Over 6500 new customers getting connected to internet every day in Nepal

Nepali internet service providers (ISPs) are adding more than 6500 data customers each day. This is what the most recent management information system (MIS) report released by telecommunications regulator—Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA)—shows.

As per the report, ISPs have added a total of 2.4 million new internet users during last fiscal year 2016/17. This means in an average 6500 plus Nepali people are being connected to the internet on daily basis.
Thanks to infrastructure expansion by telcos and ISPs, market competition and declining price of data and smartphones, the easiest tool to get access to the internet.

Nepal Telecom (NT) and Ncell are two major data service providers in the country. Ncell, the leading GSM mobile service provider, added 1.42 million customers being able to attract highest number new data customers during last fiscal year, according to the NTA report. It means of the 2.4 million customers, 58 percent chose Ncell internet. It has been providing mobile internet services under GPRS, EDGE and WCDAM (includes 2G, 3G and 4G data services) as categorized by NTA.

State-owned Nepal Telecom added 0.81 million customers under its data services-- GPRS, EDGE, WCDMA (2G, 3G, 4G data services), ADSL, CDMA X1, EVDO and WIMAX. Smart Telecom added 66,702 customers, while other ISPs provided the data service to 0.1 million new data customers during the last fiscal year.

According to the NTA MIS, the number of internet users grew by 17.43 percent after which total data subscribers in the country touched 16.18 million. With this internet penetration rate of the country has reached 61 percent, up from fiscal year 2015/16’s 52 percent.

With telecom companies concentrating on data business, Ncell already announcing to massively expand 3G coverage focusing rural and remote areas by deploying technology neutrality on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz band, and both NT and Ncell extending their 4G to urban areas, it is for sure that more Nepali will be connected with the internet in coming days allowing them to reap benefit from access to internet.

NT had launched 4G on Jan 1, 2017, and Ncell had launched it on June 1, 2017. Smart Telecom has also been planning to launch 4G soon, according to media reports.

Ncell’s 4G is currently available in 19 cities (including Kathmandu Valley) across the country while NT has been providing this service in Kathmandu Valley and Pokhara. Following the launch of 4G, the price of data has also come down and as a result, customers can now use data service at as low as 2 paisa per MB under volume based pack of Ncell.