Hello Nepal expands service to western, far-western districts

POKHARA, Nov 24:

Nepal Satellite Telecom has expanded ´Hello Nepal´ GSM service to western and far-western regions of the country.

Earlier, its service was available in mid-western region only.

“Our main objective is to serve in remote areas. After our success in the mid-western region, we have finally expanded our service to western and far-western regions,” said Puru Risal, media coordinator of Hello Nepal, told Republica. Risal also said the service is now available in all districts of western and far-western regions.

The company had started its operation from Dang nearly six years ago. Mostly, the company covers most of the areas where other mobile operators are not present.

"It took us two years to build infrastructure and expand our service in remote areas of western and far-western region," Risal said, adding: "We were allowed to expand service in new areas as the regulator was satisfied with our service in the mid-western region."

Risal said it was difficult to build infrastructure in rural areas. "As most of the areas do not have electricity supply, we had to install solar system to provide uninterrupted service. It was also difficult to transport equipment to those areas," he added.

According to Risal, the company has invested Rs 9 billion so far. “We are ready to expand our services on other regions as well if the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA), the regulatory body, is satisfied with our work in the second phase," Risal said, adding that they would start preparation to expand service eastern and central regions in the near future.
Hello Nepal has around 650,000 subscribers.

Source: Republica