Summary

  • In 1999, Nepal let ISPs establish international VSAT links, loosening NTC’s hold on cross-border data.
  • NTC still controlled wired dial-up and leased lines, so a separate gateway did not make the whole connection independent.

Nepal’s international gateway and a subscriber’s local line were different parts of the network. In 1999, a government decision let internet service providers establish international connectivity using VSAT. Several could bypass Nepal Telecommunications Corporation (NTC), which had held the monopoly on international data links. NTC did not disappear from the route between a local customer and an ISP.

“Internet access” can hide several separately controlled links. A provider might obtain capacity abroad and still depend on another company for a dial-up telephone line or a leased circuit to a business. The opening changed the international choice; the evidence does not show an independent end-to-end access network.

The timeline begins earlier. A later Nepal Telecommunications Authority report describes periodic email exchange in a 1993 RONAST project through ERNET at IIT Bombay, followed by commercial store-and-forward email. The ITU’s November 2000 study separates those services from Mercantile’s first online international link, dated to mid-July 1995 and routed through NTC to Singapore Telecom. These were distinct service milestones. (NTA convergence report; ITU Nepal study)

The ITU says NTC monopolized international data connectivity until mid-1999; ISPs relied on it and the study describes 64 kbit/s links. It records provider complaints about price, bandwidth and service. Those are interview-based assessments, not measurements of every circuit. Field research took place in January 2000, and the authors caution that the views need not represent the ITU or Nepal’s government. (ITU study, §§2.2.2, 3.1)

A 1999 decision allowed ISPs to create international VSAT links. The ITU reported capacity rising from 320 kbit/s in May to more than 5 Mbit/s at year’s end, using provider-supplied data. That is reported capacity, not independently audited traffic. In January 2000, Mercantile and WorldLink both supplied and used VSAT; C&C served several other ISPs. Provider and user licences were required, so it would be inaccurate to say every ISP built its own gateway. (ITU study, §§2.2.2, 3.3.1)

NTC retained another bottleneck: the ITU says it still monopolized wired connections, including ordinary dial-up and leased lines. ISPs reported delays in provisioning leased circuits; some offered wireless leased circuits to customers. The study also notes waiting lists, extra charges and congestion on dial-in lines. These reports do not describe every district, but explain why international capacity alone could not determine local price or availability. (ITU study, §3.1)

The 1997 Telecommunications Act has a separate date question. Its English translation says it entered into force on a day set by government notice in the Nepal Gazette. After commencement it barred unlicensed operation and provided a transition period for existing services. Publication, commencement, launch and an ISP’s licence date are different events. (Act, §§1, 21)

The opening was partial: some providers gained international routes and sometimes sold upstream capacity to peers, while local wired access remained concentrated in NTC. The sources support a shift in international control, not national redundancy or end-to-end competition.

Sources and limits

The ITU study is a near-contemporary account based on January 2000 field research and provider-supplied capacity data. The NTA report clarifies the earlier email phase. The translated law distinguishes publication from commencement; it does not date each ISP licence.

ITU Nepal case study · Telecommunications Act 2053 (1997) · NTA convergence report