Nepal Telecom (NT) has plans to bring improvement in their service by switching to advanced technology. The network provider will start replacing all its Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) to Internet Protocol (IP)-based PSTN service from the fiscal year 2014/15 to provide modern telecommunication service to its subscribers and increase fixed line subscribers. It plans to provide the new service within three years.
The state-owned telecom operator currently has 650,000 fixed line subscribers. With the launch of the new service, it aims to increase the number of fixed line subscribers to 1 million.
Under IP-based PSTN service, users will get voice, high speed data and cable television all through a single cable.
NT´s revenue from land line has been decreasing in recent years. Currently, the average revenue per user (ARPU) of land line stands at Rs 450 per line per month.
With mobile phone becoming increasingly popular, many people do not prefer landline these days. But NT officials are hopeful that launch of IP-based PSTN service will change the scenario. “As the new service provides telephone, Internet and cable TV service in a single package, we are hopeful that people will be interested to get fixed lines in their homes,” Buddhi Prasad Acharya, officiating managing director of NT, told Republica.
