Nepal Slow to Adopt Digital Services
By altering how people, governments, and businesses operate and communicate, digital technologies are reshaping lives and means of subsistence on a worldwide scale. The transition to digital businesses, society, and the government holds great promise for increasing service accessibility. Government organizations and commercial companies have been slow to adopt digital services, despite the economy’s increasing acceleration of digitalization.
The world bank’s new report, South- Asia’s digital opportunities: accelerating growth, transforming lives looks at the opportunities and challenges related to digitalizing the economies, societies and government of South Asian countries.
Compared to other South Asian Countries, broadband internet usage is yet to gather significant momentum in Nepal. Higher data prices, unreliable coverage, and higher mobile handset prices have hindered the use of broadband services. An entry-level mobile broadband package is about 2.75 percent of the gross national income (GNI) per capita in Nepal, which is higher than the 2 percent threshold for affordability. Similarly, in terms of device affordability Nepal ranks 115th out of 134 countries. The high price of devices, especially smartphones, high customs tariffs, and lack of digital literacy has contributed to these digital access gaps, according to the report.
While Nepal has six national mobile network operators, the maximum share of the market (94.5 percent) is held by just two operators, namely Nepal Telecom and Ncell, which has effectively created a duopoly in the domestic telecommunications market.
According to the World Bank, the limited infrastructure sharing and coordination between telecom network providers and other linear infrastructure providers have discouraged new players from entering the market. Despite the proliferation of digital businesses, especially new technology startups focusing on areas like education, fintech, and e-commerce, Nepal scores lower than India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and marginally higher than Bangladesh, in the Digital Entrepreneurship Index. According to the report, the growth of digital start-ups is expected to accelerate in the next five years. Nepal’s e-commerce sector is valued at close to US$30 million and is experiencing a growth of more than 40 percent per year.
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MDMS Halted for Time Being!!!
Nepal Telecom Authority (NTA) halted the full implementation of the Mobile Device Management system (MDMS) for now as per the instruction of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.
Implementation of the MDMS was thoroughly criticized as it made a hassle for Nepali nationals to bring phone while coming back to Nepal from abroad. Any person returning to Nepal could only bring one phone for free but would’ve been required to pay 13% VAT and 5% excise duty and if the person brings more than two, unregistered phones with them, NTA had warned that those handsets will be confiscated.
The system was anticipated to make tracing lost or stolen phones simple as well as to address the urgent problem of grey smartphone imports in the nation. However, the system has once again been suspended following the Prime Minister of the nation’s direct instruction.
DRN believes that MDMS should be fully implemented but at the same time the system should target commercial importers bypassing the formal import channel but not the individuals phones for personal consumption or as a gift.
For more: Onlinekhabar, Onlinekhabar
SC Issued Interim Order Against SIM Recycle
On December 29, the Supreme Court of Nepal issued an interim order and show cause against the Nepal Telecom Authority (NTA) directive allowing telecom companies to recycle SIM numbers that have been inactive for more than a year to another person and deactivate SIM cards that have not been used in six months. On December 23, a Writ Petitioner filed a lawsuit against NTA and other telecom operators to stop the practice of recycling SIM cards to new owners without first notifying the original owner.
DRN had raised the privacy and security issues related to SIM recycling in its newsletter issue 13 dated 26 August 2022.
For more: Technology Khabar
NRB begins Digital Financial Literacy Campaign
On December 23, 2022, Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB) launched Digital Financial Campaign, with the aim of educating public about digital transactions by organizing an event in Darchula of Sudurpashchim. Speaking at the inaugural program NRB governor Mahaprasad Adhikari highlighted importance of digital transaction in reducing corruption and promoting good governance. Popularity of the digital transaction has increased in Nepal lately as the central bank recently reported 4.2 million transactions through QR only in one month.
For more: Techmandu
12 Billion worth of mobile phones imported in Nepal
12 billion mobile phones were imported in Nepal in the first 5 months of the current Fiscal Year (FY) 2079/80. The Customs Department data shows that mobile phone traders brought in over 2 million units of devices from various countries during the period.
As per the Customs Department, Rs 12 billion, 39 crore, 48 lakhs, and 14 thousand were spent to import phones. During the period, 20 lakhs, 32 thousand, 5 hundred, and 27 units of phones arrived in Nepal.
For more: Nepalitelecom
EU investigating Twitter over Data Breach of 5.4 Million users
Twitter Inc. risks massive fines after the European Union’s top privacy regulator opened an investigation into reports of a suspected data breach that compromised the personal details of 5.4 million users last year.
Ireland’s Data Protection Commission said on 23 December it had decided to open an investigation into reports that one or more datasets containing personal user information had been made available online. According to the agency, approximately 5.4 million Twitter users worldwide were affected by the leak of personal data. The data sets reportedly contained Twitter IDs, email addresses, and/or telephone numbers of the affected individuals.
For more: Technology Khabar
Indian Railways Data Hacked
Data of around 30 million travelers registered with the Indian Railways has been hacked and reportedly put on sale on the Dark Web, as per reports. The hackers have claimed that they have personal information of passengers including the name, age, address, mobile number, email address etc. The Indian Railways has yet to officially react on this incident.
For more: Technology Khabar
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OPPORTUNITY
Join 2023 Prediction Event
What will 2023 bring for digital geopolitics, AI, data, and cryptocurrencies? Will the ‘1998 deal’ on digital government still hold? What issues will dominate the United Nations and multilateral agenda in Geneva, and beyond?
All these, and numerous other questions that will shape the digital landscape in 2023 will be discussed online on Thursday, 12 January 2023 at 13.00 UTC (14.00 CET) at the online event: Trends and Predictions for 2023.
Join Dr Jovan Kurbalija, and his guests during the annual prediction session. Register and contribute to the discussion.
To join: Webinar Registration – Zoom
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Digital Rights Weekly is a week-based update on Digital Rights and ICT issues, that happened throughout the week, compiled and analyzed from the digital rights perspective by Digital Rights Nepal (DRN). DRN is a not-for-profit initiative dedicated to the protection and promotion of digital rights, including the right to online freedom of expression and association, online privacy, access to information, and related issues such as internet governance, cyber laws/policies, and cyber securities in Nepal.
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