As tourism year 2020 is nearing , many of the tourists will be visiting Nepal for their various expeditions, such as hiking, mountain climbing, going on long stretches of culture exploring and then also going to various peaks and mountains of the country. During all this, having a means of communication is a must. As we all know , every country has their own telecoms that provide facilities accordingly. Some of these telecoms might be comparatively bad , or some maybe the best in the country. In case of Nepal. there is no such thing as the best telecom. As there are multiple telecoms and each have their own pros and cons. These pros maybe cheaper call rates, internet rates, good data volume packages, coverage area, and many more, and some of the cons can be high call rates, low volume packages, less coverage area, and some might even be just hectic to get your hands on, though the telecoms listed below have their own drawbacks, but they are good in their respective areas. Here are a few Telecoms that provide you with sim, that you should consider when visiting Nepal.
Nepal Telecom:
Nepal Telecom is a government telecom company. As the telecom is owned by the government , its services are available in even the remotest of the places of the country. Nepal telecom has both prepaid and postpaid services. And as Visit Nepal 2020 is fast approaching, the tourists visiting Nepal can choose Nepal telecom for its services even in the remotest places of the country and for its cheap call rates. Nepal Telecom has been providing its services for many years now and it is one of the most reputed telecoms in Nepal. Nepal Telecom (NTC) has recently even brought 4G facilities. Meaning the services it is providing are broadening. Nepal Telecom is especially known for providing very cheap call rates. Ranging from .99rs/hr- 10rs/hr for in country calls to International calls. To get the sim card, for a foreigner they can get it in the Tribhuvan International Airport when they come into the country as there are stalls that are owned by Nepal Telecom (NTC) in the Airport itself. The process is you need show them you passport document and then they provide you with a sim card that is prepaid. The sim comes with Internet package and a pre put in 50 Rupees, to make any calls or messages to a number within Nepal itself. The internet packages that Nepal Telecom provides is cheaper compared to other telecoms in the country as well. For 20 Rupees you can get a 1hr unlimited calls, Messages and Internet pack. This is one of the most popular services of the Telecom that is widely used by all the Nepal Telecom sim holders and Users.
NCELL:
Ncell is a private telecom company that has been around for nearly more than a decade. The company was previously known as “Mero Mobile” and was owned by TeliaSonera Company. Currently this company is owned by Axiata Group which is a Malaysian company. Ncell has been providing the users with very good Internet speed since its launch. The cost of the packages are quite high and they do provide you with loan facility while using the internet when you might have used up all the balance , but when repaying the loan they take quite a large amount of balance as Interest rate. The private company is more business oriented and their services are catered towards being a commercial company. The data packages provided by Ncell is rather lackluster and expensive compared to Nepal Telecom. The company even provides a USB dongle for the people who want to use the internet via Laptops and PC. The dongle uses the Ncell sim and comes with a pre installed 500MB pack. Ncell has been trying to provide its services all over Nepal , the services its providing has been increasing every year with increase in their number of Users every year. The users have various complains about the services of Ncell , its mostly about the price that Ncell charges its users with. Even though the services are unmatched the price is very high even for the services they are providing.
Smart Telecom:
Smart telecom is one of the other telecoms that is coming up in Nepal. Smart telecom has grew over the years and by now there are millions of Nepali users in Nepal. They are trying to provide their services all over Nepal now. Though the services they are providing are only available currently available in the major cities of Nepal. Smart Telecom allows you to buy couple sims , that makes calling each have lesser call tariffs . Making the cost lower if you buy it for you and your friend who came with you in the tour to Nepal. The costs get cheaper and the call timing having cheaper call rates. Smart telecom is an upcoming telecom. It is not able to compete currently with the big telecoms of Nepal, like Nepal Telecom (NTC) and Ncell. The pros of this telecom is that it has cheaper call rates, but the con is that this telecom is not available in all the places of Nepal.
Hello Mobile:
Hello Mobile is a brand limited to only providing GSM mobile services. Hello Mobile is only providing their services in the Far western and Mid western region of Nepal. If one is travelling to the Far western and Mid western parts of the Nepal. Then getting the Hello Mobile sim can be your choice as well. Even though Nepal telecom (NTC) and Ncell do provide their services in those areas. The chances are the services might be lackluster from these telecom. Currently Hello Mobile is not providing its services because of some fault in their network. It is expected that they will come back with better network options when they come back to provide services again.
CG Telecom:
CG telecom is the latest telecom that has been approved the telecom of Nepal to operate within Nepal. The telecom is owned by Chaudary Group. CG being the largest business house of Nepal. CG telecom hasnt yet provided its services in Nepal, But they are expected to provide their services soon by the end of 2019 or beginning of 2020.
Image: An specimen of the sim from Nepal Telecom