Science & Technology

Nepal Telecom is making final preparations for the 5G network testing in the country. The state-owned telecom operator recently obtained permission from the Nepal Telecom Authority to carry out the tests.

"The preparations are in the final phase," Shovan Adhikari, spokesperson at Nepal Telecom, told NepalMinute. "We've already fitted the devices at various locations around the city. We are currently testing the equipment," he said.

According to Adhikari, the telecom operator will first conduct the tests in Kathmandu and then all seven provinces. "If everything goes according to plan, the testing should begin in January."

The 5G equipment is a part of the same contract that the NT has on the 4G equipment and will "not cost anything extra", the NT official confirmed.

The NTA has allocated the telecom operator a frequency of around 2600 MHz or 2.6 GHz. As a mid-band 5G frequency, the technology can be scaled up to 900 megabytes per second.
 
According to Adhikari, the state-owned telecom operator scouts locations in each province for tests based on population density and possible adoption rate. The test will help determine the speed of mobile internet.

Adhikari said: "We aren't sure how long the tests will last. The current NTA permission is limited to testing, not for commercial purposes. So, we cannot be sure when the commercial deployment will begin."

However, he assures that Nepal is a step closer to the 5G technology.

Also Read: More on 5G technology