Fibre optic link across Himalaya mountains is connected via Hong Kong bandwidth
Nepal ended its long dependency on India for internet access on Friday by opening a fibre optic link to China.
The country’s information minister Mohan Bahadur Basnet inaugurated the link across the Himalayas at a ceremony in the capital, Kathmandu.
Previously, all internet connections in the landlocked country came via three access points in its only other neighbour, India. The service was provided by India’s Bharti Airtel and Tata Communications through the cities of Bhairahawa, Biratnagar and Birgunj in southern Nepal.
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Work on a communications link to China was finished in December 2014, but it was completely destroyed in a devastating earthquake in April 2015. A land transport route through the Tatopani border point to China is still closed.
The new internet line provided by China Telecom Global extends from Kathmandu to the border point Rasuwagadhi into the Tibet region.
China has tight controls over the internet and blocks many websites which might carry content that is critical of the ruling Communist Party – including google and Facebook – but the Nepal line is connected via Hong Kong bandwidth, which is not restricted by the infamous “Great Firewall”.
The link was scheduled to be up and running by the middle of last year but it was delayed due to the difficulties of working at high altitudes above 4,000 metres.
