Nepal to turn a free wifi zone

The Nepal government has announced a unique and ambitious plan to turn the Himalayan country into a free wifi zone, government officials said Thursday.

Due to lack of resources and absence of necessary infrastructure necessary for the purpose, the plan has surprised many, Xinhua reported.

To prepare basic foundations, the Ministry of Information and Communication (MoIC), which introduced the plan, formed a task force last Wednesday to hold a feasibility study on implementing the plan.

"This is the very first step towards making Nepal a free wifi zone,"Umakant Parajuli, spokesperson at the MoIC said, adding that the ministry would soon confirm if the plan could be implemented or not, once the task force submits its study report.

The task force was formed under the leadership of Mahesh Adhikary, member of Nepal Telecom Authority (NTA), the government- owned telecom regulatory body of Nepal, and has been asked to submit the report along with recommendations to the ministry within 30 days.

The task force also includes representatives from Prime Minister's Office, National Planning Commission, Ministry of Science and Technology and experts from Tribhuvan University, among others.