Hotspots in the high himalayas
Mona Sharma · 2007
Rural internet access is extremely limited in Nepal, and negligible in the remote mountainous areas that make up most of the country. Access to these areas is mostly by foot, several days from the nearest road head; infrastructure and basic services such as government, health and education-related services are negligible. Despite the government's ambitious plans and policies to improve access to ICT services to the rural population, including some e-governance services, ICT deployment and use has remained minimal outside urban centers. Unlike urban Internet Cafes, rural telecenters in Nepal are challenged by low user literacy and information use potential, and limited revenue generation possibilities. They need support to realize the larger objectives of e-governance, e-health and e-commerce. Several modes of increasing access to e-services have been tried with minimal success. Outlined below is an approach that provides internet services to rural users linked to some life-enhancing information that impacts their daily life directly.