… following the installation of optical fibre infrastructure provided by JICA

ICT: Internet and voice services in Jalikhar, Bumthang have improved significantly after the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) introduced fibre technology (FTTX) in October last year.

Yozerling guesthouse proprietor, Dechen Dorji said internet service connectivity has improved drastically compared to what the copper network provided before. Earlier, even after availing broadband services, getting consistent connectivity was difficult.

“Sometimes it was too slow or there would be no network at all,” Dechen Dorji said.

But with the introduction of the fibre network, Jalikhar is now getting better voice and internet services.

“Now the services in terms of both speed and coverage is much better from before,” Dechen Dorji said, adding even the tourists were impressed and appreciative of the faster internet services.

As of now, around 150 residents of Jalikhar have availed voice services, while 10 have availed data services using the fibre network instead of the copper based one.

Former Bhutan Telecom manager of Bumthang, Sangay Wangchuk said the fiber network was received well by the public.

“Now most of the customers are availing fibre network even for voice since it is superior in quality,” Sangay Wangchuk said.

The fibre was implemented by JICA. The project covers areas from the telecom main exchange at Jalikhar to Lamaigonpa.

During a field trial by JICA, most of the hotel owners in Jakar wished to own higher speed internet services for tourists. Therefore, the connection was completed by last week of October 2015 since it’s the peak tourist season in Bumthang.

New fibre technology users have numerous advantages such as higher bandwidth, reliability and wider distance coverage with minimum loss of voice compared to the copper based technology.

Bumthang was chosen for the fibre network because of its ideal location, being a tourist hub with scores of hotels catering to high-end tourists in need of better and faster internet services.

Tempa Wangdi, Bumthang

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