Internet in Nepal
Although through 2010 less than 43 percent of Nepal's population used the Internet, use of the Internet in Nepal is growing rapidly. This is the result of a competitive Internet service provider (ISP) market and low Internet access prices. Thirty-one private ISPs offer Internet access to businesses and consumers, though two, Worldlink and Mercantile, dominate the market with a combined share of more than 70 percent. Cyber cafés are important sources of Internet access for Nepalis; the country is believed to have the highest concentration of cybercafés in the world. Much of Nepal's Internet access is concentrated in the more-developed Katmandu Valley region, as the mountainous terrain and low income in remote regions of the country make access more difficult. However, one effort to bring Internet access to rural populations—the Nepal Wireless Networking Project—has already wirelessly connected seven remote mountain villages to the Internet, with plans to network twenty-one villages in all.[1] Although relatively few Nepalis presently get their news from the Internet, it has nevertheless become an important source of independent news in Nepal. When King Gyanendra assumed authoritarian control in 2005, for example, traditional media were either shut down or heavily censored to ensure the publication of only favorable news about the monarch. Nepali bloggers became an important political voice and source of information to the world about the situation unfolding inside the country.
Popular ISP's in Nepal
- Worldlink
- Broadlink
- Classic Tech
- Nepal Telecom
- Subisu Cablenet
