Bhutan To Get Broadband, Finally
If you plan to visit beautiful Bhutan, do so early next year and you will be able to use the country’s new broadband network, reports kuenselonline.com. India’s ORG Telecom Limited will build, integrate and test the network which is expected to be operational from January. The service will be available in the core urban areas of Thimphu, Paro, Phuentsholing, Wangduephodrang, Trongsa and Kanglung. These locations already have higher capacity backbone connections in place, but there is no last mile broadband access.
Currently, dial-up connectivity via Druknet, Bhutan Telecom’s Internet service provider, is between 14.4 kbps to 52.2 kbps. This is expected to increase to 512 kbps or higher once the network is completed. Druknet has about 5,000 dial-up users and while the number of users has remained about the same over the years, usage had gone up. The pricing plans have not been worked out, but the DSL based service could in the future also support triple pay services – video, voice and data.
may be this will really show the people of Bhutan how far the rest of the world has moved on compared to the way of their government. and they may finally rise to demand more rights from the autocratic regime that runs their country. and finally those who demanded such right in the past and were driven out of the country by the goverment, and living as refugees in neighboring countries, can return back to their homeland.
why sigapore morocco jordan people do not demand demand more democacy. what iran became after get rid of monarchy.
Further reading on plight of the Bhutanese refugees: UN refugee agency – http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/country?iso=btn Amnesty International – http://web.amnesty.org/library/eng-btn/news “Bringing Bhutan closer to the world” – http://www.bhootan.org/
More info on the refugees: “Bringing Bhutan closer to the world” - http://www.bhootan.org Amnesty International - web.amnesty.org/library/eng-btn/news UN Refugee Agency - http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/country?iso=btn
This has got nothing to do with democracy in Bhutan… Bhutan is not democratic but is ruled by benevolent king whose dynasty has ruled Bhutan for ages and the Bhutanese people love them. The king has delibarately kept Bhutan tied to the old traditions but who says that is bad? Give me the blue skies and the white mountains and the aga old traditions anyday over you gory war and modern gizmos that make humanity more and more isolated than ever.