Nepal Telecom celebrated its 22nd anniversary today, Magh 22, by organizing programs at its central office as well as at various provincial directorates and offices across the country.
The main ceremony held at the company’s central office was chaired by Laxmi Kumari Basnet, Secretary at the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology and Chairperson of Nepal Telecom’s Board of Directors.
Addressing the ceremony as the chief guest, Home Minister Om Prakash Aryal stated that Nepal Telecom’s contribution to reducing the digital divide and expanding communication access in rural areas has been commendable. He said the services and infrastructure provided by the company play an important role in strengthening the relationship between citizens and the government through good governance. He added that Nepal Telecom should continue working hand in hand with the government by internalizing government policies and programs while fulfilling the state’s responsibility toward citizens, and assured that the government’s guardianship would always remain in the company’s strengthening and development.
Chairperson Basnet said Nepal Telecom has been carrying out important work by adopting new technologies and research to provide quality and affordable services to the general public. She emphasized that, as the country’s major service provider ensuring connectivity, Nepal Telecom should focus on developing services such as telehealth, telemedicine, and tele-education. She stressed the need to develop necessary infrastructure to ensure digital services reach remote areas, noting that this would positively impact people’s living standards and accelerate the country’s digitization campaign.
Nepal Telecommunications Authority Chairperson Bhupendra Bhandari said that with its skilled workforce, Nepal Telecom has the potential to further expand its network and market, which could also lead to increased revenue. He suggested that the company work in that direction and emphasized the need to complete various projects being implemented through the Authority within the stipulated time.
Board member and employee representative Lok Bahadur Katuwal pointed out that despite claims of fair competition, institutions like Nepal Telecom have been required to pay higher fees for obtaining and renewing licenses, and urged attention toward correcting this in the future. He also emphasized the need for the Board of Directors and company management to move forward together on issues concerning employees.
Deputy Managing Director Rajendra Aryal provided a brief overview of the company’s overall status, stating that Nepal Telecom has successfully completed the expansion of 4G LTE services and has continued their upgrading and distribution. As a result, 4G LTE services have reached 749 local levels across all 77 districts in all seven provinces. He informed that the study of proposals received from suppliers for the launch of 5G services has been completed and is currently in the review phase. He added that the expansion, upgrading, and distribution of FTTH services are ongoing, that Nepal Telecom has been providing services in remote and extremely difficult areas due to its role as the “Nation’s Communication,” that installation of equipment for the Data Center is in the final stage, that a committee has been formed to review bidding documents for the re-tender of a new billing system, and that bidding documents for a new tender for the Private Cloud Platform (NT Cloud) are currently under review.
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