Nepal to See FTTH Enhancements

Nokia (News - Alert) and Nepal’s WorldLink are teaming up. Nokia is deploying fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) with WorldLink, connecting more than one million Nepalese homes. The anticipated launch for the country’s largest FTTH network is expected to be in 2019, according to Nokia.

This is a big addition for WorldLink, bringing on 12,000 additional monthly residential users. Already Nepal’s biggest fixed broadband services provider, WorldLink will heavily depend on Nokia’s existing fiber platform. To keep costs down, the 7360 Intelligent Service Access Manager (ISAM) FX from Nokia will be implemented.

"Fiber networks and next-generation access technologies such as XGS and TWDM-PON are uniquely positioned to address the evolving mobile transport needs in the era of 5G. By leveraging FTTH networks that are already in place, and vendor technologies such as Nokia's mobile transport solution, mobile operators can quickly gain access to the capacity, scale and flexibility needed to support 'anyhaul' applications," stated Rupert Wood, research director at Analysys (News - Alert) Mason.

WorldLink and Nokia began working on the fiber-optic network in Nepal July 2017. The FTTH upgrade will offer current users the choice to increase current bandwidth up to 100 Mbps for ultra-broadband and HD IPTV (News - Alert) services.

Underprivileged areas will see the fiber benefits, allowing for broadband for all, aside from Kathmandu, the major metropolitan area. Additional services from WorldLink include cloud, data/analytics, managed services, and talent, making them a welcomed partnership with Nokia.

"WorldLink has a commitment to Nepal to transform the communications landscape so that our people and enterprises thrive," said Manoj Agrawal, WorldLink's director. "This is our largest project to date, and it will allow us to provide ultra-fast broadband services for our mobile and fixed network subscribers in cities as well as rural areas across the country. With Nokia's fiber solution, our services are going to get faster, become more reliable and widely available to Nepali households."