Latest drive test report published by NTA shows Ncell has the fastest mobile internet in Nepal. The drive test performed in several areas of Bhaktapur, Pokhara, Baglung and Prithvi highway shows Ncell as the clear winner in terms of the fast peak download speeds from mobile. Surprisingly, Smart Telecom’s mobile network also has better data speed in some areas.
There are two metrics for the speed test which are Download and Upload throughput. They also judged the average and peak throughput in downlink and uplink. Average throughput refers to the average of all the speed tests performed in the route whereas peak throughput refers to the highest speed attained during the test. They performed the speed measurement through the throughput test in uplink and downlink.
Download and Upload throughput
Let us define download and upload throughput. The amount of data transferred through the network in uplink and downlink direction in a second are download and upload throughput. Download means the data transfer from the network side to the User equipment whereas upload means the data transfer from the User equipment to the network Side. Both the throughput values are expressed in Megabits per second (Mbps). So for a fast speed network, we need to have a higher value of both the throughputs. The faster throughput also means people will have a better experience of data usage.
Throughput test results
NTA provides the throughput test results in Bhaktapur and Pokhara city where the fast internet data is available everywhere.
For Bhaktapur city, the peak data throughput in downlink comes the highest for Ncell at 74.39 Mbps whereas the peak uplink throughput is highest in Smart Telecom at 39.28 Mbps. Same is the case for average downlink throughput and uplink throughput with values of 11.85 Mbps and 10.37 Mbps for Ncell and Smart Telecom respectively.
For Pokhara city, the peak data throughput in downlink comes the highest for Smart Telecom at 65 Mbps whereas the peak uplink throughput is also highest in Smart at 22.38 Mbps. The average uplink and downlink throughput is also found highest in Smart Telecom in Pokhara.
Although NTA does not refer to which technologies they attained the above speed, we are pretty much sure that the highest speed is only possible through 4G LTE technology.
Before Smart Telecom claimed the highest internet speed in Nepal and we also found the same with our test. That time, we found the peak downlink throughput of around 60 Mbps with Smart Cell. Now with the current NTA throughput measurement with drive test, the peak downlink throughput crosses 70 Mbps. The speed enhancement in Ncell is due to the implementation of the latest technology for spectrum sharing. The better speed in Ncell and Smart Telecom is also due to the use of more spectrum for 4G LTE technology.
All the test result
Here is all of the throughput test result in a table published by NTA.
| Area: Bhaktapur | Average Download Throughput (Mbps) | Peak Download Throughput (Mbps) | Average Upload Throughput (Mbps) | Peak Upload Throughput (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nepal Telecom | 6.24 | 24.13 | 3.27 | 10.125 |
| Ncell | 11.85 | 74.39 | 6.13 | 17 |
| Smart Telecom | 9.57 | 65.82 | 10.37 | 39.28 |
| Area: Pokhara | Average Download Throughput (Mbps) | Peak Download Throughput (Mbps) | Average Upload Throughput (Mbps) | Peak Upload Throughput (Mbps) |
| Nepal Telecom | 6.23 | 23.91 | 2.42 | 9.34 |
| Ncell | 6.92 | 34.45 | 6.17 | 10.31 |
| Smart Telecom | 21.93 | 64.99 | 9.37 | 22.38 |
So, NTA finds the highest download internet speed of 74.39 Mbps through Ncell’s 4G network.
You can even test the internet speed yourself, please read it here. If you have done the speed test for the SIM card you use in any place, please put the result here mentioning the operator (either Ntc, Ncell or Smart) and the location.
