KATHMANDU: Nepal Telecom (NT) broadband service through Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) 2+ technology is now available in Chitwan outside Kathmandu Valley. NT today launched the service at its exchange at Bharatpur, Sangam Chowk, Tandi, Gaidakot, Parsa, Bhandara, Rampur, and Sauraha.

After the ADSL service commercialisation in Kathmandu Valley, NT has started distibuting the broadband services in other cities across Nepal. According to NT spokesperson Surendra Bahadur Thike, after Chitwan the company plans to extend its services to 40 districts within six months. “Within this fiscal year, NT is planning to make its service available in all 75 districts,” he added.

ADSL is an Internet access technology that makes use of the existing telephone network to provide broadband Internet service to homes and businesses. At present, ADSL is the most popular high-speed Internet access technology for home and businesses in many parts of the world.

The service initially was

available only in Kathmandu Valley. NT will expand the

ADSL network throughout the country and services will be provided through existing copper cable network infrastructure. According to NT, initially only high-speed Internet service shall be available and gradually services such as VPN, multicasting, video conferencing, video-on-demand and broadcast application etc., shall be added in future.

Broadband service is being provided through the deployment of ADSL 2+ technologies, a type of digital subscriber line (DSL). The ADSL schemes available are of 128 kbps, 256 kbps, 512 kbps, 1 mbps and 2 mbps.

Apart from ADSL, NT is providing various other services like Caller Ring Back Tone (CRBT) in four districts. It has entered into agreements with various commercial banks to provide bill payment services for its landline and mobile services. Global Bank Ltd and NT yesterday signed an agreemtn for SMS bill payment system for postpaid mobiles users and PSTN phone bill through Internet and various branches of Gloabl Bank.