Communation of Nepal

While the first telephones lines were introduced in Kathmandu in 1913, it was not until 1955 that telephone lines were distributed to the public. Likewise, both the telegram service and high frequency radio system (AM) were introduced in 1950. The first public telephone exchange was set up in Kathmandu (300 lines CB) in 1962, whereas the first automatic exchange was established in 1965 (1000 lines in Kathmandu). By 1995, Nepal had installed optical fiber network as well; whereas the GSM services were launched in 1999.
According to the Nepal Telecommunication Authority MIS May 2012 report, there are 7 operators and the total voice telephony subscribers including PSTN and mobile are 16,350,946 which give the penetration rate of 61.42%. The fixed telephone service account for 9.37%, mobile for 64.63%, and other services (LM, GMPCS) for 3.76% of the total penetration rate. Similarly, the numbers of subscribers to data/internet services are 4,667,536 which represents 17.53% penetration rate. Most of the data service is accounted by GPRS users. Twelve months earlier the data/internet penetration was 10.05%, thus this represents a growth rate of 74.77%.
Not only has there been strong subscriber growth, especially in the mobile sector, but there was evidence of a clear vision in the sector, including putting a reform process in place and planning for the building of necessary telecommunications infrastructure. Most importantly, the Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIC) and the telecom regulator, the National Telecommunications Authority (NTA), have both been very active in the performance of their respective roles. Despite all the effort, there remained a significant disparity between the high coverage levels in the cities and the coverage available in the underdeveloped rural regions. Progress on providing some minimum access had been good, however. Of a total of 3,914 Village Development Committees across the country, only 306 were unserved by December 2009. In order to meet future demand, it was estimated that Nepal needed to invest around US$135 million annually in its telecom sector. In 2009, the telecommunication sector alone contributed to 1% of the nation's GDP. As of 30 September 2012, Nepal has 1,828,700 Facebook users.
In the broadcast media, as of 2007, the state operates 2 television stations as well as national and regional radio stations. There are roughly 30 independent TV channels registered, with only about half in regular operation. Nearly 400 FM radio stations are licensed with roughly 300 operational. According to 2011 census, the percentage of households possessing radio was 50.82%, television 36.45%, cable TV 19.33%, computer 7.23%. According to the Press Council Nepal, as of 2012 there are 2038 registered newspapers in Nepal, among which 514 are in publication. In 2013, the Reporters Without Borders ranked Nepal at 118th place in the world in terms of press freedom.