According to the latest Management Information System report released by the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA), there were 400,000 new internet subscribers during the period mid-July to mid-October compared to 200,000 previously.
The NTA has said that the growth in data was supported by distribution of Sky Pro and WiMax data services by Nepal Telecom (NT) besides a rise in the number of users of 3G and other services. “Customers using data is growing significantly as it has multiple uses like free call service through applications,” said Arjun Ghimire, deputy director at the NTA. He added that the voice service subscription rate had slowed compared to data.
As of mid-October, the total number of users of telephone services reached 22.09 million, or 83.40 percent of Nepalis. Similarly, data penetration increased to 27.92 percent. The number of data users increased rapidly mainly due to a growth in demand for mobile internet , according to NTA officials.
There are multiple choices for consumers for high-speed data services ranging from cable to wireless. Besides the many options available, the growth in data service has been driven mainly by mobile internet .
Of the total 7.3 million data users, more than 7 million use mobile data services such as GPRS, 3G, EVDO, edge and CDMA 1X. These services are provided by Nepal Telecom (NT), Ncell and United Telecom Limited (UTL) who also operate as ISPs.
A growth in the use of smartphones, attraction for social media, market competition, data schemes and declining data tariff are some of the reasons behind the increase in the number of mobile internet users.
Meanwhile, a report issued by Opera Mini, a mobile phone browser unveiled last month, also stated that mobile data consumption and use of smartphones by Nepalis had recorded a massive jump.
“From October 2012 to October 2013, the number of Opera Mini users in Nepal increased 98 percent, nearly doubling over the year,” said Opera Mini. The number of Opera Mini users on smartphones in Nepal soared 258 percent from October 2012 to October 2013 while smartphone users accounted for 28 per cent of all Opera Mini users in October 2013.
Prompted by the rising growth in demand for data services, state-owned NT has been focusing on expanding the data market. It has started new mobile services like WiMax and Sky pro beside expanding the network for 3G service.
Ncell is also increasing its 3G service coverage areas. It recently launched a separate data package for Facebook, the first targeting a social networking site. Nine out of every 10 web pages viewed by Opera Mini users in Nepal are Facebook pages. As per the NTA, Ncell holds 49 percent of the local data market, Nepal Telecom 48 percent and UTL 2 percent.
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