NT has already conducted a feasibility study for the project. The public bidding process to procure necessary equipment will start soon. “We will then begin installation work simultaneously in all 73 districts where the fixed line network has been laid,” Amar Nath Singh, chief of NT, told myrepublica.com. [break]
NT is currently relying on its PSTN network to provide voice service. Small packets of data can also be sent or received through this network using the dial-up system. Recently, NT also launched an ADSL service using the same platform. With this, data can be transferred at speeds of 128kbps and 256kbps.
The next generation network will bring all these scattered services under one umbrella and provide high quality voice, data and multimedia services from one point.
“The biggest advantage of this transformation is that individuals and companies can gain a very reliable service – most probably the best service – from their existing fixed phone lines at home,” Kamini Rajbhandari, manager of NT’s planning division, said. “From then onwards one can watch television on the internet, play online games, sit for online video conferences or download huge amounts of data without having to curse the internet service provider.”
To begin with, NT will lay optical fibers wherever fixed phone lines are operating. These additional lines will widen the paths through which data and voice travel and reduce the burden on existing copper wires.
In addition, new remote switching units will also be established at closer proximities to avoid chances of congestion in the network. Remote switching units link customers’ phone lines with the service providers’ network. Each of these switching units can cover a radial distance of 6.2 kilometers. “But to ensure that customers get a seamless service we are planning to establish these units at closer distances so that data and voice do not get corrupted,” Rajbhandari said.
NT, however, has not fixed a deadline to complete all this work. It also hasn’t fixed the tariff rates for the new service.
“But we know this is our future and the only thing that can provide a facelift to NT´s fixed line business. We also hope this will further strengthen the company’s position in the market,” Rajbhandari, a senior official of the country’s largest telecom company, said. “The new network is expected to reduce the cost of operating the PSTN system by up to 30 percent.”
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