Telecommunications Regulator Kanchana Ratwatte said President Mahinda Rajapakse has ordered the formulation of laws to regulate all satellite-based television broadcasters and phone service providers, including widely available Thuraya phones.

"We have also been asked to maintain lists of all those who provide satellite-based services and equipment," Ratwatte told reporters.

The government is yet to announce how it would regulate satellite broadcasts, but the authorities have shut down two companies providing re-broadcasts of foreign programs, as well as those of the Tamil Tigers.

The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) also use satellite-based telephones.

Satellite phones were available over the counter following a truce between the government and Tigers in February 2002.

However, with the truce under severe pressure since December, the authorities have imposed new restrictions on transporting satellite-based equipment to rebel-held areas.

More than 800 people have been killed in Sri Lanka's embattled northern and eastern regions since December despite the truce.

All rights reserved. © 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.