The growth of fixed line users is mainly due to rural telecom operators who started operating the service in rural areas where the service of state-owned operator was not available. [break]
That ADSL service, which connects to Internet, is available only on Nepal Telecom (NT) fixed lines is also contributing to the growth of fixed line users in the country.
As per the statistics provided by Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA), the fixed line density is at 3.2 percent, meaning the number of subscribers to fixed lines is 845,000. This was limited to below 3 percent a year ago.
Out of six telecom operators in the country, five provide fixed line service. Nepal Telecom (NT) provides wireless and wireline (PSTN), UTL provides wireless fixed lines and rural telecom operators Smart Telecom, Nepal Satellite and STM Sanchar provide fixed line service in the form of PSTN.
However, market share of other companies is negligible compared to NT, whose customer base stands at around 720,000, of which 610,000 subscribers use PSTN.
Spokesperson for NT Surendra Thike said cheaper tariff and better quality of service are doing the trick for NT. He said, “Attraction for ADSL service and on demand availability has helped to add new subscribers.”
He further said Average Revenue per User (ARU) of fixed line was also better than that of GSM subscribers. “Although the overall revenue of fixed line has declined after the introduction of GSM service, ARU of fixed line is still better than ARU of GSM line,” he added.
The total voice telephony of the country is at 55.41 percent and subscriber base of GSM users has jumped to 49.21 percent from 32.79 percent last year.
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