Over the next three days, the workshop - in which 60 participants are in attendance, including 30 from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Japan, Maldives, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and South Korea - will hold discussions on five core issues: IP network infrastructure, issues relating to IP network, billing and tariff issues in IP-based services, issues related to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and issues relating to network security. Wisegeek.com explains IP as a set of techniques used by many hosts for transmitting data over the internet.
Speaking at the workshop, information and communication secretary Sushil Ghimire said as telecom companies in the region are moving beyond the traditional practice of providing only voice service and are fully embracing converged voice, data and video network-based on IP, telecom regulators in South Asia are facing new challenges. He laid the focus on "finding out a common solution to address the problems."
Nepal is also one one of the countries in the region that is gradually migrating towards an IP-based nework. And Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA), the country´s telecommunications regulatory body, is currently conducting a study on fully liberalizing VoIP technology in the country.
Ananda Raj Khanal, director of NTA, expressed hope that the workshop will help the NTA frame policies and regulation on IP-based network, like VoIP.
VOIP is a technology under which telephone calls made using the internet can be placed on the internet itself, or on fixed and cell phones. It is considered a cost-effective technology which has brought international call tariff rates down worldwide. Currently, only those telecom companies which have its own international gateway - such as Nepal Telecom or United Telecom Limited - are allowed to make full use of VoIP technology in Nepal.
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