Nepal, one of the world’s poorest nations, is expected to have its first private telephony services in operation by July. United Telecom – a joint venture between India’s Mahanagar Telephone Nigam, Videsh Sanchar Nigam and Telecommunications Consultants India – will offer basic telephony services using WiLL technology. It will be the first operator to attempt to challenge the state-owned monopoly of Nepal Telecommunications Corporation (NTC). NTC provides 356,000 telephone lines across the country, whilst a further 300,000 people are awaiting connection.