'The information highway will help in data transfer through optical fiber'

Which are the areas where Nepal can seek telecom cooperation from SAARC

countries?



Nepal is in an infant stage in telecom penetration. Our penetration is less

than 10%. There is a lot of scope for foreign investment in the field in Nepal,

as the country on its own cannot afford to commit the huge investment required

for the industry. Recently I was in Delhi for building consensus for information

highway project among India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Nepal. Information highway

will help in data transfer through optical fiber. India has already taken an

initiative in this regard, laying fibers in border areas. In this regard, Asian

Development Bank has invested above $20 mn in the project. BSNL is playing a key

role in terms of proving infrastructure and inputs. This project is going to be

of great advantage especially for the two landlocked countries-Nepal and Bhutan.

How is the information highway project going to be useful for Nepal?



Currently, we are dependent on satellite for bandwidth, which is very

costly. When this project is completed, we expect the cost to reduce drastically

and as a result broadband affordability will also increase.

Dinesh Kumar Sharma, chairman, Nepal Telecommunication Authority

What's the telecom scenario in Nepal?



In wireless space, we expect GSM to take over CDMA in the coming years. With

regard to wireline we are not seeing much growth as the landline is very

expensive in comparison to wireless. In few years, we will see no landlines in

Nepal. For the rural sector, we have invited tenders for expansion of rural

telephony. At present, maximum service providers are located in Kathmandu

providing services in that city only. Now we want to focus at mid-western

region. For that, we would be offering discounts to operators to venture into

the rural market.

What is happening on the telecom policy front in Nepal?



Nepal has developed a progressive policy and legal framework for

telecommunications. The first National Communications Policy was adopted in 1992

and updated in 1999 to encourage private sector participation. A sound

Telecommunications Act was passed by the Nepalese Parliament in 1997, which

established Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) and a Radio Frequency

Policy Determination Committee. Today, the policy is being revised once again.

The new draft aims to remove restrictions on investment and accelerate broad

market opening.

In which areas can Nepal benefit from India's telecom growth story?



India has moved to unified license, and we plan to implement it in Nepal

too. We are in the process of amending our Act to incorporate unified licensing.

We also analyze the VAS market in India, and the forward strides it has made. In

Nepal, VAS services have to take off in a big way.

What will you call your major achievements?



We have allowed SP to migrate to 3G without any extra fee. Nepal Telecom has

been providing 3G mobile services since May 17, 2007 to facilitate customers

enjoy various multimedia services. We have also achieved full mobility from

limited mobility in CDMA. On the tariff front, we have reduced the tariff

structure drastically, and we are now focusing on rural expansion. Nepal Telecom

has also removed the distance charges (domestic) for GSM Mobile (prepaid and

postpaid) and CDMA prepaid mobile phones.

Sandeep Budki