Nepal Launches 3G — Becomes the first to do so in South Asia

Nepal Telecom (NT), the state-run communication supplier, is launching Third Generation (3G) mobile services from Thursday. The service is being launched on the occasion of International Telecom Day. NT officials claim that Nepal is going to be the first country in the South Asia region where 3G mobile services will be launched.

According to NT director Buddhi Acharya, the SIM card for 3G service will cost 4,195 Nepali rupees (abut 64.5 U.S. dollars) and its charges will be similar to that of prepaid mobiles.

For the time being, the 3G services will be made available to area within the Ring Road in the capital city of Kathmandu.

Now Nepalese will be able to surf internet from their compatible Mobile handsets at more than a broadband speed of 384kbps

For a Mobile Freak like me This is a great news and i never expected that Nepal , a poor and small country of mine, will be the first to launch 3G service in south Asia. the mobile industry in Nepal started booming just a year ago and now with 3G available its having bright future ahead.

With introduction of 3G by Nepal Telecom its now possible for nepalese to make video calls. As compared to India , India being booming economy and being at top for Mobile penetration has not been able to launch 3G yet .

http://hem.com.np/2007/05/17/nepal-launches-3g-becomes-the-first-to-do-so-in-south-asia/