Plans afoot to digitise country’s postal offices

Kathmandu, June 23

The Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) is preparing to transform different postal offices across the country into Rural Information and Technology Centres in a bid to expand broadband internet services in the country.

As envisioned by the fiscal budget for 2017-18 to restructure the postal system, NTA is working to convert all 780 postal offices of the country into Rural Information and Communication Centres under its master-plan

of expanding broadband internet services all over Nepal by 2020.

NTA officials said that the transformation process of postal offices will start from the beginning of the new fiscal year (mid-July).

“The increasing access to modern communication means has virtually phased out postal service system in Nepal. As provisioned in the budget, NTA aims to digitise the country’s postal system and increase people’s access to information and communications technology,” said Min Prasad Aryal, spokesperson for NTA.

NTA plans to deliver basic information and technology services like access to computer, internet, fax and telephone, among others, by transforming every postal office into a Rural Information and Technology Centre. “We are thinking of delivering all these basic information and communication tools to local people for free for at least two years through the Rural Information and Technology Centres,” Aryal informed.

Meanwhile, NTA is also preparing to award the operation of Rural Information and Technology Centres to different internet service providers (ISPs) on the basis of low-cost subsidy. As per Aryal, cost competitive ISPs will be awarded contract to operate Rural Information and Technology Centres and they will have to deliver free services for at least two years. “After two years of free services, ISPs will have to deliver basic information and communication services at the service rate fixed by NTA,” he informed.

Such centres will also have smooth power supply and internet flow, according to NTA.

NTA is financing the Rural Information and Technology Centres through the Rural Telecommunications Development Fund.

According to Aryal, NTA will soon fix the operation modality of Rural Information and Technology Centres and develop a regulatory guideline.

Under its broader plan to expand internet services across the country by 2020, NTA is initiating different projects intended to take broadband internet to every rural municipality, health and education institution and government offices, among others.