Nepal and China celebrate launch of cross-border broadband link

Commercial operation of a Nepal-China cross-border broadband link started on Friday, Xinhua News Agency reports.

Nepal's Minister for Information and Communications Mohan Bahadur Basnet launches the commercial operation of a new cross-border fiber optic broadband link between Nepal and China at a ceremony held at the headquarters of Nepal Telecom in Kathmandu, Nepal, on January 12, 2018. [Photo: VCG]

Nepal's Minister for Information and Communications Mohan Bahadur Basnet inaugurated the new link through the Rauwagadhi-Kerung (Geelong Port) border crossing at a ceremony held at the headquarters of Nepal Telecom in Kathmandu, Nepal, on January 12, 2018.

According to Nepal's newspaper Himalayan Times, as early as December 2016, Nepal Telecom entered into an agreement with China Telecom to acquire Internet bandwidth. But test transmission of data did not begin until September 2017 due to technical issues.

The laying of the new fiber optic cable to China was prompted by ever-increasing demand for Internet bandwidth in Nepal. The connection with China Telecom also ends Nepal's dependence on India for Internet bandwidth, according to the Himalayan Times report.

The increased availability of bandwidth provided by the new link is expected to increase competition between Internet service providers in Nepal, reduce Internet costs for consumers, and boost the quality of Internet access in the country.