This is the best change we experienced as a Nepali citizen. A separate power backup for internet router is no longer needed.

> why aren’t more startups bootstrapping in the country?

There's this new startup https://www.sevadevelopment.com/ which took this step. They started their office in Lamjung (~108KM from Kathmandu). Monthly costs for rent should be at least half of what it is in Kathmandu. ~10 of my friends did an internship there recently.

Akamai and Google have cache edges here. You might have a 128Kbps ADSL line but you get > 1MBps with YouTube and many other sites due to this. Ncell, a telecom here, provides free Twitter and Wikipedia access. It recently started offering Free facebook too. (net neutrality?).

Kathmandu is now filled with poles carrying fiber optic cables.