Himalayan News Service

Pokhara, May 8:

The Nepal Telecom, Pokhara, has been making preparations to expand its capacity to meet customers’ growing demand for telephone lines, including 18,000 applicants on the waiting list.

The Telecom lately installed new exchanges at Pardi, Ram Bazaar and Lamachaur of Pokhara sub-metropolis, chief of the branch, Amar Nath Jha, told The Himalayan Times. Those on the waiting list are from Gandaki and Dhaulagiri zones. The Telecom is getting ready to distribute as many lines as required by applying wireless telephone system under the Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) from July, he said. The technology will be introduced in Kathmandu from June, which will be expanded to Pokhara.

The Telecom has targeted to complete construction works within July. The Barahi exchange with the capacity of 9,000 telephone lines will initially have 5,000.

The upcoming exchange in Ram Bazaar has a capacity for 2,500 lines. Lekhnath Municipality, which already has 1,000 lines, is planning to add 1,000 more from mid-May. Setting up of infrastructure has become easy after the Nepal Telecommunications Corporation turned into a company, said Jha.

Though the applicants’ list is long, very few of them are ready to take telephone lines. The CDMA wireless technology will also help in meeting the increasing demand.

Pokhara Telecom office has been covering 7,000 telephone lines from 13 exchanges in Gandaki and Dhaulagiri zones at present. Pokhara sub-metropolis has 20,758 telephone lines. Since mid-May last year, the Nepal Telecom has issued 2,500 new telephone lines.

The demand for telephone lines surged with the disruption of mobile lines, Telecom employees said, adding 9,950 pre-paid and 5,200 post-paid mobile lines are registered in Pokhara.