Nepal Telecom licensed to conduct 5G network trials

KATHMANDU: Nepal Telecom, the country's leading telecom operator, has been licensed to conduct 5G network trials. Spokesperson at Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA), Santosh Paudel, on Thursday said that the regulator permitted Nepal Telecom to conduct 5G trials early this week. "The company has been licensed to conduct trials on 2,600 MHz bands with 60 MHz of frequency bandwidth within a year," he said, noting it is the first time that any telecom operator has ever been allowed to do 5G trials in the South Asian country. Ncell, a private telecom giant, has also sought permission to launch 5G trials, the NTA noted. While authorised to bring 5G network equipment from vendors for trials, Nepal Telecom said it has not decided yet when to start the trials. [caption id="attachment_16813" align="alignnone" width="800"] Motorcycles and vehicles are seen on the premises of Nepal Telecommunication Authority office in Kamaladi, Kathmandu in April 2018. Photo courtesy: Shree Krishna Shrestha[/caption] "We're concerned whether the NTA provides us the same frequency for commercial operation as that we are going to use for conducting trials," Spokesperson at Nepal Telecom, Rajesh Joshi said. "We have to invest in telecommunication gears for 5G testing," he said. "If we do not get the same frequency for commercial use, our investment in gears for 5G trials will be wasted. So, we're currently in discussion with the NTA regarding this matter." He added that once the issue is clarified, his company would move forward with 5G trials, including importing telecommunications equipment.

Source: RSS

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