As part of the Rs 4.87-bil­lion Mid-hill optical fiber project that was signed on 29 June 2016, Nepal Tele­com, the government-owned telecom operator, has started laying optical fiber cables along the proposed routes. On May 20, work started simulta­neously at three places. The project will be imple­mented across 32 districts in Provinces 1, 2 and 3. Prime Minister KP Oli inaugurated the optical fiber information highway in Galchi rural munic­ipality in Dhading district (Province 3). Similarly, events were organized to mark the start of the optical fiber works in Sindhuli’s Khurkot (Prov­ince 3) and Dhankuta’s Hile (Province 1).

 

Prime Minister Oli labelled the project a big step in Nepal’s development, and an expression of his govern­ment’s commitment to tech­nological advancement. Min­ister for Information and Com­munications Gokul Baskota said that more than half of the population of Nepal do not have internet access and that this project aims to change that dismal fact. Better infor­mation technology leads to better living standards, he added.

 

NT Managing Director Dilli Adhikari said the goal was to complete the project in two years, so that high-speed broadband internet can be within the reach of all Nepalis.

 

 After the project, internet speed in the districts along the Mid-hill highway will be 100 Gbps

 

The total length of the opti­cal fiber network is 2,376 kilo­meters, which includes the main and spur links. The fiber cable along the Mid-hill high­way from Chiyo Bhanjyang to Arughat will be 804 km-long and the length of the north-south spur link will be 1,572 km. The spur link will con­nect district headquarters, village bodies and municipal­ities to the main information highway.

 

NT has signed agreements with five different companies for this project.

 

These companies tasked with laying the optical fiber cables and equipment instal­lation are: Korea’s LS Cables (responsible for 596 km of optical fiber in Province 1), the joint venture of Nepal’s Aro­gya Construction and China Railway and China Fuel (1,028 km in Province 2), and Hong Kong’s CCSI (555 km in Prov­ince 3).

 

Arogya Construction Director Roshendra Khadka informed that after the proj­ect is completed, internet speed in the 32 districts along the Mid-hill highway will be 100 Gbps.