No of Mobile Users Doubled in Two Years

The number of mobile phone users in Nepal has more than doubled over the past two years. “Easily available SIM cards and lowcost service are the major reasons behind the rapid rise in the number of mobile users” said Anand Raj Khanal, Director of Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA).

According to NTA, the number of cell phone users stood at 13.35 million by the end of December 2011, up from 6.28 million in December 2009. Mobile users increased by 46.33 per cent to 9.19 million in 2010 and by 45.26 per cent in 2011 to 13.35 million. The officials have also informed that half the Nepal’s population has now access to cell phones. According to the National Population Census 2011, the total population of the country has reached 26.62 million. Out of this population, 50.16 per cent has access to the mobile services provided by Nepal Telecom and Ncell. Fifteen million Nepalis (56.46 per cent of the total population) have now access to telecom services.

The state-owned Nepal Telecom (NT) launched GSM mobile service in 1999 and introduced prepaid service in 2003. As the first private sector cell phone service provider, Ncell which was previously called Spice Nepal entered the market in 2005. According to NTA, the number of NT's mobile subscribers reached 6.5 million while that of Ncell reached 6.85 million by December 2011. “The competition among the mobile operators to extend their services at lower tariffs has unexpectedly increased the number of mobile subscribers,” said Khanal. Till December 2009, NT had 3.48 million subscribers while Ncell lagged behind with 2.2 million subscribers. The competition between the two largest mobile operators in the country is expected to rise further with NT working on a project to add 10 million mobile lines and Ncell investing 0 million annually to expand its service. According to NTA, these two companies have together added 1.75 million new customers over the last five months. For NT mobiles, normally customers have to wait for the schemes to subscribe to mobile service but Ncell has been providing SIM cards on demand via many distributers. Recently, the government announced to bring in a strategic partner for NT within six months and distribute 10 million lines within two years. According to NTA, the mobile penetration is likely to reach 100 percent within the next three years.