Nepal’s state owned telecoms operator Nepal Telecom (NT) has announced it is rolling out an upgraded CDMA2000 1xEV-DO Rev A network across the country, under the banner ‘Sky Pro’, which will go live nationwide by the end of its current fiscal year. The telco says the up-rated IP CDMA service is already operational in the areas of Narayani and Lumbini, with the zones of Bagmati, Gandkai, Bheri, Seti, Mahakali and Sunsari set to follow within two weeks. Going forward, NT plans to distribute one million CDMA Rev A lines in the country’s eastern and central development regions, as well as one million lines in Nepal’s western, mid-western and far-western development regions.
The new service will allow data transmission speeds of up to 3.1Mbps, as well as improved voice call quality, compared to the current maximum data speeds of 153.6kbps available on its 1xEV-DO Skyphone-branded product. Sky Pro will cost NPR13,500 (USD156.5) for the handset, giving them NPR200 per month in voice call credit for one year. Charges on data downloads will be levied on the basis of the customer’s usage, it added.