Bajhang phone users battle patchy network

Residents of Bajhang district in Nepal are facing a severe communication crisis as Nepal Telecom's mobile network continues to falter, leaving thousands disconnected for over two months. The once-reliable service has deteriorated significantly since mid-February, transforming into a source of constant frustration and unreliability for users across the district, including its headquarters.

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We already had weak signals in the villages, but now even in the district headquarters calls don’t go through when needed. It has been two months, and we still cannot rely on the network. Sometimes we have to walk to deliver messages.

The issues range from dropped calls and one-way audio to instances where dialled numbers connect to incorrect recipients. Even when signal bars appear, the service often remains non-functional, forcing residents to resort to physically delivering messages. This situation is particularly dire in remote villages where mobile phones are the sole means of communication, raising serious concerns about emergency response and public safety. The local community has voiced strong criticism of Nepal Telecom for its failure to resolve the persistent technical problems despite numerous complaints.

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Now the phone does not work at all. Even when a call finally connects, sometimes we cannot hear the person on the other end, and at other times they cannot hear us.

Nepal Telecom officials acknowledge the widespread technical difficulties, attributing them to a combination of factors including increased user demand and infrastructural limitations, such as inconsistent electricity supply to newly installed towers. While the company assures that the issue has been reported to higher authorities and efforts are ongoing, the lack of a concrete resolution leaves the people of Bajhang in a state of prolonged communication blackout. This highlights a critical infrastructure gap in Nepal's remote regions, where reliable connectivity is not just a convenience but a necessity for daily life, business, and emergency services.

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It has been more than two months. We have visited the Telecom office to complain. They say it is a technical problem affecting many districts in Sudurpaschim. But why has it not been fixed yet?