Rebati Adhikari

March 24: Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA)—the telecommunication regulatory body of Nepal—is preparing to roll out the fifth generation (5G) of mobile broadband service based on the principle of technology neutrality.

The National Radio Frequency Policy Determination Committee (NRFPDC) under the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology recently took a decision to start the process of testing 5G.

5G is the latest standard for broadband cellular network or the next generation of mobile internet connection that offers much faster speed for downloading and uploading data.

In line with the decision of the NRFPDC, the NTA is currently carrying out necessary homework to provide approval to Nepal Doorsanchar Company Ltd, commonly known as Nepal Telecom (NT), for 5G testing.

Min Prasad Aryal, spokesperson of Nepal Telecommunications Authority, said that the NTA board will soon take a decision to allow NT to initiate the process of 5G testing.

Earlier last week, the NRFPDC had made a policy-level decision to allow Nepal Telecom to start the testing of 5G service for a maximum period of one year without any charges.

Nepal Telecom, the state-owned telecommunication company, will not have to pay any frequency fee during the trial period. According to NTA officials, customers will be allowed to use the 5G service for free during the trial phase. However, this next generation wireless technology works only on those smartphones that are compatible with 5G service.  Most of the smartphone manufacturers including Apple and Samsung are introducing their latest mobile phones that have 5G compatibility.

Technology Neutrality/Spectrum Neutrality is a provision that allows telecom operators to use any technology in frequency bands available to them. NTA had amended Radio Frequency Policy (Pricing and Distribution) 2069 in 2016 and introduced technology neutrality provision in 2016.

The 4G service was introduced in Nepal in 2017 through technology neutrality.

Under technology neutrality, 700 MHz, 1800 MHz, 900 MHz frequencies can be used to introduce 5G service. NTA will finalize the frequency after studying the technicalities of these frequencies.

NT is currently expanding 4G to local units of the country. So far, NT has achieved a target of 75 percent of work completion in expanding 4G service in local units. “The current 4G infrastructure like optical fiber network, BTS towers (Base Transceiver Station) can be used to launch 5G testing. NT will start the procurement of 5G frequency specific equipment once NTA gives a go-ahead to do so,” saod Rajesh Joshi, spokesperson of NT.

NT is currently waiting for the permit to launch 5G tests. It is planning to conduct the tests in four cities which are yet to be fixed.

However, the commercial launch of 5G service will be decided after considering efficiency and other results from the test phase.

Ncell, the privately-owned mobile service provider, has also submitted expression of interest to the NTA to start 5G service in the country which is still under consideration, according to NTA officials. As for now, the ministry has allowed only NT to launch the test of 5G service.