Ending dependency on India, Nepal accesses internet through Chinese link

Nepalese people today began accessing internet through a Chinese optical fibre link laid across the Himalayan mountains, ending the country's sole dependency on India for connecting to the cyber space.

The initial speed of internet by Chinese fibre link via Rasuwagadhi border will be 1.5 Gigabit per second (gbps), less than that of 34 gbps by India through Biratnagar, Bhairahawa and Birgunj, according to officials.

The commercial operation of the optical fibre link across the Himalayan mountains to China has begun, they said.

Nepal's Information and Communication Minister Mohan Bahadur Basnet inaugurated the Nepal-China cross border optical fibre link at a function here.

In 2016, state-owned Nepal Telecom (NT) had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with state-run China Telecommunications for the operation of Nepal's internet network via China.

Basnet said that the optical fibre link established between Nepal and China will be a milestone for developing countrywide internet infrastructure. This will boost bilateral relations between Nepal and China at official as well as people's level, the minister said.

The internet connectivity between Nepal and China has not only made available shortest route for internet connection to Nepal, it has also opened up vast business potentials between the two neighbours, China's Ambassador to Nepal You Hong said.

Managing Director of NT Kamini Rajbhandari said that the Chinese internet bandwidth will also increase accessibility and reliability of Nepal's internet service.