Nepal Communications - 2024

Telephones - fixed lines

total subscriptions: 726,000 (2021 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 2 (2021 est.)

Telephones - mobile cellular

total subscriptions: 38 million (2021 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 130 (2021 est.)

Telecommunication systems

general assessment: in relation to its telecom sector, Nepal has several topographical and economic constraints which have impeded efforts to expand network infrastructure and improve the quality of service for end-users; the fixed line market remains underdeveloped, and as a result most traffic is channeled via mobile networks; fixed broadband penetration remains very low, though to address this the government has initiated several programs as part of the Digital Nepal Framework and the wider Optical Fiber Backbone Network Expansion Project, started in 2012; supported by the Rural Telecommunications Development Fund, the programs include building out fiber backbone infrastructure and using this to provide broadband to schools and community centers nationally; telcos have also invested in fiber networks, and competition in the market is intensifying; cheap fiber-based services launched in mid-2021 prompted responses from other ISPs to provide faster and more competitively priced offers; Nepal’s mobile market is relatively developed, with a focus on LTE; in 2021, the regulator considered a range of spectrum bands which could be used for 5G (2021)

domestic: fixed-line is 2 per 100 persons and mobile-cellular nearly 130 per 100 persons (2021)

international: country code - 977; Nepal, China and Tibet connected across borders with underground and all-dielectric self-supporting (ADSS) fiber-optic cables; radiotelephone communications; microwave and fiber landlines to India; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (2019)

Broadcast media

state operates 3 TV stations, as well as national and regional radio stations; 117 television channels are licensed, among those 71 are cable television channels, three are distributed through Direct-To-Home (DTH) system, and four are digital terrestrial; 736 FM radio stations are licensed and at least 314 of those radio stations are community radio stations (2019)

Internet country code

.np

Internet users

total: 15.6 million (2021 est.)

percent of population: 52% (2021 est.)

Broadband - fixed subscriptions

total: 1.27 million (2020 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 4 (2020 est.)