National 7 (Spotlight Weekly)

Costlier Surfing

By increasing the local-call rate, the Nepal Telecommunications Corporation creates difficult days for Internet users

By SANJAYA DHAKAL

Across the world, Internet companies are slashing usage costs in order to encourage customers to make maximum use of the World Wide Web. But Nepal is heading in the opposite direction. The recent decision by Nepal Telecommunications Corporation (NTC) raise the rate of local calls is set to leave day-time surfers reaching deeper into their pockets.

The state-owned telecom monopoly has restructured its local and international call charges. Though it has reduced charges for international calls, it has effectively hiked the domestic-call rate. By bringing down the single call duration to two minutes from three, it has clearly indicated its intention to squeeze Internet users.

The NTC states that it has been incurring huge losses in the domestic sector and, therefore, decided to increase the charge. Beginning from June 15, 2002, the NTC has imposed new tariff rates. Subscribers will now have to cough up Rs. 200 exclusive of other taxes as rental. The minimum monthly charge comes with 175 free calls. Callers will have to pay Re 1 for each call made above that.

However, the NTC has added provisions of counting call duration in the range of two to eight minutes depending on the time of hour of usage. Calls made between 8 am to 6 pm will be of two minutes' single duration. Calls made between 6 pm to 10 pm and between 6 am to 8 am will be of four minutes' duration and those made between 10 pm to 6 am will be of eight minutes' duration. "This time-based call duration may be reasonable and proper for those who have an Internet connection at home. They can manage to log onto the Internet at such odd hours. But for people like us who have to visit cyber cafes, the new system will be terribly costly," said Prashanta Bista of Sinamangal.

Agrees Sunanda Chaulagain, a BBS student. "Whenever we try to log onto to our Hotmail or other email account, it takes more than five minutes on average to get to the address. So this reduction of call duration would greatly increase our costs. If they are so bent on squeezing the call duration, why doesn't the NTC, which is also an Internet Service Provider, speed up the connection? This one-way squeeze would be terribly counterproductive to students like us."

"Recently 24 people, mostly students, died in China after being caught in a fire in the cyber cafe where they had assembled at night to make use of cheaper rate. This indicates the need to properly manage the system so that such unfortunate incidents do not occur here," said Chaulagain.

Meanwhile, the NTC has slashed its charge for international calls. It has reduced the per-minute call charges from Rs. 150 to Rs. 90 but has not made any changes in the trunk calls to SAARC region through terrestrial link, which stands at Rs. 45 per minute. It has also reduced the categories of long-distance domestic and international calls. Moreover, it has made provisions of counting the long-distance call charges based on pulse system, encouraging shorter conversation.

However, the NTC has reduced the rental charge of mobile service from Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 500. It has also slashed the mobile call charges - the outgoing call charge has been brought down from Rs. 6 per minute to Rs. 4 and incoming charge from Rs. 3 to Rs. 2, but has withdrawn free calls worth Rs. 300.

Even as NTC claims it has hiked the local call charges to cover up its losses, it has greatly hurt the Internet users. The customers say that it would be better if NTC arranged to reduce costs for those using telephone services for Internet. Otherwise, the latest information technology would slip farther away from the grasp of the average Nepalese.