Nepal’s path to adopt 5G has been stalled and Nepal is now behind its neighbors in the implementation of this wireless cellular technology. It has been expected that Nepal would be among the first countries to implement 5G technology but today, six of Nepal’s neighbors including India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan have already started 5G services while Nepal is still lagging far behind in the digital revolution.
Nepal Telecom, the state-owned telecom operator planned to launch 5G test in July 2021 after getting approval by the Nepal government in November 2021. However, the trial launch was delayed to June 2022 with the commercial services expected in August 2022. Currently, Nepal Telecom is still planning to do a commercial viability assessment on 5G.
This is not to mean that there is a lack of preparedness on the side of the telecom regulator to embrace 5G. The Nepal Telecommunications Authority has informed about its readiness to provide 5G frequency and is awaiting reply from the service providers. However, there is always a catch – all the service providers interested in the frequency auction must first pay off all their debts to the government.
Ncell, one of the private telecom providers, has stated its preparedness for 5G but at the same time admitted that equipment and network transformation will take time. Peculiarly, the government has not permitted Ncell to conduct 5G trials even after its asking to do so. It has also led to some concerns regarding the fairness and the process that was used to come up with the decision.
The slow pace towards 5G is more worrisome especially with Nepal’s digital agenda in mind. The budget for the current fiscal year contains an aim to export goods and services worth Rs 3 trillion in Information Technology sector in the coming ten years that can generate half a million direct and one million indirect employment. The government has also planned to transform Nepal as the information technology hub and to boost artificial intelligence.
Nevertheless, the situation that is witnessed on the ground is quite different. A report by Opensignal showed that only 8. 63 percent of the users in Nepal rely solely on mobile data connection. The country still has a large number of users of the older generations of technologies such as 2G and 3G that have very limited functionalities compared to the 4G and 5G. This reliance on older technology is therefore likely to lead to a lower quality user experience.
With all these technological challenges affecting Nepal, it becomes quite apparent that there is need for a proper and a well-coordinated plan towards the implementation of 5G. The delay not only position Nepal in a disadvantageous place in terms of the establishment of digital infrastructure but also hinders its dream of becoming an IT hub in the region. While countries in the region are progressing with 5G and their associated use cases, Nepal will be left out in the digital economy race.
