1. Research and Education Network Nepal: Problems and Prospects
APAN South Asia Net Group Meeting
Bangkok, Thailand
18 December 2003
Research and Education Network Nepal: Problems and Prospects
Binod Vaidya
Center for Information Technology
Institute of Engineering
Tribhuvan University
Nepal

2. Introduction

3. Background 4 Universities dealing with technology courses
Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu
Kathmandu University, Dhudikhel
Pokhara University, Pokhara
Purwanchal University, Biratnagar – 1995
1 University (only Sanskrit Language)
Mahendra Sanskrit University

4. Tribhuvan University (TU)
Tribhuvan University is oldest and largest University
61 Constituent Campuses
222 Affiliated Campuses.
Total number of students in Constituent campuses – 138,500
More than 150,000 students in Affiliated campuses

5. Distribution of Campuses – region wise
Constituent Campuses
Affiliated Campuses

6. Overall Student Population
Student population distribution in constituent institute/faculty only

7. Institute of Engineering (IOE)
Established in 1972
One of institutes of TU.
To produce technicians and engineers capable of meeting national aspirations for accelerated development of country.
Four Constituent campuses –
Pulchwok Campus & Thapathali Campus in Kathmandu
Western Region Campus in Pokhara
Eastern Region Campus in Dharan
Six private affiliated Colleges.
About 1800 students in Pulchowk Campus alone

8. Center of Information Technology (CIT)
Established in 1997
One of autonomous units in IOE
Objective is
to provide IT facilities to faculty, staff and students
to conduct research and development and consultancy works related to IT.
VSAT terminal and equipment for Internet connectivity
Optical fiber backbone within Pulchowk premises and large computing facilities.

9. Current Network Infrastructure at CIT/IOE
Network Link and Users
VSAT link : 512kbps/128kbps (downlink/uplink)
Thaicom Satellite
C-band system
Bangkok as hub to internet
LAN Users : 1800
Dial-Up Users : 300

10. Current Network Infrastructure at CIT/IOE
Equipment at Main Server Room at CIT
No of Routers: 2
Satellite Modem (upto 2 Mbps): 1
RAS Server (96 pools of digital/analog modems): 1
Switch (24-port Opto Electrical Switch) : 2
DNS, Web, Mail, Proxy, DHCP Servers : 6
Existing IOE Network
Optical Fiber Backbone cabling for Interdepartmental Connections
About 900 PCs ranging from Pentium I to IV.

11. Research and Education Network Nepal
Establishment of RENN under administration of IOE
to cater national and international collaborations for facilitating research and educational developments
to meet growing needs of academic and research community in Nepal
Non-commercial Network

12. Aims and Objectives of RENN
To set up IT infrastructure to connect all universities / institutions and campuses within Nepal
To develop self-study centers by providing electronic library databases, Internet, multimedia, and other self-study material
To develop social-learning systems by creating multimedia courseware, and providing knowledge databases and distance learning systems.
To deliver increased opportunities for collaboration in research;
To facilitate transfer of technology between academic and research institutions;
To train teachers and assistants to be able to apply IT for educational development
To establish national database for academic institutions and educational research; provide systematic educational information to help establish information application system for academic institutions.
To encourage institutions participating in bilateral cooperative arrangements to bring them into multilateral relationships

13. RENN Organization Divided into 4 levels of organization:
RENN Advisory Board
RENN Management Board
Education Network Panel
Information Resource Panel

14. Advisory Board Representative from Ministry of Education
Representative from Ministry of Science and Technology
Representative from Ministry of Finance
Representative from National Planning Commission
Representative from Ministry of Information and Communication/ Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA)
Representative from Nepal Telecommunication Corporation (NTC)
Dean, Institute of Engineering
Campus Chief, Pulchowk Campus
Director, Center for Information Technology, Pulchowk Campus
Representative from Kathmandu University
Representative from Pokhara University
Representative from Purwanchal University

15. Advisory Board (cont..) Representative from Faculty of Management, TU
Representative from Institute of Science and Technology, TU
Representative from Institute of Medicine, TU
Representative from University Grants Commission (UGC)
Representative from Royal Nepal Academic Science and Technology (RONAST)
President, Computer Association Nepal (CAN)
President, Society of Electronics and Communication Engineers Nepal (SECEN)
President, Information Technology Professional Forum (ITPF)
President, Association of Computer Engineers Nepal (ACEN)

16. Management Board Campus Chief, Pulchowk Campus
Director, Center for Information Technology
Head, Department of Electronics and Computer Engineering, Pulchowk Campus
IT Expert from Kathmandu University
IT Expert from Pokhara University
IT Expert from Purwanchal University
IT Expert from Faculty of Management, TU
IT Expert from Institute of Science and Technology, TU
IT Expert from Institute of Medicine, TU
IT Expert from one of IOE Affiliated Campuses

17. Services Network infrastructure and services set up shall include:
Installation, maintenance and operation of large Campus LANs
Seamless interconnection of LAN-WAN segments, and multi-protocol capability provided
Deployment of wired and wireless networks for Internet access
Provision of whole range of Internet services
Provision of e-learning and distance education

18. Current Status
Central TU offices and Exam controller Office are using dial-up connection
TU Constituent as well as affiliated Campuses within Kathmandu valley are connected by dial-up service
Ministry of Education is also connected to CIT network

19. Proposed Network Infrastructure
Network shall be build at three-layer hierarchical principle:
Main Networking Center at IOE
University Networking Centers in
Central TU
Kathmandu University
Pokhara University,
Puwanchal University
Campus network in each campus

20. Proposed Network Infrastructure
Main Networking Center
is located in IOE at CIT Building
acts as gateway to Internet
Dedicated Intranet servers located.
Academic institutions and campuses are connected either
directly to Main Networking Center or
via University Networking Centers are located in different parts of Nepal

21. Proposed Network Topology

22. Constraints and problems
Lack of policies and regulations for non-commercial educational network
No tax or license fee exemption for non-commercial educational network
Lack of telecommunication facilities in all development regions
Lack of ICT facilities in most of campuses outside Kathmandu Valley
Lack of infrastructure and physical facilities
Lack of investment for educational network
High cost of internetworking devices
High cost of Internet Bandwidth through VSAT

23. Prospects
Ministry of Science and Technology has assured to formulate appropriate policies and regulations.
Ministry of Education is keen to support on establishing RENN
TU as well as IOE authorities are positive on establishing RENN
Foreign institutions are willing to help for not only establishment but also sustainable operation of RENN

24. Future Plan Upgrading the facilities of IOE;
VSAT Bandwidth - Increase to 1Mbps/512kbps
Connection to IOM and Central TU using dedicated lines using Wi-Fi networks;
Connection to IOE constituent as well as affiliated colleges Wi-Fi networks or leased lines;
Connection to Kathmandu University (KU) by leased
Building Intranet
Collaborations with foreign institutions/ organizations for various ICT R&D and network connectivity

25. Q&A Thank you!