Bhutan
Power & telecom standards in Bhutan
Connectivity Overview
Tempest Telecom offered satellite-only service in Bhutan. Iridium satellite Internet and Voice access was available for communications in rural areas without infrastructure.
Bhutan uses 230V at 50Hz. Power outlets are type C, D, F, G and telephone jacks are RJ-11.
Dial-up Internet Access
Dial-up access was not available in Bhutan. Satellite Internet was the recommended alternative.
WiFi Hotspot Access
WiFi hotspot access was not available through Tempest in Bhutan.
Adapters & Power
A Type G (British 3-pin) adapter is required for travelers from North America, Europe, and most of Asia.
Standard RJ-11 jacks are used. Most international modems will connect without an adapter.
Bhutan at a Glance
- Capital
- Thimphu
- Phone Code
- +975
- Voltage
- 230V / 50Hz
- Power Plug
- C, D, F, G
- Phone Jack
- RJ-11
- Currency
- Ngultrum
- Dial-up
- N/A
- WiFi
- N/A
About connectivity in Bhutan
Bhutan uses 230V/50Hz with Type C, Type D, Type F, and Type G outlets — an unusual four-type mix reflecting layered Indian-derived (Type D), European-standard, and British-influenced installations. The phone jack is RJ-11. Bhutan Telecom and TashiCell operate the country's telecom infrastructure.
Bhutanese commercial Internet emerged only in June 1999, when the country was one of the last in the world to legalize public Internet access. Television had been similarly delayed until 1999. The Buddhist constitutional-monarchy framework shaped a comparatively controlled telecom liberalization trajectory.
The Bhutanese prepaid international calling-card market through the 2000s and 2010s served the small Bhutanese diaspora — concentrated in India (the dominant cultural and economic neighbor), the United States (the Nepali-Bhutanese refugee resettlement community), and Australia.
Tempest Telecom served Bhutan through dial-up POPs in Thimphu. Iridium satphones served the substantial Himalayan expedition customer base, tourism operators across the Druk Path and broader trekking corridors, and the country's broadcast journalists covering the unique Gross National Happiness governance experiment.
Modern Bhutan has expanding 4G LTE coverage in populated areas; FTTH is concentrated in Thimphu and Paro.
Tempest's services across Bhutan, 1997–2012
Tempest Telecommunications operated international connectivity services in Bhutan between 1997 and 2012 under a unified prepaid account that absorbed multiple service types onto a single customer credential. Customers in Bhutan drew from the same balance for pre-paid international voice calling, RADIUS-authenticated dial-up Internet roaming, metered Wi-Fi hotspot access, Iridium satellite voice, and Inmarsat BGAN data terminals. An attempted kiosk-payment federation (PATN, 1998) extended the same architecture to public Internet terminals but failed to reach scale.
Iridium satellite voice was available in Bhutan from approximately 2001 (post-bankruptcy relaunch). Thuraya coverage did not extend to Bhutan; Inmarsat BGAN data terminals filled the broadband gap from late 2005.
Nearby countries in Asia
Afghanistan · Armenia · Azerbaijan · Bangladesh · Brunei · Burma · Cambodia · China