Why has internet become sluggish in Nepal?

KATHMANDU: The internet service providers (ISP) have said the internet speed was slowed because of multiple factors as problems on bandwidth, server and mobile apps. They said only ISPs were not behind the slow internet speed.

It was shared at a virtual interaction organized by the Technology Journalists’ Forum (TJF) in the capital city on Saturday.

Chief Executive Officer of Subishu Cable Net, Binaya Mohan Saud, said the problems surfaced in Indian companies like Tata and Airtel, overuse of some application/services and quality of the devices the customers possess are also the other reasons behind slow internet.

He, however, said, “Customers’ complaints are also genuine because some ISPs promise the service of more Mbps while they themselves lack the capacity. But, most of the causes do not lie in ISPs. We’re simply the bridges. The slow internet has resulted after the problem is surfaced in any of the three- customers, server and application.”

CEO Saud reiterated that one-side efforts from ISP are not enough to solve the problem of slow internet.

Similarly, the Managing Director at Vianet Communications, Binay Bohara, said customers’ complaints of slow internet is a never-ending matter. “Currently, the internet is slow because of Tiktok. Tomorrow, we’ll have a new app or website which consumes much internet bandwidth. So, a complaint of slow internet can not be addressed fully,” he argued.

According to him, 80 percent of the internet is consumed by the video and it is in growing trend now, which is a big challenge.

Saud further said internet speed was slow at the present time of COVID-19 also because of the overuse of Facebook, Youtube and Tiktok. He further argued that following the arrival of the COVID-19 crisis in Nepal, the use of Google has upped by 37 percent, Facebook by 72 percent and Tiktok by 75 percent. The recreational app/servers are operated in high definition, he said, urging all not to indulge in such internet bandwidth-consuming apps.

Meanwhile, telecommunications expert Anandraj Khanal said although the several countries had adopted the measures as the expansion of bandwidth and quality enhancement in the wake of COVID-19, Nepal has fallen short of it. He stressed the changes both in policy and practice for quality internet.