Nepal Telecom Launches CDMA Network

Nepal Telecom says that it is starting to accept applications for its PrePay CDMA network, covering the Kathmandu Valley. Som Nath Bhattarai, manager of Kathmandu Regional Directorate of Nepal Telecom said on Wednesday that Nepal Telecom was planning to distribute the new lines, which would function restrictively in Bagmati zone before the end of August.

The operator has been running the CDMA network since early this year, but only for fixed wireless services.

In related news, the company is also building a GSM1800 network overlay to boost network capacity in the capital city.

"In a bid to upgrade the quality of cell phone service and to be able to distribute additional mobile phone lines in the Kathmandu Valley, the government own NT is installing GSM 1800 system in the capital within the next six months," Lok Raj Sharma, director of New Service Directorate of NT, told reporters.

With all these enhancements, it was bad news that the operator has been forced to offer free SMS until tomorrow to compensate customers after a network fault blocked SMS's for several days.

The Mobile World subscriber database notes that Nepal Telecom ended Q1 '06 with an estimated 341,000 subscribers. New market entrant, Spice Telecom has about 106,000 subscribers having only commenced operations in the middle of last year. "

Posted to the site on 15th August 2006