Kathmandu : The Nepal Telecom has extended 4G service to the Badimalika area of Bajura, which is a religious and touristic destination. With this, mobile and internet services have started operating there from today. Locals, pilgrims, tourists, and various government and non-government organizations have benefitted once communication services became available in that area.
Information and Communications Minister Dr Bikram Timilsina, while inaugurating the service virtually, said that the government is committed to ensuring that citizens in remote areas are not deprived of their basic communication rights. He expressed gratitude to the Nepal Telecom employees who continuously worked to provide telecom services, the Nepali Army for helping transport equipment by helicopter, and the local representatives of the Badimalika area who coordinated and cooperated in the work.
The Communications Minister on the occasion mentioned that the government plans to observe this year as a year of unprecedented improvement and digital transformation in the telecommunications sector, stating that no citizen should be deprived of communications services just because they live in a geographically remote area.
He said that efforts have been prioritized to expand quality telephone and internet services to the country’s remote and tourist areas. After inaugurating the service, Communications Minister Dr Timilsina had a live video call with Nepal Telecom technicians deployed in the Badimalika area for tower installation.
He checked on with the staff sent to the Badimalika area for tower construction from Nepal Telecom’s Wireless Service Directorate and the Sudurpaschim Regional Directorate to get updates on the service operation and the difficulties there. During the video call, Assistant Technical Officer Madhav Budhathoki, Engineer Sudarshan Acharya, and Civil Engineer Deepk Raj Bhatta shared information about the work done during the tower installation and service operation.
Similarly, Sangita Pahadi, Managing Director of Nepal Telecom, said that providing communication facilities in remote areas is a priority for Telecom. She also shared that along with expanding service access, work is being done to improve quality. Managing Director Pahadi said that instead of expanding services solely for commercial profit, priority was given to the responsibility of providing services in remote areas where access to communication services is weak.
She informed that new infrastructure is being built and services are being expanded with the aim of bringing communication services to citizens even in remote areas of the country. On July 24, Communications Minister Dr Timilsina had instructed Nepal Telecom to immediately expand services to operate telephone services in the Badimalika area. He showed serious concern about the lack of communication services in Badimalika area and instructed Nepal Telecom to immediately move forward with the necessary processes and operate the service despite facing technical and geographical challenges.
Following the instruction from the Minister, Nepal Telecom had proceeded with the tower construction and the launching of 4G services in Badimalika area.
The construction materials were transported by a Nepali Army helicopter due to geographically remoteness of the area. Badimalika Temple area lies in an altitude of around 4,200 meters from the sea level. The tower has been fixed at Lauri Binayak that lies in an altitude of around 4,230 meters, the company said. According to Nepal Telecom’s assistant technical officer Madhav Budhathoki, though Badimalika has not enough permanent settlements, it is significant in terms of its religious and touristic aspects including trekking activities.
As per the government’s announcements, the current fiscal year will remain as the year of transformation of the telecommunications sector.
Accordingly, priority has been accorded to expanding telecommunications infrastructure to remote, rural and tourist areas of the country, increasing access to 4G services, enhancing service quality, and expanding new technologies. Similarly, a study is under way to expand 4G services along the Sagarmatha base camp. Telecommunication services have been already expanded to some of high-altitude areas.
Lhan of Tripurasundari Municipality-6 and Dunai of Thulobheri Municipality-1 in Dolpa have been already connected to the 4G services.
The government has prioritised the construction of telecommunications infrastructure, improving citizen’s wider access to quality services.
According to Nepal Telecom, processes have been initiated to construct around 1,600 new mobile towers and related sites to expand the access and quality of telecommunication services across the country. The government aims to provide reliable mobile and internet services to citizens in rural and remote areas through the construction of new towers and expansion of the capacity of existing infrastructure.
