Internet instability linked to infrastructure gaps

Sherab Lhamo

Internet stability in the country is hampered by a combination of infrastructure challenges, right-of-way hurdles, network congestion, and application server limitations, the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Employment, Namgyal Dorji said during the 17th Meet-the-Press yesterday.

There are distinct challenges facing urban and rural areas that need to be addressed separately.

In urban locations, Lyonpo said that the increasing population and traffic demand more base stations for network densification. However, he said that the most significant bottleneck remains obtaining right-of-way clearances for constructing towers and laying fiber optic cables.

“The GovTech Agency, Bhutan Information Communication and Media Authority (BICMA), and telecom operators are working closely with the municipalities and local government authorities to facilitate right-of-ways in terms of land clearance and approvals, which at the moment is the most important issue in densification of mobile networks,” Lyonpo said.

In rural areas, the rugged mountainous terrain actively obstructs mobile signals, limiting their travel distance, he added. Current infrastructure prioritises connectivity within villages, neglecting links between communities or along highways.

Lyonpo acknowledged that expanding this coverage, though technically possible, would necessitate enormous funding.

Network congestion during large public gatherings, such as National Day celebrations at Changlimithang, represents a recurring challenge.

To mitigate this, Lyonpo said that the telecom operators deploy temporary solutions like cellular-on-wheels and portable 4G and 5G mini-access-point devices.

“However, it is not a perfect solution but every event is a learning journey and requires continuous enhancement,” Lyonpo said, adding that this approach is standard practice even in developed economies.

Telecom operators are also conducting detailed assessments of coverage lapses in urban, semi-urban, and rural areas.

A significant portion of perceived internet problems, according to Lyonpo, stems from server limitations rather than the network infrastructure itself. He cited instances of registration difficulties during National Day lottery systems and server crashes during education board exam result announcements.

“When certain applications such as mBOB are used, the mBOB server also has limitations and can provide service to a limited number of users at a time and therefore, increasing the pipe (bandwidth) does not help,” Lyonpo said.

Characterising these as economic decisions, Lyonpo questioned the practicality of making substantial investments in servers that might only face peak demand once a year, particularly if services eventually work after a few attempts.

Monitoring and Druk Speed Test App

Despite the challenges, Lyonpo said that the country’s internet services meet key performance indicators benchmarked against international standards for 2G, 3G, 4G, and 5G technologies.

BICMA rigorously monitors this through monthly system performance data collection from all mobile base stations, quarterly drive tests across all dzongkhags and thromdes, complaint-based drive testing in problem areas, and speed test data collection via the Druk Speed Test App.

When questioned about the reliability and functionality of the Druk Speed Test App, Lyonpo defended its functionality while acknowledging user adoption challenges. He said that BICMA’s benchmarking against other free speed testing applications found differences within a 25 percent range, which is considered minimal.

Lyonpo also added that the global speed test apps do not provide identical measurements due to various technical factors like the location of test files, proprietary settings, and programming flow.

The app is currently functional and actively used by BICMA, despite limited public adoption. To increase public usage, BICMA is exploring advocacy efforts and additional features for the application.