Last Updated on August 3, 2026
Summary✨
- Nepalis in Hilsa rely on Chinese SIMs due to lack of coverage from Nepal Telecom and Ncell.
- Residents face high costs for using Chinese SIMs, often paying up to five thousand Nepali rupees per month.
- Obtaining a Chinese SIM requires a passport, complicating the process and increasing expenses.
- Local leaders, like Tashi Lajom, advocate for improved cellular coverage and the introduction of 4G services in Hilsa.
- The government aims to expand 4G coverage, which could soon benefit underserved areas like Hilsa.
Some Nepalis are using Chinese SIMs to use the internet in Hilsa, bordering China. The locals are forced to use Chinese SIMs as there’s no cellular coverage from Nepal Telecom (NTC) and Ncell.
Ramraj Jaisi, Chief of the Yari Customs Office, stated that Nepalis are having to use the internet in Hilsa, the border area, using Chinese SIMs. He said that the people are using foreign SIM cards because there’s no coverage of Nepal Telecom in the area. He also said that people are compelled to spend high costs on Chinese SIMs.
Jaisi added that he himself is using Chinese SIMs for personal and office work. According to him, there are over 100 Chinese SIMS in use in Hilsa. Officials, hoteliers, and the locals are using Chinese SIMs in Hilsa. Gorkhapatra has reported this.
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Nepalis in Hilsa are using Chinese SIMS at high cost
Hilsa businessman Sonam Lama said that a passport is required to get a Chinese SIM, and after presenting the passport, a person takes out the SIM and brings it to Hilsa and uses it. Currently, the process of getting a new SIM is very complicated, so even if you try to spend a lot, it is difficult to get a SIM.
Sonam Lama, a businessperson in Hilsa, says that people buy a Chinese SIM with a passport. After obtaining a SIM card, they come to Hilsa to use the SIM for mobile internet. He said that the process is difficult, and even if one wants to spend big on buying a SIM, it has become difficult to get one.
He added that some people are using old SIMs and keep those SIMs in Hilsa during the winter and then return them later, and the Chinese rule that the unused SIMs are kept as a loan and can be used only after paying the amount is also causing high costs, he said.
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Calls for cellular coverage in Hilsa
Tashi Lajom, a central member of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP), who recently reached the border area, said that the locals of Hilsa are having to pay a very high fee to use the internet. She said that the ‘2G’ tower installed by Nepal Telecom in Nara Lake for Hilsa does not operate smoothly.
She said that the residents are paying up to five thousand Nepali rupees per month for using Chinese SIMs. The situation has been ongoing for the past 8 years. Lajom has said that after returning to Kathmandu, she will raise the issue and call for the start of 4G service in the area. She has also requested the government to pay special attention to launching 4G in border regions.
NTC’s 4G has reached over 98% of local levels, but some areas still remain underserved. The government has prioritized 4G expansion as one of its major tasks in FY 2083/84 along with 5G introduction. This brings hope that areas such as Hilsa will get national telecom coverage in the area soon.
