Best Telecom Service Providers in Nepal [Updated]

Ever wondered which is the Best Telecom Service Provider in Nepal? When one thinks of Telecom service providers in Nepal, we can name only three: NTC, Ncell, and Smart Telecom. And the latter is in the dark for many, still. However, Smart Telecom has grown to the young generation of Nepalese audience with its affordable voice and internet packs. But there are actually three more such service providers in Nepal: Nepal Satellite Telecom, UTL, and CG Telecom. Of course, due to the lack of proper infrastructures and some regulations, these three don’t really come into the light. In fact, UTL is no longer operational in the country.
Therefore, we play with the major three; which was quite a break from the duopoly of NTC & Ncell. And even these major players were not able to meet the Quality Assurance Tests from NTA. Anyways, among the top players, these service providers vary from one another on many things.

Telecom service mainly depends on these things:

• Coverage – The geographical areas from where the service (2G/3G/4G) is accessible and the difference of speed in various geographical locations
• Cost – The cost of the service provided including regular tariffs, and cost of various offers inclusive of taxes
• Speed – The connectivity of regular phone calls and the speed of the internet on mobile data
• Offers – How often the company provides various offers and schemes for data plans and voice packs for cheap

To note, whenever I’m referring to any stat throughout this article, unless explicitly mentioned, it will be from the NTA MIS Report (Jan 2020).
Some users value cost, while speed matters the most for others. And of course, for those frequently on the travel, coverage is of utmost importance. According to the aforementioned report, there are 41,580,399 voice-based telephone service subscriptions in Nepal. That is roughly 40% more than the total population in the country. With that out of the way, let’s take a look at our pick for the best telecom service providers in Nepal.

Best Telecom Service Provider in Nepal [2020]

1. Nepal Telecom

Nepal Telecom, or properly called Nepal Doorsanchar Company Limited (NDCL) is the first mobile telecom operator in Nepal established in 1960 AD. It was only in 2004 when Nepal Telecommunications Corporation (NTC) transformed from a corporation to NDCL. With 91.49% government share, Nepal Telecom is the go-to name in terms of telecommunication services in the country. It was also the most preferred service provider in 2017 (according to you guys). And well, it’s for good reason.

Services

In terms of services, Nepal Telecom provides all types of telephony services. These include GSM, CDMA, PSTN, WLL, and VSAT. However, the company is preparing to discontinue CDMA (Sky Phone) adhering to NTA’s directive by 2022. As of late, there are a total of 22,328,879 subscriptions to Nepal Telecom’s voice telephony services:

• GSM (Global System for Mobile): 19,865,286
• CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access): 1,679,201
• PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network): 664,863
• WLL (Wireless Local Loop): 118,948
• VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal): 581

Moreover, Nepal Telecom was also the first to launch the 4G/LTE service (1800MHz neutral frequency band) in the country on January 1, 2017. While it was exclusive to Kathmandu and Pokhara in the initial days, the service coverage has since reached the entire 77 districts of the country. To check if your NTC SIM card supports 4G/LTE, you can dial *444# (and activate it if your SIM is compatible).
Now, let’s talk about the real-life performance & quality of voice calls and mobile data. An NTA-conducted test revealed that NTC has an acceptable level of call connection/setup and call drop; though exactly not up to the standard. NTC is also known for its cheap cost on calls & data, compared to Ncell. As of late, the company has also been able to come up with some really attractive data packs, including the “Zero Balance Package” for the needy.

Other Assorted Packages

All the above-mentioned prices are inclusive of taxes. You can also check the available volume of data in any package by dialing *1415*55# or use the app. The app has all kinds of information and also lets you subscribe to packages from there itself.