Kathmandu, Sept. 3 -- The devastating floods that swept through the Bhotekoshi river system last Wednesday severely damaged telecommunications infrastructure in Rasuwa, Nuwakot and Dhading districts, knocking out dozens of mobile sites and disrupting communications across the disaster zone.

Nepal Telecom, the state-owned operator, reported major damage to 83 of its mobile towers, while private operator Ncell said 27 of its sites were affected.

Both companies say most services have now been restored. But residents in the flood-hit areas say having a signal does not necessarily mean having a usable connection: calls can take several attempts to connect, drop midway or become so distorted that callers cannot understand each other.

Telecom...