The Bhutanese Leading the way.
In what could be another milestone for the nation’s first and only private mobile company, TashiCell is all set to launch the third generation (3G) network on December 3 in Thimphu, with the services initially available in places like Thimphu, Paro, Punakha, Bajo in Wangduephodrang, Gelephu, Gedu, and Phuentsholing.
Until now, TashiCell customers have been using 2G service.
TashiCell’s commercial manager Jigme Thinley said, “We are starting from the selective places as those are the commercial hubs and with more number of data users here in Thimphu, we thought of starting from here first.”
The company has plans to continue rolling out 3G network gradually to other dzongkhags, on a phase by phase basis.
In Thimphu alone, the number of TashiCell users approximately comes to 37%.
TashiCell’s mobile network is High Speed Packet Access (HSPA+) and it has opted to use 850MHZ band for its 3G services to provide better coverage, both indoors and outdoors.
While TashiCell said most of today’s high-end mobile devices from vendors like Apple, Samsung, Sony, etc., support the 3G band, mid
range devices, especially those available in the Indian market may not support it. TashiCell is in discussion with few mobile device manufactures to address the issue.
In addition, TashiCell’s 3G data cards that support the band will also be made available at a reasonable price. Further, TashiCell will be introducing various mobile data packages to meet the varying needs of different user segments.
The company has come up with different packages which a customer can activate through customer care services.
“For instance, if a student wants to check his results online, he just needs to subscribe the Nu 20 package for a day, and this will make it easier and convenient for him rather than visiting an internet café,” the GM explained.
Currently, TashiCell has about 1, 50, 000 users across the country.
