Telecom
Services
NEPAL Telecommunication
Corporation (NTC) has announced its plan to expand its services to every nook and corner
of the country within a couple of years so that people living in all parts of the country
can directly benefit from the advancement in the field of information and communications.
In the present day, information and communication are considered the backbone of
development of any nation and due priority has been given to the development and promotion
of this sector. The world has benefited a lot from the advancement and revolution in the
field of information and communication. Those nations,which have invested adequately in
the field of information and communication technology and utilised it properly have
prospered. Those failing to invest in and take advantage from this information technology
have lagged behind in the pace of development. In view of this, the government has also
given due priority to the development of information and communication technology. For
this, the government has adopted the policy of creating an atmosphere of competition and
encouraging the private sector to invest in the telecommunications field. The government
created Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) to work for the development and expansion
of telecommunication services and attract private sector into this field. NTA recently
issued a global tender for cellular mobile telephone services in order to complement the
already established cellular mobile services by NTC. Until now, NTC is the only
organisation that has been providing telecommunication services in the country. As the
demand for different typs of telecommunication services have increased in the country, NTC
alone may not be able to meet them. The government has, thus, decided to give licenses to
private companies to provide different services in this field. As a result, some private
companies have shown interest and applied for licences. Despite this, the role of NTC is
still important and crucial in the context of Nepal. Private sector intends to invest
where profit can be made that is the urban areas and not the rural areas. NTC has been
providing services in rural areas as per the rural telecommunication policy of the
government. Only recently, it has announced its plan to expand rural telecommunication
services and provide at least two telephone lines in each village development committee.
This is a positive and praiseworthy decision at a time when many villages in the country
still do not have access to telecommunication facilities.
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