Ntc has begun 4G service at Sisne-1 in East Rukum from Saturday (March 26th). This has established telecom services for the first time at the Sisne trekking route, around the border area between Rukum and Dolpa.
The government-backed telecom operator Nepal Telecom (NTC) has started 4G and 2G mobile services at Sisne-1, a rural municipality in East Rukum. Now, the locals around the popular trekking route will have 2G for calls and 4G for high-speed broadband internet on their smartphones.
This is the first time telecom service has reached the secluded remote region of the district lying at the border between Rukum and Dolpa. Sisne-1 Ward Chairman Man Bahadur Budha said, “The NTC tower has come into operation. The phones are now connected and working. The 4G tower has us connected from the rural municipality to districts, provinces, and the federal capital, Kathmandu.” The towers will bring connectivity to over five hundred forty-one households in the village,” he added.
Having high-speed mobile broadband right in the area has people glow in happiness. The tower in the vicinity has put an end to the need to walk up the hills for a mobile network signal.
NTC has also been building additional towers in East Rukum and is nearing completion. In one or two weeks, they should also come into operation.
In recent years, Ntc has rapidly widened its telecom service in rural areas. It has particularly emphasized 4G broadband which is understandable for its broadband capability. Recently, the company started 4G service at Pathibhara. It has launched Namaste 4G LTE WiFi (4G-based) for areas without its NT Fiber.
Both 2G and 4G at Sisne
The 4G network doesn’t come with native support for calls but Ntc has doubled down on its 4G service. The telco has launched VoLTE to allow voice calls on its fourth-gen network. This allows simultaneous calls and data on a mobile phone on 4G. Check out: Ntc VoLTE feature and process to activate.
That means the locals in the area can enjoy high-quality calls over 4G without falling back to the much older 2G network.
But in case you have an old mobile phone, 2G provides a reliable voice call and offers a larger coverage. In sum, the mobile phone users at Sisne-1 will have a good advantage from both networks for calls and data.
It also means the 3G network is becoming irrelevant at least for further expansion. The 2G and 4G are both dedicated networks with great qualities and 3G suffers in between. Also read: 2G or 3G? Which Mobile Network Will Shut Down in Nepal?
Ntc is now waiting on its 5G trials which shall begin by the end of 2022. If the plan goes as planned, the company will have another milestone service to maintain its lead in the country’s telecommunication market.
Ntc has a total of over 1 crore, 83 lakh subscribers on its broadband services. Out of which nearly 82 lakh are already connected on 4G network while over 1 crore remains on 3G service.
How do you rate Ntc’s service in your area? Feel free to share your feedback in the comments below.
