Nepal’s Minister for Communication and Information Technology, Parbat Gurung, has instructed state-owned telecoms provider Nepal Telecom (NT) to begin 5G network testing during the current financial year ending mid-July, reports Nepalitelecom.com. Speaking at an event to mark the 17th anniversary of NT becoming a public limited company, the minister said the testing should begin once the telco has completed its programme to expand LTE coverage nationwide. Potentially signalling that the country’s telecom operators could soon be granted technology neutral licences, Mr Gurung also recommended NT deploy 5G services using it existing spectrum allocation.
Meanwhile, NT has announced the launch of the new ‘4G Wireless Home’ broadband service for customers who do not have access to its FTTH and ADSL services. Priced at NPR900 (USD7.63) a month for a 60GB data allowance and NPR1,500 for 120GB, the product enables subscribers to access broadband services at home by means of a dongle or router equipped with an enabled SIM card. Following its commercial launch in January 2017, NT’s LTE services are currently available in 620 of the country’s 753 municipalities and cities across all 77 districts of the country, via a network of more than 3,000 BTS.