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Kathmandu Saturday December 29, 2001 Paush 14, 2058.
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NTC introduces Int'l roaming facility
Main objective to facilitate SAARC delegates
Post Report
KATHMANDU, Dec 28 – Nepal
Telecommunications Corporation (NTC), the state-run monopoly in telecom services, is going
to introduce "international roaming" service from tomorrow, with a view to
facilitate communication for the delegates of the 11th SAARC Summit being held here from
January 4 to 6, 2002.
The roaming system allows mobile phone
subscribers to make and receive calls using the networks of other GSM mobile service
operators without changing their phone numbers at home or abroad.
Madan Kaji Shakya, Director at the New
Services Directorate, said that the Corporation is introducing the international roaming
facility to "inbound" roamers from December 29, because of the forthcoming SAARC
meet.
But only the subscribers of BT Cellnet, UK,
Bharati Cellular Limited (Airtel), New Delhi and Bharati Mobitel, Kolkatta, can enjoy the
current facility. However, the NTC has signed agreement with 10 international mobile phone
operators including the said three, and is going to expand the service gradually.
"Now we are introducing the service for
inbound roamers—the foreign mobile phone subscribers who use their cell phones while
staying in Nepal— to facilitate the delegates. We are going to expand the service to
the subscribers of other operators. And we are planning to provide the facility to our
mobile phone subscribers in the near future," he said.
He said that the Corporation had also made
efforts to provide the facility to the delegates of Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka,
but could not do that due to various reasons. The inbound roamers need not pay any tariff
to the NTC except for airtime charge of Rs 20, the amount charged for getting their calls
connected to base stations.
The subscribers of NTC are presently paying
the airtime charge of Rs 6 and Rs 3 for each outgoing and incoming calls respectively.
The NTC had introduced the international
roaming facility for the subscribers of BT Cellnet, UK, on December 17, 2001 on a trial
basis. The Corporation is doing the necessary testing to provide the service to the
customers of other operators, Shakya said.
The NTC has been distributing mobile phone
connections based on Global System of Mobile Communication (GSM) technology, which allows
the operator to install the national or international roaming facility.
Currently, there are over 590 million mobile
phone customers and 400 operators based on the GSM technology.
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