Nepal Telecom Demands of Importing Compatible 4G Phones Only

Nepal Telecom has sent a request to NTA (Nepal Telecommunication Authority) to make provisions for importing compatible phones to the country. With a formal letter, the company demands allowing the import of phones that support frequency bands operational in the country.

As Nepal Telecom has rolled out 4G networks in two different spectrum bands, and with several unique features (discussed below), they want the customer’s end device to be compatible with their network. This shall help the operator to make the most out of their 4G network in the market.

Earlier they asked the phone manufacturers to test their handsets for VoLTE and more features with an announcement.

Currently, Nepal Telecom has a 4G network in Band 20 (800 MHz) and Band 3 (1800 MHz) and has plans to reuse existing bands like 850MHz and 2300 MHz after the shutdown of CDMA and WiMAX respectively.

Return from Band 20 4G network

Though they have made a huge investment for 4G in band 20, they could not get favorable results from the network due to the unavailability of the supporting handsets in Nepal. They actually preferred the lower spectrum band of 800 Mhz to provide better coverage in remote areas and provide higher data speed with 4G+.

But the revenue and utilization of the band 20 4G network are lower, prompting the telco to penetrate the market. One of the tasks, they recently did is to purchase 4G feature phones with VoLTE, which will culminate soon.

Meanwhile the regulator NTA confirms the letter from Nepal Telecom. It is quite obvious for the telecom company to send such a request, as there are lesser 4G handsets in the market that supports band 20. It is also the duty of the regulator to create a larger ecosystem that is supportive for all the telcos and consumers in the country. So, we can also expect some kind of facilitation from the regulator in this regard.

Nepal Telecom also recommends people for compatible 4G handsets and mode/settings to get seamless coverage and a better experience. All they did to increase awareness in people for the supporting phones and idle settings for 4G.

Other unique features of Nepal Telecom 4G are:

• VoLTE (upcoming)
• 4G+ support
• 4X4 MIMO (Multiple antennas) support

Do you know if your phone supports band 20 4G spectrum? What do you think of Nepal Telecom’s request to NTA for this facilitation? Please comment below with your idea on the matter.