The Radio Society of Sri Lanka (RSSL) is a national non-profit organization

Non-profit organization

Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

 for amateur radio

Amateur radio

Amateur radio is the use of designated radio frequency spectrum for purposes of private recreation, non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, and emergency communication...

 enthusiasts in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

. RSSL was founded on July 1, 1950 as the Radio Society of Ceylon by amateur radio operator

Amateur radio operator

An amateur radio operator is an individual who typically uses equipment at an amateur radio station to engage in two-way personal communications with other similar individuals on radio frequencies assigned to the amateur radio service. Amateur radio operators have been granted an amateur radio...

s, most of whom had originally been licensed under the authority of the British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 colonial

Colony

In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....

 administration. The organization would formally change its name to Radio Society of Sri Lanka in 1974, two years after the official name change of the country. RSSL operates a QSL

QSL

QSL is one of the Q codes used in radiocommunication and radio broadcasting. A Q code message can stand for a statement or a question . In this case, QSL? means "do you confirm receipt of my transmission?" while QSL means "I confirm receipt of your transmission". Some also take it to mean "Query...

 bureau for those amateur radio operators in regular contact with amateur radio operators in other countries, and supports amateur radio operating award

Amateur radio operating award

An amateur radio operating award is earned by an amateur radio operator for establishing two-way communication with other amateur radio stations. Awards are sponsored by national amateur radio societies, radio enthusiast magazines, or amateur radio clubs, and aim to promote activity on the amateur...

s and radio contests

Contesting

Contesting is a competitive activity pursued by amateur radio operators. In a contest, an amateur radio station, which may be operated by an individual or a team, seeks to contact as many other amateur radio stations as possible in a given period of time and exchange information...

. The Radio Society of Sri Lanka represents the interests of Sri Lankan amateur radio operators before national and international regulatory authorities. RSSL is the national member society representing Sri Lanka in the International Amateur Radio Union

International Amateur Radio Union

The International Amateur Radio Union is an international confederation of national amateur radio organisations that allows a forum for common matters of concern and collectively represents matters to the International Telecommunication Union...

.