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Category Archives: Press-release

Press Release: National Fiber Monitoring System

July 13, 2020 .

The Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIC) is pleased to inform the general public that the Ministry has recently implemented a Fiber Monitoring System(FMS) to monitor the National Fiber Network. 

The Ministry of Information and Communications(MoIC), Royal Government of Bhutan, has invested heavily in execution of the National Broadband Master Plan Implementation Project (NBMP) to establish an optical fiber backbone network throughout the country. The project has connected 18 Dzongkhags with Optical Ground Wire (OPGW) cables and remaining two Dzongkhags and 201 Gewogs with All Dielectric Self Supporting (ADSS) cables. The operation and maintenance (O&M) of the national fiber network is operated and maintained by the Bhutan Power Corporation (BPC).

The Government has provided a pair of dark fibers to Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) for free. They provide their Internet and Telecom services using the dark fibers leased to them. The optical fiber network is operated and maintained by BPC  during major breakages. Before FMS the fiber faults such as fiber breakages and fiber bends were detected manually which takes a lot of manpower and man hours. Whenever the fiber network is down, the relevant Dzongkhag officials lodge complaints to BPC. BPC officials visit the affected areas and study the causes of network downtime and identify the fiber breakages. After detecting the fiber faults, the fibers are then rectified by the team. However, there were situations when  BPC officials were called to remote areas to rectify fiber faults when actually the problems weren’t related to fiber faults. This not only wastes the officials’ time but also O&M resources. 

Considering the issues faced by the O&M team during rectification, the FMS was implemented since December 2019 to provide 24*7 monitoring of National fibers. Currently the scope of the FMS is as follows:

  • Monitor one core of dark fiber connecting BPC substations.  
  • Monitor one core of active fiber connecting either Gewog centres (GC) or Community centres(CC).

With the FMS in place, the O&M team are benefited by the following:

  • 24*7 monitoring of national fibers. 
  • SMS alerts are received by the O & M team during fiber breakages.
  • The O&M teams can also determine the outage duration of a particular fault. 

The Ministry  shall also look into expanding the scope of FMS in future so that all the fiber cores are monitored by the system. The Ministry is positive that with the FMS in place the reliability of National fibers can be improved and connectivity services to citizens will be more reliable.

Contact Person: Thaye Choden

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Celebrating World Telecommunication and Information Society Day​

May 17, 2020 .

The Ministry of Information and Communications (MoIC) joins the rest of the world in celebrating “World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD)” 2020.

This year the theme of the celebration is “Connect 2030: ICTs for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”. The theme “Connect 2030: ICTs for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” will allow ITU membership to reflect on the ICT advances for transition to smart and sustainable development. It will focus on specific ICT-enabled solutions and emerging trends for fostering economic, environmental and social sustainability, contributing to the five strategic goals of the Connect 2030 Agenda: Growth, Inclusiveness, Sustainability, Innovation and Partnership. (Source: ITU’s Website)

Bhutan as a member of International Telecommunication Union (ITU) has been celebrating WTISD every year on 17th of May to help raise awareness of the possibilities that the use of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) can bring to societies and economies, as well as bridge the digital divide.

On this special occasion, MoIC would like to revisit His Majesty the King’s address to the graduates of Royal Institute of Management (RIM) in 2019. His Majesty said, “Being a small nation makes us a smart nation, this is not out of choice but out of necessity. Technology is an indispensable tool that will be necessary to realise this aspiration.”

Since the Internet was first launched in 1999, Bhutan has come a long way in terms of information technology and telecommunication. Today the Telecom Service Providers(TSPs) and Internet Service Providers(ISPs) of Bhutan are providing Telecom and Internet services to some of the remotest parts of the country. Especially during the current COVID-19 pandemic period, when everyone is required to maintain social and physical distance, the role of ICT is ever more pronounced. It has become the sole medium for communications, learning and entertainment. For instance, despite the schools and institutes being closed, students are able to access their lessons through social media platforms and online education platforms. Further,
government and non government institutions are continuing to provide public services online. Businesses and enterprises are utilizing e-commerce to continue serving customers.

Despite applauding the success so far, it is also crucial to reflect on works yet to be achieved in ICT to truly realise His Majesty the King’s vision of a ‘SMART BHUTAN’. While the majority of the students are able to access online classes, let us remind ourselves that there are still a substantial number of students who do not have access to these services. The mobile network is the primary channel for accessing the Internet in Bhutan. This is not able to cater to the abnormal increase in demand. Ideally we need to provide fiber and wireless connections that are more resilient to sudden increase in demand and would make us ready for deploying future technologies. The ministry commits to work tirelessly to enhance the capacity of this critical infrastructure to fulfill His Majesty’s vision for Bhutan.

In addition, coinciding with the World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, the MoIC would like to announce the result of the National Website Competition for the year 2019-2020. The winner of the website competition is the Ministry of Work and Human Settlements, and the Ministry of Finance and Election Commission of Bhutan are first and second runners up.

