May 2004 updates

State-owned telco gets ready for privatization
By Sushil Pandey in Kathmandu, Nepal. May 2004.

Nepal Telecommunications Corporation (NTC) is now known as Nepal Telecom. The new name represents a very significant development in Nepal's telecommunications sector. Nepal Telecom is now an autonomous entity paving the way for the eventual privatization of the company.

This move is part of a long-planned policy to liberalize the sector by promoting private sector participation and competition in all market segments. This policy enabled the launching of United Telecom Limited (UTL) last year, the first private telecommunication operator, using wireless on local loop (WLL) technology. The start up of UTL marked the end of a three-decade long monopoly of the state-owned NTC.

Likewise, a private rural operator, STM Telecom Media, was awarded a licence to operate last year. It will establish a minimum of two telephone lines via VSAT to each of the 534 village development councils in the Eastern Region.