Kathmandu. Badimalika area, important from religious and tourism point of view, has telephone and internet service. Nepal Telecom (NTC) has reopened mobile and internet services in Badimalika area from Monday.

The service has come into operation on the eve of religious fair to be held at Badimalika area on the occasion of Janai Purnima. It is expected that the communications service would be easy for locals, pilgrims, tourists and various government and non-government organisations once the communications service reached the area which is situated at an altitude of around four thousand two hundred meters from the sea level.

The 4G service was brought into operation after the installation of the tower was completed at around 1:00 pm on Monday. Minister for Information and Communications, Dr. Inaugurating the service virtually, Bikram Timilsina said the government was committed to not deprive the citizens living in remote areas of their right to communications. On the occasion, Minister for Information and Communications Dr. Timilsinlo thanked the employees of Nepal Telecom who were continuously working to provide telecommunication service in the area, the Nepal Army who helped in the transportation of the goods through helicopter and the people’s representatives of Badimalika for coordinating and cooperating in this work.

Minister Timilsina said the government was going to celebrate this year as the year of unprecedented reforms in the telecommunications sector and the year of digital transformation. Expansion of quality telephone and internet services to the remote and touristic areas of the country has been prioritized, he said.

After the service, Minister for Communications and Information Technology Dr Timilsina had a direct video call with the technicians of Nepal Telecom deputed at Badimalika area for the installation of the tower.

He took information from the employees deputed at Badimalika area for the construction of towers from Nepal Telecom’s Wireless Service Directorate and Sudurpaschim Provincial Directorate about the status of service operation and the difficulties there. Assistant Technical Officer Madhav Budhathoki, Engineer Sudarshan Acharya, Civil Engineer Deepak Raj Bhatta, among others briefed about the progress carried out during the installation and operation of the tower.

Likewise, Managing Director of Nepal Telecom, Sangita Pahadi said that the telecom is in top priority to ensure communication facility in remote areas. He further said that works are being carried out to improve the quality of telecom services along with the expansion of service access. Managing Director Pahadi said that the government has given priority to providing services to the remote areas where communication services are lacking rather than expanding the service only on the basis of commercial profit. He shared that new infrastructures and expansion of services were underway with the objective of providing communications service to the citizens even in the remote parts of the country.

The government and Nepal Telecom had been working relentlessly for the past one month to bring the telephone service in the Badimalika area. Minister for Communications and Information Technology Dr Timilsina on July 24 directed Nepal Telecom to immediately expand communication service in Badimalika area. Expressing his serious concern over the lack of communication service in Badimalika, he directed to immediately forward the necessary process and operate the service by resolving technical and geographical challenges.

Nepal Telecom had forwarded necessary preparations for the construction of tower and operation of 4G service at Badimalika area following the direction of Minister for Information and Information Technology Dr Timilsina. Necessary equipment and other materials required for the construction of the tower were transported to Badimalika area through Nepal Army helicopter after it became difficult to transport construction materials through road network.

Meanwhile, Minister Timilsina also held discussion with Badimalika Municipality Mayor Amar Bahadur Khadka about the required infrastructures of telecommunication infrastructure, possible tower installation site and the condition of road network. He directed the bodies concerned to make arrangements for transporting construction materials by helicopter as it was not possible to transport the equipment and construction materials through road.

The Badimalika Temple area is situated at an altitude of four thousand two hundred meters above sea level. The tower is located at an altitude of 4,230 meters at Lauri Binayak, according to Nepal Telecom. The technical team had worked under challenging conditions to install the tower in extremely remote and mountainous terrain. Nepal Telecom’s Assistant Technical Officer Madhav Budhathoki said that although there are very few permanent settlements in Badimalika area, this area is important from religious, touristic and trekking aspect. The mobile and internet service is expected to be important for the pilgrims and tourists visiting Badimalika Temple, various Patans, trekking routes and Triveni area.

Earlier, Nepal Telecom had aimed to bring the service to Badimalika by mid-July. The service was initially scheduled to be completed by August 14 but it was delayed due to adverse weather, high mountainous geography and difficulties in transportation of materials.

The government has announced that the current fiscal year will be the year of transformation of the telecommunications sector. Under this, priority has been given to expand telecommunication infrastructure to the remote, rural and touristic areas of the country, increase the access of the 4G service, improve service quality and expand new technology.

As per the plan, Nepal Telecom’s 4G service has come into operation at Haatsinja area of Jumla, which is considered the origin of Nepali language, from August 21. With the expansion of 4G service at Guthijyula bazaar area of Kanakasundari Rural Municipality, communication access to Sinja area has become easier.

Likewise, a study has been initiated for the expansion of 4G service at the Everest Base Camp area. Before this, telecommunication service has been expanded in some high mountainous areas. Currently, the 4G service has come into operation at an altitude of 3,900 meters above sea level in Lhan area of Tripurasundari Municipality-6 and Dunai area of Thulibheri Municipality-1. Similarly, the fourG service has also come into operation at an altitude of three thousand four hundred meters at Olangchungola of Taplejung. It is expected that with the expansion of the service in high mountainous and remote areas, it is expected that the local residents, tourists, pilgrims and the bodies deputed in security and rescue would get easy communications.

The government has forwarded a plan to gradually expand the service by identifying other remote areas of the country where the access to communication services is weak. Priority has been given to the construction of telecommunication infrastructure with the objective of bringing all citizens access to quality communication services by bridging the digital divide. According to Nepal Telecom, the process for the construction of about one thousand six hundred new mobile towers and related sites has been forwarded to expand the access and quality of telecommunication services throughout the country. The government aims to provide reliable mobile and internet services to the people in rural and remote areas through the construction of new towers and expansion of the capacity of the existing infrastructure.