plans are also underway to commence research development initiatives to introduce dynamic services related to road safety and improve traffic monitoring in the near future.

The Sri Lanka Police video surveillance network was implemented with 107 cameras connected through SLT’s advanced communication infrastructure, Metro Ethernet Network (MEN). The Company’s Internet Protocol based (IP/MPLS) communication backbone network with fibre ring architecture was upgraded to 1 Gbps Ethernet to achieve very high speed data/video transfer and to improve reliability and security for mission critical data, the SLT said.The Department of Police, under the directive of the Ministry of Defence has requested SLT to provide connectivity to selected 30 street junctions in Colombo city and the suburbs. All these locations have now already been installed with multiple surveillance cameras mounted on one or more camera posts. SLT has already linked these locations to the Police Headquarters through Metro Ethernet Network. The 107 cameras and connectivity via optical fibre to ensure the required bandwidth for video surveillance.

The 107 CCTV cameras installed at these main intersections in the Colombo City and suburbs continuously transmit images which can be viewed at the control room on a panel of LCD screens. Moreover, the system is capable of recording and storing images which makes it useful for police investigations and can be used as evidence in a court of law.

This CCTV camera system will be used for national security purposes, as well as for city traffic management for Colombo City that sees a daily average of over 200,000 vehicles in Colombo.