Hence, let us take this day to not only celebrate the success of ICT development in the country but also to reflect and plan for further development of the sector. The MoIC would like to wish everyone a Happy World Telecommunication and Information Society Day (WTISD).

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Press Release:Hon’ble Minister at ITU Telecom World 2019

September 15, 2019 .

Bhutanese delegation, led by Hon’ble Minister for Information and Communications, Lyonpo Karma D. Wangdi, attended the Ministerial Roundtable Meeting at the ITU Telecom World, Budapest, Hungary from 9th – 12th September 2019.

1.Press Release:Ministerial Roundtable Meeting 

Hon’ble Minister thanked the Ministerial Commissioner of ITU & Secretary of Foreign Affairs & Trade, Hungary for all the logistic arrangements and congratulated for the grand success on hosting the ITU Telecom World 2019.

Read More: ITU Telecom World 

Contact Person: Mr.Sangay Phuntsho

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Update: Press Release on High-Level Dialogue on RECI for Enhancing Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific

April 23, 2017 .

The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) meeting on “High-level dialogue on regional economic cooperation and integration for Enhancing Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific” was held at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok, Thailand from April 20-21 2017. Hon’ble Lyonpo D. N. Dhungyel, the Minister of the Ministry of Information and Communications attended the meeting. He was accompanied by Mr. Sonam P Wangdi, the Director General, Ministry of Economic Affairs , Mr. Jigme Thinlye Namgyal, the Director, Department of Information Technology & Telecom, MoIC, and Mr. Ugyen Dorji, DCM, Royal Bhutan Embassy Bangkok.

During the meeting, Hon’ble Lyonpo conveyed his appreciation for the work undertaken by UNESCAP and its member states, other organs of the United Nations and development partners in helping to implement various activities in line with the “Ministerial Declaration on Transport Development in Asia and the Pacific 2012” and the accompanying Regional Action Programme.

The Lyonpo thanked UNESCAP for inviting Bhutan and supporting our participation in various consultation meetings, workshops and seminars, both at the regional as well as sub-regional levels. This has helped in capacity and skills development at different levels.

In an effort to further enhance regional integration and cooperation, at least three high-level meetings were held last year between October and December:

1) High-level Meeting on Sustainable Transport of Landlocked Developing Countries in Bolivia (13-14 October 2016);
2) the first Global Sustainable Transport Conference held in Turkmenistan (26 to 27 November 2016), and
3) Transport Ministers Conference in Moscow (5-9 Dec 2016);

All the above meetings have placed adequate emphasis on the need to promote transport connectivity and regional integration.

Bhutan is also aware that Declarations from these high-level interventions have rightly recognized the need for priority attention to address specific requirements of small, low-income and geographically disadvantaged countries. Such a consideration is indeed, much appreciated.

The Asia Pacific region and UNESCAP have recognized that the development of

(a) Asian Highway (AH),

(b) Trans-Asian Railway Network (TAR),

(c) Asian Energy Highway, and

(d) Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway (APIS), are the building blocks for achieving regional integration and connectivity.

As for Bhutan, we are a party to the Intergovernmental Agreement on Asian Highway Network as of now. With regard to the Intergovernmental Agreements on TAR and Dry Port, it would perhaps be logical to wait for an appropriate time when these facilities are in place or become operational.

Much thoughts, efforts and resources have already gone into making these infrastructures operational. The bigger challenge, however, is to put these infrastructure into optimal use through suitable facilitation measures and simplification of regulations for cross-border movement and trade.

Regional integration, while desired, is often difficult. Owing to significant differences in the size of the country, population, geographical locations and the level of economic development, cross-border operation under a liberalized market condition often faces slow progress or challenges in the implementation. Bhutan is a member of regional co-operative framework such as SAARC and BIMSTEC and we are committed to regional economic cooperation and integration.

With regard to ICT connectivity, we have made rapid progress. While over 92 % of the population now use mobile services, Internet and broadband penetration is low at 75.44 % as of February 2017. Reducing the costs of Internet connectivity will go a long way in promoting e-governance, addressing digital divide and other unique difficulties faced by landlocked country like Bhutan. Much progress has been achieved on the development of AP-IS.

Four years have passed since the Bangkok Declaration on Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration was adopted. The Hon’ble Lyonpo stated that it’s time that we accelerate the implementation of the four pillars of the Declaration. Towards this, he noted with satisfaction that the Declaration has been endorsed by the ESCAP Commission through resolution 70/1 and the Lyonpo hoped that ESCAP Secretariat would be able to convene the second ministerial conference soon. He was also confident that ESCAP would continue to support the countries with special needs in enhancing their capabilities through technical assistance and resources so that they can effectively take advantage of the benefit of economic cooperation and regional integration. We will continue to participate actively in these endeavours.

Contact Person:Mr.Sangay Phuntsho.

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