KATHMANDU, NEPAL: Nepal Telecom plans to expand its mobile phone services to the top of Mount Everest, benefitting climbers on the world's highest mountain, a company official said.

Hundreds of climbers, who go to the 8,850 metre (29,035 feet) Mount Everest every year, depend on expensive satellite phones to speak with their families as the remote Himalayan region does not have communication facilities.

Anoop Ranjan Bhattarai, director, satellite service wing, Nepal Telecom, said: We are going to set up mobile towers in Thakdin, Manjo, Pheriche and Gorak Shep, which will bring the summit of Mount Everest within the network coverage."

Gorak Shep, in the Solukhumbhu region, is located near the base camp of Mount Everest. "A mobile tower at Gorak Shep will provide connectivity to climbers at the top," Bhattarai said, adding that the firm hoped to finish the work by mid-June.