3G

Bhutan Telecom Ltd. awarded a multi-million dollar contract for WCDMA/HSPA (wideband code division multiple access/ High - Speed Packet Access) to Ericsson on the 15th September, 2007. WCDMA/HSPA is also commonly known as 3 G (3rd Generation) network. Bhutan will become the 3rd country in South Asia (after Sri Lanka and Nepal) to roll out 3G network and services.The contract was signed with Ericsson AB, a Swedish Company for the supply of equipment and Ericsson India Limited for services. The project is expected to be completed by early 2008. During the signing ceremony, Mr. Thinley Dorji, the Managing Director of BTL said, "The need to modernize our communication network was of paramount importance to us, since we want to provide the best possible communication experience to our customers. We have been working closely with Ericsson for quite some time and we believe that partnering with Ericsson was a very natural choice, given its leadership in technology and project management expertise." Mr. Mats Granryd, the Managing Director of Ericsson India said, "Ericsson is extremely happy that Bhutan Telecom has chosen Ericsson, as this not only further strengthens our long-term relationship with BTL but also shows confidence in our technology leadership."

This project will overlay a 3G network over its existing 2 G network. Technically 2G GSM works on circuit switched technology and 3G on packet technology. 2G can technically provide up to 28.8 kbps data but typically the data rate is 9.6 kbps. Packet technology is very versatile and the number of different applications and services that can be introduced on the packet is extremely large and is growing each day. Once you are on packet technology, the following generic names are assigned depending on speed:

2.5 G<also known as GPRS (General Packet Radio Service)> : speed up to 64 kbps of data
2.75 G<also known as EDGE(Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution)> : speed up to 115 kbps of data
3 G (also known as WCDMA/HSPA (Wideband Code Division Multiple access/ High - Speed Packet Access) : speed up to 14 mbps

The project will provide GPRS, EDGE and WCDMA overlay on the existing 2G network and create a layered architecture thus enabling BTL to leapfrog from traditional voice centric network to a high capacity data network.Initially full 3 G coverage will be available in Thimphu, Paro and Phuentsholing and GPRS/EDGE coverage in other places.

A person who has a 3 G handset and has subscribed to 3 G service can enjoy data rates of up to 14 mbps theoretically and practically around 2-7 mbps initially in the 3 places mentioned above, the data speed will depend on simultaneous logging at that instant of time. When he/she travels away from the core coverage areas, the data speed will decrease depending on signal strength. As he/she moves out of the range of 3G, he/she shall have 2.75/2.5 Gat most of the places.

Some of the new services that can be provided are high speed Internet browsing, e-mail, video telephony, MMS (multi-media services), etc. as well as a number of innovative content based services.

Further, in 2007, B-Mobile has migrated its prepaid subscribers onto a more sophisticated Intelligent Network (IN) platform capable of offering new services and features as part of BTL's ongoing effort to be more responsive to customer's needs.New value added services such as welcome message for roamers, transfer of money value from customer to customer, electronic recharge for prepaid customers, missed call alert, caller ring back tone, music downloads, jokes download, etc. are being introduced in a phased manner. A credit clearance time of 3 days has been introduced for the benefit of our customers. A 24/7 Help Desk of 10 agents is being introduced and shall be fully functional by mid October, 2007. A one stop shop is being established in the heart of Thimphu so that customers can avail of BTL services beyond office timings as well as on week ends and holidays.

To address congestion in Thimphu 3 additional BTS, 1 micro BTS and expansions at 2 existing BTS shall be done within November 2007. In Phuentsholing 2 additional BTS and a micro-BTS shall be installed within November, 2007. New BTS shall be installed to cover Thimphu-Dochula stretch of highway, Thimphu-Begana road, Punakha-Gasa road, Limithang proper and Nanglam within 2007. In 2008 more BTS shall be added to provide increase capacity in existing places as well as increase coverage into more rural areas.

We also have international roaming agreements with more than 101 other mobile operators spread across 31 countries around the globe.

As a premier organization in the telecommunication sector, BTL is always dedicated to foster social and economic growth of the country through reliable and state of art telecommunication service.