Mobile internet surfers creating big waves in Nepal
KATHMANDU, MAR 12 -
The number of mobile users surfing the internet on their handset has grown remarkably in the last two years, thanks to increased mobile service subscription, reduction in the cost of net-enabled handsets and social networking sites’ craze.
There were half a million mobile-internet or general packet radio service (GPRS) users as of mid-Jan 2010. Now, the number of GPRS subscribers has increased to 3.72 million, contributing to the total data penetration rate by over 92 percent, according to the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA).
The internet penetration rate of the country has touched 15.20 percent with the total 4.04 million data users. Although the net users on desktop and laptop computers may not have increased fast, mobile internet users have been increasing significantly along with increased subscription for mobile service, making the GPRS the number one value-added service of the telecom operators.
NTA Director Purushottam Khanal said that the trend of using net in handsets was increasing for gradual decline in tariff, availability of low cost GPRS-enabled handsets, and craze on social networking sites of the students. “The number will increase further in the fast pace in a days with mobile data slowly becoming a necessity like voice service,” he added.
The authority data shows that as of mid-Jan last year, 19.69 percent of the total 10.04 million mobile users subscribed the internet service on their mobile handsets. Exactly after one year, there are 13.60 million people with access to mobile telephony provided by two main operators—Nepal Telecom and Ncell. Of the total mobile users, 27.39 percent users have hooked on to GPRS.
Telecom operators attribute the growth in the GPRS users to the global trend, lower tariff and convenient browsing. Surendra Prasad Thike, spokesperson of the Nepal Telecom said that they had been charging 10paisa per 100 kilobyte data consumption. “GPRS is most popular and number one value-added service now,” said Thike.
Ncell, which has a majority of GPRS users, has been charging Rs2 to Rs6 per megabyte depending up on the data package. “GRPS, the pocket internet has become an easy means globally for using data,” said Ncell CEO Pasi Koistinen.
He said that the increment in the GPRS usages in terms of Nepal had also been supported by lack of sufficient fixed-line internet services in the country, especially in rural areas.
If the users of mobile net are separated from the total subscribers in the country, the penetration rate of the data service provided through dial-up, wireless modem, optical fiber, cable and ADSL would only make up around eight percent. Although the government has also put expansion of high-speed data service across the country on its priority list, work to this effect has not moved effectively.
Source: Kantipur
