Nepal is a small but extremely mountainous country. It is located in Southeast Asia between India and China. International tourists flock to this country to mesmerize themselves in the beauty of the Himalayas and magnificent temples, and some adventurous folks even dare to conquer Mount Everest. In short, it’s peaceful and has a rich and diverse culture. Though it is a cheap and affordable country, the roaming charges could be very expensive for international tourists. That’s why getting local SIM cards in Nepal will be the best pocket-friendly option to stay connected to the world.
Nepal has only three wireless carriers: Ncell Axiata, Nepal Telecom (NTC), and Smart Telecom. Ncell and Nepal Telecom are the arch-rivals in terms of consumer market share. Their number of subscribers is more or less the same, and they keep on growing at almost the same pace. Ncell gives better 3G coverage than Nepal Telecom. However, Nepal Telecom has better coverage in the mountainous region. To dig deeper into the three telcos of Nepal, let’s start examining them one by one from top to bottom.
1. Ncell Axiata
Ncell is the preferred and popular wireless carrier in Nepal because of its good coverage and speed. It operates on 2G, 3G, and 4G/LTE frequencies. Its 2G coverage is vast, covering 90% of the country’s population. However, 2G is very slow for using internet data. 3G coverage is present in Nepal’s 20 biggest towns while 4G/LTE exists in 20+ towns of Nepal covering 15% of the population. Ncell SIM cards are available everywhere from the official stores to local vendors. Its recharge vouchers are available from 50 NPR (Nepalese Rupees) to 500 NPR.
Note that no recharge voucher gives you the full credit amount because with every top-up tax is deducted. Several data packages are available, some with unlimited data but the speed is throttled to 32 Kbps once the “unlimited” limit is crossed. Ncell is the only mobile operator in Nepal to provide traveler SIM cards for the tourists entering the country. It provides more data than the regular SIM cards at more or less the same price. Due to this reason, it always has an upper hand over its competitors. After all, lots of tourists arrive in Nepal annually, and they have no other option to get a traveler SIM card other than Ncell.
2. Nepal Telecom (NTC)
Nepal Telecom is a state-owned telecom company in this South Asian country. It is the oldest mobile operator in the country. Its number of 3G antennas exceeds Ncell and its 4G antennas are continuously increasing across the country. Its prepaid SIM card is called Namaste which means “greetings” or “welcome”. The prepaid SIM is available in the official stores of NTC as well as in local retail shops for 90 NPR with a 50 NPR credit in it.
NTC’s recharge vouchers are also available easily throughout the country. The price for its recharge varies from 50 NPR to 1000 NPR. The more you recharge the Nepal Telecom SIM card, the longer its validity gets (from 30 days to 2 years). If you plan to stay for a short time in Nepal, validity isn’t a big concern for you. The operator also provides several data packs including data packs for nights, only YouTube, or only social media.
3. Smart Telecom
Smart Telecom, also called Smarttel, is the smallest telecom service provider that offers SIM cards in Nepal. It provides decent 2G services in about 26 districts of the country but its 4G/LTE coverage is pretty low. The areas having very low 4G/LTE reception automatically switch to an awfully slow 2G network. Its 4G/LTE services are provided in 19 districts only. That’s why this SIM card isn’t recommended for travelers as its 4G coverage is limited and 2G is too slow to use.
In contrast, Smarttel SIM cards and their recharge packs are affordable. Both are available almost everywhere in Nepal. It is recommended to buy its 4G SIM card and 4G data packs because the 2G speed is excessively low. The recharge cards are sold between 20 NPR to 1000 NPR, and if you recharge with at least 100 NPR you will receive bonuses. For example, if you recharge with 100 NPR you will get 98.08 NPR credit, 400 MB of data, 10 local minutes, and 10 local SMSes, all with a validity of 7 days. There are many similar recharge options available.