A committee formed by NTA has recommended possible frequency bands for the 5G network in Nepal. The National Frequency Management Forum has currently identified the 5G Spectrum bands to use in Nepal. As per their scope, they have carried out a study in a limited time and decided on the 5G spectrum bands recommendations.
Do Checkout: Cellular Frequency bands used in Nepal
NTA Board Member Mr. C. Mani Chaulagai headed the National frequency management forum alongside experts from NTA, Ministry, and Telcos. Other members of the committee were Mr. Anand Raj Khanal, Mr. Anup Nepal, Mr. Ambar Sthapit, and Mr. Pradip Poudel.
As Nepal Prepares for the 5G network, the committee recommends the 5G Frequency bands in three different segments, namely low band, mid band, and high band.
Low band for 5G
For the low spectrum 5G bands, they have chosen 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2300 MHz, and 2600 MHz. The frequency bandwidth to assign in low bands are 10 to 20 MHz. Among these bands, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, and 2300 MHz are already in use whereas the 2600 MHz band is completely new for Nepal.
Mid band for 5G
For the Mid bands, they have selected 3300 MHz, 3600MHz, and 4700 MHz. These Sub 6 GHz bands are the most popular spectrum bands for 5G due to the availability of wide bandwidth. Nepal has not used any of these spectrums for the existing mobile networks. Among them, 3600 MHz is the most widely used 5G frequency band in the world. The frequency bandwidth to allocate in this band shoots up to 100 MHz.
High band for 5G
Similarly, for the high band, they decided to use the 26 GHz spectrum to use for 5G. The high band is also called the mmWave spectrum, which is still limited to a few countries and a few places within them. The latest iPhone 13 also supports this 5G mmWave network available in those limited countries. This high band in 5G has the largest frequency bandwidth available and can provide ultra-high speed. The committee has recommended providing 800 MHz to 1 GHz bandwidth.
Recommended read: Confusion between 5G and 5GHz band.
For now, NTA has awarded the 2600 MHz band to Nepal Telecom for the 5G trial. Later, the Frequency allocation Committee under the Minister for MoCIT will decide on the commercial 5G Frequency band in Nepal, as per the recommendations from the forum. As the telcos like Ntc and Ncell are awaiting this 5G Spectrum allocation for 5G network testing, they are to lobby for this decision to happen soon.
They shall also take a decision to allow technology neutrality for the already existing frequency bands, used for either 2G, 3G, or 4G. With this, they can implement the already allocated frequency spectrum for the 5G Network.
With the above information, you should be careful while buying a 5G phone to use when the 5G network becomes available in Nepal. Please make sure that the low and mid bands are supported in the 5G smartphone you are buying.
Well, we have a separate post to answer if we need a 5G network in Nepal at the moment. But definitely, we need to prepare in advance by fulfilling all the requirements for the next-generation 5G network.
Do checkout: 2G, 3G, 4G and 5G Mobile Technology.
Tell us what do you think of the 5G frequency band in Nepal to allocate as per the above modality.
