Telecom Regulatory Aspect in Nepal

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Telecom Regulatory Aspect in Nepal

• Mr. Suresh Kumar Pudasaini
• Chairman
• Nepal Telecommunications Authority

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1. Nepal - Geographical

• Administrative Divisions
• 5 Development Regions
• 14 Zones
• 75 Districts
• 58 Municipalities 3915 Village Dev. Committees

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1. Nepal - Geographical (Contd...1)

• Nepal lies between 8004" 88012" longitude and
  26022" 30027" latitude
• Area 147,181 sq. km.
• Population About 25 Millions
• Urban Population 17
• Rural Population 83
• Himalayan region 35 of land 7.3 population
• The middle range (Hill) 42 of land 44.3
  population
• Terai (low land) 23 of land 48.4 population

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2. Social Indicators

• Literacy Rate ?57
• Male ?65
• Female ?42.5
• Population having access to Electricity ?17
• Population having access to Electricity in Rural
  Areas ?5
• GNI Per Capita Income ? US 260 (Report
  Worldbank 2004)
• Poverty Level ? 30.8
• Enrollment to School ? 72
• Total no. of Villages ? 3915
• Number of Villages without public communication ?
  1889

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3. Present status of Telecom

• Fixed Telephone Line Penetration (No. of
  lines/100 population) ? 2
• Cellular Penetration (cellular phones/100
  population) ? 1.14
• Total Telephone penetration (FixedWLLCellular
  Mobile phones/100 population) ? 3.14
• Rural Access (villages having access to at least
  a phone) ? 50.4
• (Source MIS Report of NTA, Vol. 9, October 2005
  and MIS Report of NT)

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4. Present status of IT sector

• No. of Internet Service Providers ? 32
• Number of PCs/1000 population ? 3.7
• Internet Accounts ? 45,000
• Internet Users (assuming 1 account shared by 3
  to5 users) ? 1,35,000 to 2,25,000
• Internet Usage/hour ? Rs.20 Rs.30 (lt1US )
• District with Internet Node (POPs)?11
• Number of Cyber cafes ? Above 1000
• Districts having local dialing facility for
  Internet ? 55
• Satellite Bandwidth for Internet Connection
• Downlink ? 33.4 Mbps
• Uplink ? 13.9 Mbps
• Total Broadband Subscribers ? 3500 (approx.)
• Wireless Broadband Subscribers ? 1500 (approx.)
• Average Rate/month for 128Kbps link ? Rs. 15,000
  (US 215)
• Official Record

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5. Nepal Telecommunications Authority (An
Introduction)

• Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) as an
  autonomous regulatory body is established on
  March 4, 1998 as stipulated within the framework
  of Telecommunication Act 1997 (2053 BS) and
  Telecommunication Regulation 1998 (2054 BS) with
  the view to manage and regularize
  telecommunication services.

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6. Constitution of NTA Board
According to the Telecommunications Act, 1997 A.D.

• The Authority consists of five Members including
  the Chairman who are qualified and experienced,
  as prescribed in the technical and
  administrative, market management, accounts and
  auditing or legal field relating to the
  Telecommunications Service.
• Among five members, chairman is the only full
  time working chief executive officer of the
  Authority.
• Process of appointing Board Members
• His Majesty's Government shall constitute a
  committee comprising of experts from the related
  sectors, to make recommendation for the
  appointment of the Chairman and Members of the
  Authority and His Majesty's Government shall on
  the recommendation of the said committee appoint
  the Chairman and Members of the Authority.

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7. Telecom Policy 2004

• Universal Access to the Telecommunication Service
• Universal Service Obligation
• Development of Corporate Service
• Liberalization of the Telecommunication Sector
• Open Licensing Regime to Be Applied
• Private Sector's Participation to Be Encouraged
• To Enter into Information Society

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7. Telecom Policy 2004 (Contd......1)

• Appropriate Information and Communication
  Technology for the Users of the Rural Areas
• Persons Who Have Engaged in the Development
  Activities Shall be Caused to Use Information and
  Communication Technology Fully
• Commercialization of the Nepal Telecommunication
  Corporation
• Institutional Development of Implementation of
  Policy
• Economic Efficiency of the Telecommunication
  Sector

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7. Telecom Policy 2004 (Rural Focus)

• Subsidy Payment (STM Telecom)
• Only 1 Custom Duty for the telecom equipments
  which will be used for rural areas.
• License fee exemption for telecom service
  providers whose annual revenue is up to NRs. 2
  Million
• Regulations for disbursement of RTDF fund is
  being drafted

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8. Hurdles

• Role of Incumbent Operator
• Lack of clear demarcation of Authority between
  the Ministry Regulator
• New Challenges that regulator is facing

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8. Hurdles (Contd......1)

• Role of Incumbent Operator
• Dominant Role
• Attitude of Superiority
• Monopolistic Operation
• Lack of Prompt Action
• Reputation in General Public
• Blessing from Government

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8. Hurdles (Contd......2)

• Lack of clear demarcation of Authority between
  the Ministry Regulator
• Duplication of Authority
• Frequency Assigning and Monitoring
• Telecom License (Temporary)
• Policy and Regulatory Functions not properly
  understood
• Problem of recognition from other Government
  Agencies
• Involvement of Ministry in regulatory functions

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8. Hurdles (Contd......3)

• New Challenges that regulator is facing
• Shortage of skilled manpower
• Lack of suitable training package
• Rapid advancement of technology
• Effective regulation on broadband services
• Technology convergence
• Legal Litigation
• Lack of monitoring tools

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9. Expectation from SATRC

• To develop and implement program covering the
  following aspects
• Uniform licensing practices
• Uniform interconnection guidelines
• Basis of license fees
• Exchange of manpower
• Exchange of training
• Exchange of documents

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10. Rural project of NTA

• STM Telecom was given a one time capital subsidy
  for roll out of 1068 PCO's in 534 VDC's of
  Eastern Development Region.
• Points for discussion
• What should be done about OM expenses in the
  case where these expenses are not recovered from
  the operation?
• Should detail study for the Rural Telecom and the
  kind of subsidy that is required be carried out
  by the regulator or left it to the operator?
• Should technology be specified for the Rural
  Telecom?
• Should local participation be encouraged?

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• Thank you

Contact Address Nepal Telecommunications
Authority G.P.O Box 9754 Baluwatar, Kathmandu,
Nepal Email skpudasaini_at_nta.gov.np Tel
(977)14446001