MUMBAI: The sole dependence of Nepal on India to connect with global telecom services will end soon. The commercial operation of Nepal-China optical fibre link is set to begin in February. The Nepal-China trans-border connectivity project via Rasuwagadi (Nepal) is in the final stage of completion, as per Nepal Telecom (NT) officials.

Following the commercial operation of new optical fibre network, Nepal will be connected to the world via Hong Kong through China Telecom. Nepal, at present, is only linked to other countries through Indian telecommunication companies via different optical fibre connections at Biratnagar, Bhairahawa, and Birgunj, etc., The Himalayan Times reported.

In December 2016, Nepal Telecom and China Telecom had signed a pact to deliver internet protocol (IP) service in Nepal with terrestrial cable route (TCR) connecting the two nations. From February, internet service would become cheaper and more qualitative in Nepal.

NT deputy spokesperson Shovan Adhikari said that the process of laying optical fibre along the determined route had been completed. However, recent heavy snowfall on the Chinese side caused some of the fibres to break in certain areas, which resulted in delay in launching the project.

However, Adhikari said that the commercial operation of the cross-border optical fibre network was likely to begin from February as the Chinese authorities expedited the process of repairing the damaged lines after clearing the snow.

Before starting commercial operations, NT is expected to launch a confirmation testing of the project. The company had tested the operation of the optical fibre network interconnectivity with the neighbour last year.