Telecom Mobile Network Operators in Nepal and Their Services.

Do you know, how many telecom network operators are there in Nepal? According to Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) latest data as of May 2016, the insight rate in Nepal was estimated at 109.65% over a population estimate of around 26.5 million. NTA is the regulatory body of telecommunications in the country. According to the latest figures these are 6 telecom network operators in Nepal where NTC being the first mobile network operator in Nepal.

List of telecom/mobile network operators in Nepal

	Operator	Technology	Subscribers (in millions)	Ownership
1	NTC (Nepal Telecom)	CDMA, EV-DO 900 MHz GSM, GPRS 900/2100 MHz UMTS, HSDPA, HSPA+ WiMAX	15.25 (Aug 2016)	Nepal Doorsanchar Company Ltd.
2	NCELL	GSM-900/1800 2100 MHz UMTS, HSDPA	14.26 (Aug 2016)	Axiata Group Berhad(80%)
3	STPL	GSM 900/1800 GPRS 900/2100	1.40 (Aug 2016)	Smart Telecom Pvt. Ltd
4	NSTPL	GSM 900/1800	0.37 (Aug 2016)	Nepal Satellite Telecom Pvt. Ltd.
5	UTL	WLL/LMS	0.53 (Aug 2016)	United Telecom Limited
6	STM (CG Telecom)	PSTN/GSM	0.003 (Aug 2016)	CG Comm. P.L, STM Telecom Sanchar P.L

The History of Telecommunication administration in Nepal is a century long. The 1st phone line was presented in Kathmandu with open wire trunk amongst Kathmandu and Raxual in 1914 AD. Nepal is the first country to launch 3G (WCDMA) network in South Asia with the Government operator Nepal Telecom. Telecoms of Nepal have also introduce 4G technology to their network recently. Advancing from such primitive practice to the present day telecom situation, Nepal has turned into a dynamic and aggressive Telecom market.

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1) Nepal Telecom: 

Nepal Telecom is the first mobile network operator in Nepal. It was founded in 1913 A.D and till date the company is in function. During the time of establishment it was known as Telecommunication Department. Later on 1969 A.D the name was changes as Telecommunications Development Board. After the company was formally established as fully-state owned company in 1975 A.D, it was named as Nepal Telecommunication Corporation.  The company was transformed to a public limited company from state own company on 2060 B.S. On 2061 B.S the company was named as Nepal Doorsanchar Company Limited.  It is a state owned network provider with 85% of government share. Nepal Telecom is only provider of fixed line, ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) and leased-line.  Recent data shows us the Nepal Telecom has 10 million users including all GSM mobile, landline CDMA and internet service. The company also claimed to be the first operator to provide 3G service in South Asia. The company carries long history. It’s name and status changed with the time and technology. Nepal Telecom provides good service covering all parts of Nepal whether it is urban area or rural area.

Note: To check the balance of the Sim card- Dial *400#

Services provided by Nepal Telecom are as follow:

Website: www.ntc.net.np

2) NCELL

Ncell is one of the most popular mobile network operators in Nepal. It is the first privately owned mobile network operator ever in Nepal and also the first to operate public GSM service. . It was initially known as Mero Mobile later on 12 March 2010 it was named as Ncell. Spice Nepal Pvt Ltd use to own Mero Mobile which was established in 2004 later on TeliaSonera (Swedish and Finnish telecommunications company) took control over the company in October 2008 and rebranded the name to Ncell. Recently, on 12 April 20116, Axiata Group Berhad (Malaysian telecommunications group) bought the 80% ownership of Ncell at 1.36 billion US dollars.

The service of Ncell is all over Nepal. Whether it is urban area or rural area the company has nice grip over the people and the costumers are also satisfied with the services provided by company. The subscribers of Ncell have reached to 14 million as of August 2016. Also, you won’t be surprise to know that Ncell is the largest ISP (Internet Service Provider) in Nepal and it has more than 3 million subscribers.

Note: To check the balance in Ncell of the Sim card- Dial *901# or *101#

Website: https://www.ncell.axiata.com

Services provided by Ncell are as follow:

3) Smart Cell – Smart Telecom Private Limited (STPL):

Smart Telecom is another Telecommunication Service Providers in Nepal which was established on July 1, 2008.it is a private company. The company is said to be the third largest and faster growing mobile operator of Nepal. It is a joint venture company with 80% foreign share. The base subscriber of Smart Telecom Private Limited is around 1.3 million.

The company is providing telecomm services over VSAT and other available technology. It is growing its services in rural area of the country by providing LSM services. It is also providing GSM services. Overall the services are being extended in 4 development region out of five covering 34 districts. Smart Telecom Private Limited (STPL) is planning to expand its network services to all over Nepal (From start of year 2017) with state-of the- art- technology.  The company has 2G GSM technology for now but it is planning to upgrade to 3G.

Note: To check the balance on Smart Telecom of the Sim card- Dial *123#

Find call rate, internet data rate and latest offers on website: http://www.smarttel.com.np

Services provided by Smart Cell: Smart Telecom Private Limited (STPL) are as follow:

4) Nepal Satellite Telecom

Nepal Satellite Telecom is next Telecommunication Service Providers in Nepal. It is also the third private company to provide GSM services in the country. Many of you have not heard about this network. It is not your fault. The company started giving services from rural area of the country. The brand name given to operate is “Hello Nepal”. The company mainly focused on the people of least developed region of Nepal. The company sets mid-western region as its operational base and planning to expand to another region of the country.

Note: To check the balance on NST of the Sim card- Dial *3331#

Website: http://www.hellonepalgsm.com

Services provided by Nepal Satellite Telecom are as follow:

5) United Telecom Limited (UTL)

United Telecom Limited (UTL) is another Telecommunication Service Providers in Nepal. It is an association of four companies who came together in a joint venture to give various telecom services. Out of four companies, one company is national (Nepalese) company and remaining three are foreign (Indian) companies. UTL services are provides in 13 zones of the country, covering most of the district. The number of the subscriber is less and compared to any other Telecommunication Service Providers in Nepal.

Note: To check the balance of UTL in the Sim card- Dial 1223

Website: http://utlnepal.com

Services provided by United Telecom Limited (UTL) are as follow:

6) CG Telecom (STM Telecom Sanchar Pvt. Ltd)

CG Telecom, following the unit’s acquisition of an 80% stake in rural telecom service provider STM Telecom‚ owned by US-based STM Communications Service Inc. STM, which operates under the brand name Gramintel, has been providing telecoms services to around 5,500 subscribers across 628 village development committees (VDCs) in 52 districts. It got License type Rural Telecommunication Service from NTA.

Updated: 2018-Mar-07