Ncell () is a mobile service provider from
Nepal
Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
. It is Nepal's largest company in terms of revenue market share and second largest telecommunications company, after
Nepal Telecom in terms of subscriber base.
The company was founded in 2004 when there was only one major telecom operator at the time, Nepal Telecom. Nepal Telecom had been providing
PSTN
The public switched telephone network (PSTN) is the aggregate of the world's telephone networks that are operated by national, regional, or local telephony operators. It provides infrastructure and services for public telephony. The PSTN consists ...
and
GSM
The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a family of standards to describe the protocols for second-generation (2G) digital cellular networks, as used by mobile devices such as mobile phones and Mobile broadband modem, mobile broadba ...
services. Investing in telecommunications and competing with governmental agencies was a major risk at the time. With the entry of Ncell, the Nepali telecommunications sector progressed due to greater competition in the market.
History
Nepal's first private mobile operator, Spice Nepal Private Limited, was founded in 2004.
The company introduced its commercial services as Mero Mobile on 17 September 2005 in
Kathmandu
Kathmandu () is the capital and largest city of Nepal, situated in the central part of the country within the Kathmandu Valley. As per the 2021 Nepal census, it has a population of 845,767 residing in 105,649 households, with approximately 4 mi ...
.
Swedish telecommunications company and mobile network operator
TeliaSonera
Telia Company AB is a Swedish Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications company and mobile network operator present in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Telia also owns TV4 Media which includes TV4 in S ...
bought a controlling interest in the company in October 2008.
Spice Nepal was renamed Ncell on 12 March 2010 as part of the acquisition
and TeliaSonera invested approximately 1 billion dollars in the improvement and coverage of the network. Ncell had reached all areas of Nepal by 2010 and had launched
3G services by the end of the year.
Ncell also constructed the east-west fiber link connectivity during this time, which was necessary to support the data and voice traffic across the country.
It was announced on 21 December 2015 that TeliaSonera took exit from Ncell by selling its 60.4 percent stake in the company to the Malaysian telecommunications group
Axiata
Axiata Group Berhad (commonly known as Axiata, formerly known as TM International Berhad), is a Malaysian multinational telecommunications conglomerate with extensive operations in Asia.
The group
Axiata's primary business is investment ho ...
. On 1 June 2017, the company began providing 4G/LTE service in the Kathmandu Valley, including
Nagarkot,
Banepa, and
Dhulikhel in the
Kavrepalanchowk district. Ncell has expanded its 4G/LTE coverage covering 90 percent of total population. Ncell became a public limited company on 3 August 2020, and its name was changed to Ncell Axiata Limited.
Ncell parent company Axiata left the company in 2023, the parent company has been reporting the downturn of revenues from Ncell and that seems to be the main reason for its exit.
On 1 December 2023, the United Kingdom-based Spectrlite UK Limited acquired 100 percent shares of Reynolds Holdings Limited from Axiata UK of Axiata Group Berhad. Reynolds previously owned an 80 percent equity stake in Ncell. With Spectrlite UK Limited, Ncell has become a 100 percent Nepali-origin, owned company.
Technology
On 1 June 2017, Ncell launched its 4G/LTE service in
Kathmandu Valley
The Kathmandu Valley (), also known as the Nepal Valley or Nepa Valley (, Newar language, Nepal Bhasa: π£πΎπ₯π΅π
ππ΅π
, ΰ€¨ΰ₯ΰ€ͺΰ€Ύΰ€ ΰ€ΰ€Ύΰ€), National Capital Area, is a bowl-shaped valley located in the Himalayas, Hima ...
(including the areas of
Nagarkot,
Banepa and
Dhulikhel of
Kavrepalanchowk district). A month later, the company launched 4G/LTE service in
Pokhara
Pokhara ( ) is a metropolis, metropolitan city located in central Nepal, which serves as the capital of Gandaki Province. Named the country's "capital of tourism" it is the List of cities in Nepal, second largest city after Kathmandu, with 599,5 ...
and
Damauli (two western cities of Nepal). As of December 2021, Ncell expanded 4G/LTE service ensuring access to over 75% of total population, covering all seven Nepali provinces. In a bid to implement a next-generation billing system, Ncell adopted Alibaba's Apsara Cloud for its digital strategy.
In 2010, when Ncell was still owned by
TeliaSonera
Telia Company AB is a Swedish Multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications company and mobile network operator present in Sweden, Finland, Norway, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Telia also owns TV4 Media which includes TV4 in S ...
, its highest 3G base station was built near one of the
Everest Base Camp
There are two Base camp#Shelter, base camps on Mount Everest, on opposite sides of the mountains: #South Base Camp in Nepal, South Base Camp is in Nepal at an altitude of (), while #North Base Camp in Tibet, North Base Camp is in Tibet at ().
...
s at an altitude of 5,200 meters (17,000 feet).
Ncell provides a self-service app which is relied upon by a majority of users. By installing the Ncell app, customers can recharge their account, check balance information, and purchase data/voice packs. The app can be also used to send 10 free SMS messages daily; however, data charges may apply if the app is used outside of Nepal.
See also
*
Nepal Telecom
*
Telecommunications in Nepal
References
External links
IRD examines tax issues in sale of Ncell sharesGetting to the crux of Ncell buyout deal
{{Telecommunication companies of Nepal
Telecommunications companies of Nepal
2004 establishments in Nepal
Telecommunications companies established in 2004
Axiata