Kathmandu, March 16:

A talk with Sugata Ratna Kansakar, who has just received a two years’ extension as the managing director of Nepal Telecom, gives a distinct sense of how Nepal Telecom and people who are at its helm, have grown in stature.

Liberalisation of the telecom sector, corporatisation of Nepal telecom itself and above all, market competition seem to have sat well with the organisation.

Gone are the days of nervous looking-over-the-shoulder glances, trying to fathom how much the private players might disturb its bailiwick. Today, Nepal Telecom is looking inwards to improve its productivity, efficiency and above all attitude, if you believe what Kansakar has to say.

Improvement in the quality of workforce and downsizing it to make it leaner and meaner, are some of the issues that have priority in Kansakar’s agenda. “From about 12 persons per 1,000 lines four years back, we have come down to around seven now. It would be ideal for Nepal Telecom, if that figure can be brought down to three to four per 1,000 lines,” said Kansakar.

What, however, figures yet higher up on his agenda is the challenge of changing the mindset of employees, including some highly-placed ones, and make them consumer-friendly and service-oriented.

“We already have sent 10 to 12 batches of employees for training in the Staff College. Employees have been grateful for the opportunities and have shown great improvements,” revealed Kansakar.

He also said that most employees and senior-level management staff come from technical or engineering background and have very little grounding in management issues and pra-ctices. It is here that some new tra-ining and exposure can come in handy.

And all this, he agreed, has come up for introspection and necessary action, following the emergence of some sort of competition, which he welcomed. “It is good for all of us. Good for the consumers and good for the Nepal Telecom,” he said.

This new-found nimbleness of spirit is also being reflected in the quick migration in technology by Nepal Telecom.

While Nepal Telecom will continue to upgrade its GSM services for mobile users with facilities like GPRS, to be launched within weeks, it has already started using the CDMA technology for low-end users, to provide upgraded 3G data capability and limited mobility.

“With GSM, we will be serving mobile phone users with facilities like international roaming. With CDMA, we plan to provide a carpet coverage within the nation, particularly in areas like mid-mountain region and the terai belt,” said Kansakar.

On the issue WCDMA, he said that Nepal Telecom would be launching this facility within the next six months, within the ring road to begin with.

“This is mostly going to target high-end users on an experimental basis where apart from other value-added services, telephone users can also see each other on their handsets,” he added.

For all these plans to succeed well, he insisted that improvement in the quality of manpower and service would play key roles.

Exuding confidence, Kansakar gave a feeling that Nepal Telecom now recognises that once consumers can be treated as kings, rest would naturally fall in place.