NT plans microwave link along Mid-Hill Highway
KATHMANDU, JUL 09 -
Nepal Telecom (NT) is preparing to set up an Alternative Microwave Radio Relay Network along the 1,776-km Mid-Hill Highway, which will work as an alternative route to provide uninterrupted service if the existing system is obstructed.
The microwave radio relay technology is used for transmitting digital and analog signals such as long-distance telephone calls between two locations.
The state-owned telecom company said the move was initiated as the installation of the mechanism on this route would be cost effective. “This will be a cost-effective project as we will have to install only one tower in the Western part,” said Jiban Ratna Shakya, deputy managing director at NT. “Our estimation has showed that we can develop the network using the existing towers with some modifications.”
The planned microwave network will also help NT offer telecom services to the proposed 10 cities to be developed by the government along the Mid-Hill Highway. NT already has an East-West optical fibre connection developed in 2001 along the East West Highway, but it started work on the alternative microwave link keeping in mind the cost-effectiveness.
NT is conducting a survey to ascertain the estimated cost of the network. In the initial phase, NT will conduct the survey in the Western part for the connection between Kathmandu and Dadeldhura. The network will pass through two dozen mid-hill districts.
Shakya said the quality of NT’s service would improve after the traffic is transmitted through the alternative route. “We will send and receive call traffic from this route too, which will reduce congestion on existing routes,” he added.
NT’s alternative microwave network is not the only project focused on this route. The government has also been planning to set up an optical fibre connection along this route using resource available at the Rural Telecommunication Development Fund.
The optical fibre extension project planned by the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) is aimed primarily at taking high speed broadband internet services to all districts. However, the plan is under consideration at the Ministry of Information of Communications for last nine months. “Our recommendation has remained undecided, affecting the plan to complete the optical fibre expansion by 2014,” said a senior official at the NTA.
Source: The Kathmandu Post
