Nepal Communications 2021, CIA World Factbook

total subscriptions: 855,926

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 2.85 (2019 est.)

Telephones - mobile cellular

total subscriptions: 41,880,311

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 139.45 (2019 est.)

Telecommunication systems

general assessment:

poverty, inconsistent electricity, and mountainous topography stymie development of telecom infrastructure; mobile market is developed and has been extended to all districts covering 90% of Nepal; fixed broadband is low due to limited number of fixed-lines and preeminence of the mobile platform; increasing 3G and 4G subscribers; fiber-optic networks developing under private and public funding to meet demand for Internet; government supports digital society, whereby 90% of the population will have access to broadband and free Internet access for students; plans to launch a Nepalese satellite by 2022; importer of broadcasting equipment from China (2021)

(2020)

domestic: 3G coverage is available in 20 major cities (2019); disparity between high coverage in cities and coverage available in underdeveloped rural regions; fixed-line 3 per 100 persons and mobile-cellular 139 per 100 persons; fair radiotelephone communication service; 20% of the market share is fixed (wired) broadband, 2% is fixed (wireless) broadband, and 78% is mobile broadband (2019)

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)

note: the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced downturn, particularly in mobile device production; many network operators delayed upgrades to infrastructure; progress towards 5G implementation was postponed or slowed in some countries; consumer spending on telecom services and devices was affected by large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home became evident, and received some support from governments

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: 10,103,980

percent of population: 34% (July 2018 est.)

Broadband - fixed subscriptions

total: 791,961

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 3 (2018 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Nepal on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Nepal 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Nepal 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.