Nine foreign firms submit proposals to instal satellite

KATHMANDU, JANUARY 12

Nine foreign companies have submitted proposals to Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) for the installation of satellite.

Issuing a notice on December 8, NTA had sought expressions of interest (EoIs) from interested companies.

The telecom regulator had sought the EoIs to take forward the processes of regulation and security of ground satellite installation, legal structure, framework, business structure, technical requirements and preparation of bid documents.

According to NTA, Beijing SpaceKey Technology Co Ltd from China; Euroconsult from France; KPMG-ARGO (JV)/ Lead KPMG Assurance and Consulting Services LLP from India; Space Partnership International from USA; S3tel Inc from Dubai; Celestial Consulting Services Pte Ltd from Singapore; and SpaceTec Partners from Germany have submitted EoIs for the installation of satellite.

Meanwhile, two companies from UK, London Economics Ltd and Kispe Space Systems Ltd have also submitted the EoIs.

According to Min Prasad Aryal, spokesperson for NTA, the firm will be selected on the basis of competition from among the consultants that have submitted the expressions of interest and the company will carry out the basic work related to the installation of the satellite.

The government is planning to set up its own satellite as the use of foreign satellites is sensitive to the national security of the country.

On the basis of the recently drafted Satellite Policy, 2020 for the establishment of ground satellite, NTA is preparing to launch its own satellite. The expressions of interest will be evaluated on the basis of 40 per cent qualification, 50 per cent experience and 10 per cent ability, according to Aryal. Only companies shortlisted on the basis of evaluation of the expressions of interest will be allowed to submit technical and financial proposals.

Similarly, a separate organisation will be selected for the launch and operation of the satellite in the second phase, Aryal said.

Earlier, NTA had cancelled all the procurement processes and expressions of interest by issuing a notice on December 8. Despite having the orbital slots allocated by the International Telecommunication Union since 1984, the government has failed to utilise the fixed satellite service (FSS) capacity so far. Orbital slots refer to the location where satellites are placed and Nepal has been assigned 50 degree east and 123.3 degree east orbital slots for its satellites.