Singapore-based Kacific Broadband Satellites Group has announced that the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) plans to open the Ka-band frequency range (19.7GHz-21.2GHz downlink, paired with 29.5GHz-31GHz uplink) for use in Nepal. The recommendation will allow businesses, communities and government agencies to access services delivered by the company’s Kacific 1 satellite, which uses Ka-band technology designed specifically to provide reliable, high-speed broadband internet to rural and remote populations through concentrated spot beams and simple easy-to-install onsite 1.2m antennas. This technology, although new in Nepal, has been successfully used in other countries in Asia, including ones with similar mountainous geographies. The company highlights that around 80% of Nepal’s population lives in rural areas that are not easily served by cable-based technologies.
Meanwhile, the Minister for Communication and Information Technology, Parbat Gurung, has urged state-owned telecoms provider Nepal Telecom (NT) to focus on expanding services in remote mountainous areas, reports Nepalitelecom.com. The government has expressed concern over delays to the deployment of NT’s LTE wireless network and the installation of fibre-optic cabling along the route of the Mid-Hill Highway connecting the country’s seven provinces. Aware that expanding mobile and internet services to mountainous regions might not provide a sufficient return on investment, the minister has reportedly instructed NT to focus on service quality rather than profits.
Source: https://www.commsupdate.com/articles/2021/01/29/nepal-to-open-ka-band-range-for-use-in-rural-areas/