More than 10m Nepalis using mobile phones
KATHMANDU, JUN 28 -
The country’s GSM-based mobile subscriber base has crossed the 10 million mark as of the 10th month (mid-April to mid-May) of the fiscal year. GSM mobile is the major communication service in Nepal with a market share of more than 80 percent.
According to the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA), the number of mobile subscribers increased to more than 10 million, a 58 percent jump over the last one year. As of mid-May 2010, the country’s two GSM telecom service operators, Nepal Telecom and Ncell, had 6.40 million subscribers.
NTA officials cited increased popularity, cheaper devices and lowered tariff resulting from stiff competition between the operators to the rise in the number of users. As of mid-May this year, Ncell retained its top position with a subscriber base of 5.20 million while Nepal Telecom has 4.87 million subscribers. “Phone tariffs have dropped significantly because of fierce competition between operators, and by default the service is going to be more affordable in the days to come with a focus on data service,” said Ananda Raj Khanal, director of the authority.
Based on the monthly subscription trend, the highest growth rate was recorded during the sixth month (mid-Nov to mid-Dec). During the period, Ncell and Nepal Telecom added a total of 725,278 subscribers, an increase of 8.71 percent, to reach 9.05 million.
With aggressive marketing strategies and newer schemes after re-branding in March last year, Ncell had toppled state-owned telecom giant Nepal Telecom from the top position in the GSM mobile segment in March. It added 2.26 million subscribers during the 10-month period (mid-July to mid-May) of the current fiscal year.
Similarly, Nepal Telecom provided pre-paid and post-paid GSM mobile service to 912,604 new customers during the review period. It has been working on a huge project to add six to 10 million GSM subscribers. Till the end of the last fiscal year, there were a total of 6.9 million GSM mobile service subscribers.
Meanwhile, the number of subscribers to telecom services has increased to 12.47 million as of mid-May 2011. With heavy support from GSM penetration, telecom service access has reached 43.65 percent of the estimated population of the country of 28.58 million.
Even though the country has been witnessing a robust growth in mobile service, the quality of service has always been criticised by service users. The NTA is also carrying out a survey in four major cities to study the service quality being offered by operators and take necessary follow-up action. Khanal said that there was lack of a strong consumer rights protection law to hold operators accountable, and that users too had to be more aware about the type of service being offered.
Source: Kantipur
The country’s GSM-based mobile subscriber base has crossed the 10 million mark as of the 10th month (mid-April to mid-May) of the fiscal year. GSM mobile is the major communication service in Nepal with a market share of more than 80 percent.
According to the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA), the number of mobile subscribers increased to more than 10 million, a 58 percent jump over the last one year. As of mid-May 2010, the country’s two GSM telecom service operators, Nepal Telecom and Ncell, had 6.40 million subscribers.
NTA officials cited increased popularity, cheaper devices and lowered tariff resulting from stiff competition between the operators to the rise in the number of users. As of mid-May this year, Ncell retained its top position with a subscriber base of 5.20 million while Nepal Telecom has 4.87 million subscribers. “Phone tariffs have dropped significantly because of fierce competition between operators, and by default the service is going to be more affordable in the days to come with a focus on data service,” said Ananda Raj Khanal, director of the authority.
Based on the monthly subscription trend, the highest growth rate was recorded during the sixth month (mid-Nov to mid-Dec). During the period, Ncell and Nepal Telecom added a total of 725,278 subscribers, an increase of 8.71 percent, to reach 9.05 million.
With aggressive marketing strategies and newer schemes after re-branding in March last year, Ncell had toppled state-owned telecom giant Nepal Telecom from the top position in the GSM mobile segment in March. It added 2.26 million subscribers during the 10-month period (mid-July to mid-May) of the current fiscal year.
Similarly, Nepal Telecom provided pre-paid and post-paid GSM mobile service to 912,604 new customers during the review period. It has been working on a huge project to add six to 10 million GSM subscribers. Till the end of the last fiscal year, there were a total of 6.9 million GSM mobile service subscribers.
Meanwhile, the number of subscribers to telecom services has increased to 12.47 million as of mid-May 2011. With heavy support from GSM penetration, telecom service access has reached 43.65 percent of the estimated population of the country of 28.58 million.
Even though the country has been witnessing a robust growth in mobile service, the quality of service has always been criticised by service users. The NTA is also carrying out a survey in four major cities to study the service quality being offered by operators and take necessary follow-up action. Khanal said that there was lack of a strong consumer rights protection law to hold operators accountable, and that users too had to be more aware about the type of service being offered.
Source: Kantipur
