Broadband bandwidth is not what it seems to be

Bhutan Telecom offers a few broadband packages, starting at Nu 399 and going all the way to Nu 2499.
Here are the options in a table similar to the one on the BT website:

Package Name	Circuit Bandwidth	Tariff (Nn)	Data Limit	validity
Personal	Upto 256 Kbps	399.00	2.5 GB	30 days
Home	Upto 256 Kbps	799.00	5 GB	30 days
Office	Upto 512 Kbps	1199.00	7 GB	30 days
Business	Upto 1 Mbps	1799.00	10 GB	30 days
Enterprise	Upto 2 Mbps	2499.00	15 GB	30 days

When I first subscribed to BT's broadband service, I expected the specified "circuit bandwidth" to be the maximum download speed; this is what ISPs usually do when advertising broadband packages.

But not with Bhutan Telecom.

Bhutan telephone directory, now available for download

The Bhutan Telecom phone directory, in PDF (1.5MB), is now available for download here. Two comments: The file contains phone listings only, and the various sections with the lists of BT's available features, fees, tariffs, etcetera are missing. Also, it would have been useful to have an online search function to avoid having to download the whole file to locate a single phone number.

As is often the case with these kinds of books, while the main plot is a little thin, the book is packed with plenty of interesting characters.

What's an IT Park? (K2 #11)

Question of the Week
I have been hearing a lot about the upcoming IT park in Thimphu, but I don't really know what it is.
Can you explain?
-- Kencho Nima, Khothakpa, Pemagatshel

Shoe reincarnation

"Don't you mess with me, Mr. Dawa!"

I recently had two beaten pairs of sneakers come back to a new life with the help of ShoeVival, the new Thimphu-based shoe laundry service. Much has been said about the small business and its owner, Mr. Dawa Dakpa (see stories in Business Bhutan and Bhutan Observer). Add me to the list of fans. Mr. Dawa came to pick up the shoes, gave the soulless trainers his famous treatment, and delivered them back - all fresh and new - after two days. At Nu 120 per pair, this is a fraction of the cost of new sneakers. Highly recommended.

ThimphuTech, now on smartphones

We've made ThimphuTech easier to view on smartphones, so if you're using a Blackberry, iPhone, an Android phone or another mobile device, chances are browsing and reading our blog will become more readable.

P.S.: If you happen to be a blogger using blogger.com (that's the platform we're using) and want to enable your blog for mobile devices, just follow the instructions here.

Google Calendar's SMS feature for B-Mobile subscribers

If you're using Google Calendar - the free online calendar that comes with a Google account - you can receive SMS event alerts to your B-Mobile phone. And it's 100% free.

Here's what to do:

Coming soon: Lonely Planet Bhutan, 4th edition

Lonely Planet, the world's largest travel guidebook publisher, will release its 4th edition of the Bhutan country guide next month. (The Kindle version is available now). While most Lonely Planet guides cater to independent travelers - often young backpackers - this one is obviously an exception. Information seems to be pretty up-to-date (Druk PNB and T-Bank are both listed), but there are a few misses. For example, the Nehru-Wangchuck cultural centre is not mentioned.

For those interested to see what LP has to say about their favorite haunt, it is possible to read the book using Amazon's "Look Inside" feature (not all pages are available). Also, the "Read first chapter FREE" link on the right side of the Amazon page allows you to do just that.

Lonely Planet guides are known for their wry sense of humor and strong opinions. Not this one, for some reason.