With regard to landline phone and dial-up internet, the necessity to regulate the latest technology development through the Telecommunication Act made in the 2050s has started to hinder the use of modern technology.

When advanced technologies such as Broadband Internet, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things, OTT, 5G are being used worldwide, the country is suffering financial loss due to old-fashioned regulation. 

As technology changes every year, investments and returns are unpredictable in areas where the infrastructure needs to be upgraded and updated, the experts comment that the provision of foreign investment companies under the existing law to come under the government after 25 years is not correct.

Also, satellite-based internet service providers such as Starlink have not been able to enter the telecommunications sector since service providers with 100% foreign investment are not acceptable. The founder of Starlink and the richest man in the world, Elon Musk, recently requested in a conversation with Nepal's Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to correct the policy obstacle of having at least 20 percent local partners. Oli has responded to Ilan that the government will study this matter and provide more information. 

Deputy Director Pradeep Paudyal, who is also the assistant spokesperson of Nepal Telecommunication Authority, the regulator of the telecommunication sector, also shared his experience of difficulties in regulation as the old laws could not cover the new technology.

"Due to low fines, service providers do not fulfill their obligations in some cases, but the practice of paying fines raises questions about the quality of service," he said, "There is also legal confusion in the process of adding new service providers or making the market competitive." 

Advocate Baburam Aryal says that the law that stipulates a 25-year license period in a rapidly changing field is not in line with the times.

'The current telecommunications act was a law made outside of the telecom sector, that law cannot be operated on a 30-year-old basis without updating it according to modern conditions,' he said, 'Telecom is not a fixed infrastructure but a sector based on dynamic infrastructure.' break Although high-speed and reliable networks are necessary to deliver the benefits of modern technologies like AI to consumers, the lack of clear laws related to AI and 5G technology in Nepal is a hindrance. Paudyal, deputy director of the delivering authority said. 

According to him, the Authority has recently prepared a draft of a new law and sent it to the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology to make the Telecommunications Act up-to-date. Even though the Authority has sent suggestions and drafts of laws to the Ministry several times before, it has been kept in the Ministry.

Limited amendments in the draft

The last time in 2079 there was opposition in the National Assembly meeting of the Parliament regarding the draft of the bill to amend the Telecommunications Act. Officials of the Ministry of Communications say that the Telecommunications Act could not be amended even after repeated attempts due to the fact that it is a matter that affects many sectors. Since the law has not been amended, telecom operators, network and internet service providers have been disappointed. 

The authority has already provided suggestions and drafts of new laws to the government for the amendment of the Act, and it is the responsibility of the government to proceed from there. Stakeholders have expressed doubt that the Ministry of Communications has already started the amendment process to make the Telecommunications Act up-to-date and will finalize it this time.

Communications Secretary Radhika Aryal said that the Act needs to be updated as it is difficult to accommodate new technologies due to the old law. 

He said that a draft has been prepared to amend the Telecommunications Act and it has been published on the website for suggestions and the received suggestions are currently being studied. "Now, by sending it to the Ministry of Law and Finance, preparations are being made to take the proposal to the Parliament for a comprehensive discussion through the Council of Ministers," she said. According to Secretary Aryal, the new amendment will help to bring technology like ISP and OTT under the scope of law. 

Complications due to old system

Nepal Telecom spokesperson Hari Dhakal said that due to old telecommunication laws in Nepal, it is difficult to introduce modern technology like 5G. According to him, even though 5G technology has come through 2G, 3G, 4G, there is a problem in introducing the latest technology due to legal ambiguity. "5G's licensing policy has not yet been decided, and it is not known how much money should be paid for it," he said. 

Dhakal noted that the old law did not address the current telecommunication scenario. He pointed out that there is no clear legal provision regarding the regulation of OTT players. According to Dhakal, the rules of the public procurement process of the government of Nepal have created a situation where the government-owned Nepal Telecom is lagging behind in the competition.

'We have to tender according to the guidelines of the Public Procurement Monitoring Office. But the technology has changed during the procurement process,' he said, 'because of this, we are lagging behind.' Officer Subhas Khadka is of opinion. "According to the law, the ISPs have been paying up to 42 percent of royalty, rural telecommunication fund, and telecommunication service fees, which is very high compared to other countries," he said. "The new law needs to regulate it." An official of a network service provider company said that the frequency is stuck because there are unreasonable provisions such as distribution through auction. He says that effective use of frequency is indispensable for developing 5G technology in Nepal, but this issue has become complicated due to old laws.

'The government is losing revenue by keeping the frequency like this,' he said, 'It is the responsibility of the authority to address the problems of the service providers , has been criticized for including provisions such as the ability to deactivate communication links and the authority to shut down services against abuse on the Internet, thereby narrowing freedom of expression. 

International experts have also pointed out that Nepal needs new laws. Farhadul Parvez, Program Officer of Asia Pacific Telecom, who came to participate in the Telecommunication Day program last May, suggested that Nepal needs to prepare a legal framework to address AI strategy, future spectrum policy, IOT regulation, cloud policy and internet innovation.