Good news for mountaineers preparing to climb Mt Everest is that they may soon be able to make calls using their mobile phones, from Mt Everest. Yes, the Nepal's state-run telecommunication firm – Nepal Telecom (NT) is gearing up to set up mobile network in the proximity to the highest mountain peak of the world. Nepal Telecom (NT) is set to install a permanent cell-tower near Mt. Everest.

The Nepal Telecom’s mobile network will help the climbers to make calls using their GSM or CDMA throughout their mountain climbing adventure on the Mt Everest.

According to Nepal Telecom, a satellite antenna will be installed in Gorak Shep, located at an altitude of 5,160 metres, and the satellite antenna will extend the cellphone service to the top of the Mt Everest (8,848m). The mobile network could be available on Mt Everest through both GSM and CDMA handsets. The mobile network will be able to handle about 3,000 phone calls at the same time, but “the capacity will be increased depending on the traffic in the region”.

Anoop Ranjan Bhattarai, chief of NT's satellite division, said, “We are planning to commence the service by mid-June this year…. We hope it will provide an alternative to those currently relying on satellite phone services such as the one provided by Thuraya.”

The Nepal Telecom has set up satellite antennas in around 7 locations in the Mt Everest region, including Lukla and Namche Bazar, located at 2,800 metres and 3,440 metres above sea level. Currently, NT has around 2.8 million mobile subscribers in the country.