Saying that Nepal is lagging behind in 5G, Minister Gurung has asked Nepal Telecom to prepare for 5G expansion.
What you should know
The South Asian country of Bangladesh has officially launched the latest version of mobile data, 5G service. The two largest telecommunication companies there, Grameenphone and Robi Accieta, have started operating 5G commercial services in major cities from Monday.
In the initial phase, 5G access has been provided to all the eight divisional headquarters . This has been interpreted by the local media as an important step towards the digital transformation of Bangladesh .
Grameenphone CEO Yasir Azam called it a 'proud moment' and said 5G has strong potential to drive innovation, entrepreneurship and smart solutions in the country. Robi's Corporate Head Shahid Alam stated that the company aims to expand to more than 200 sites by November and said that it will prioritize areas where communication equipment is highly used and strategic infrastructure .
Although this achievement of Bangladesh is historic, it is said that for now it is limited to initial expansion. According to the forecast of GSMA, by the end of 2025, only 6 percent of mobile users in Bangladesh will be able to get 5G facilities. According to Reuters, access to 4G services in the South Asian country still remains a challenge. It is estimated that by the end of this year only less than half of the users will be able to use the 4G network . Similarly, the smartphone usage rate is expected to reach 69 percent, which is significantly lower than India's 84 percent.
Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission auctioned 190 MHz spectrum in 2022 for US$ 1.23 billion. However, operators delayed the commercial launch of 5G until 2024 due to high costs and limited demand.
Bangladesh's 5G entry looks planned compared to its South Asian neighbors. India launched 5G in October 2022 and now more than 250 million subscribers are connected to high-speed communication with around 500,000 base stations. Pakistan has not yet launched 5G services commercially but has invested heavily in fiber infrastructure. Maldives and Bhutan have also started 5G in limited areas, while Sri Lanka has been testing this service for free since 2019 despite the economic crisis.
In Nepal, plans related to 5G have been stalled for a long time . Although the Nepal Telecommunication Authority has received spectrum for testing in 2021, there has been no significant initiative towards starting commercial services. Experts are of the opinion that the test that Nepal Telecom is trying to conduct could not proceed due to the declining telecommunication market and administrative complications. Since 2021, it has been repeatedly announced that 5G service will be promoted with priority, but even by the end of 2025, Nepal Telecom or private operator Ncell has not announced any concrete plan to start commercial 5G service immediately.
Only on Monday, the Minister of Communication and Information Technology, Prithvisubba Gurung, instructed Nepal Telecom to restart the 5G network as the implementation of 5G network is mandatory to use AI. Minister Gurung also asked to expand the 4G network to people's homes.
Minister Gurung said that Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli promised to start 5G network this year and drew the attention of Nepal Telecom to prepare for it. "The 5G network has already been used in South Asia, we are far behind", he said, "There has been an agreement between the Prime Minister and me on the implementation of the 5G network." He also said that 5G will be expanded from Kathmandu and Pokhara.
