Last Updated on August 4, 2026
Summary✨
- WorldLink Communications Ltd. is the first ISP in Nepal to pay its electricity pole rental fees for FY 2082/83, totaling Rs 51 lakh.
- The Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) reports that other ISPs still owe over Rs 3.44 crore in pole rental fees.
- WorldLink remains the only ISP to fully comply with NEA’s directives regarding utility pole usage and outstanding payments.
- The NEA increased pole rental charges by 5.85%, affecting service providers’ fees for using their infrastructure.
- WorldLink has achieved a customer base of 11 lakh, significantly leading over its competitors.
WorldLink Communications Ltd. has become the first internet service provider (ISP) in Nepal to clear its electricity pole rental fees for FY 2082/83. The company has paid Rs 51 lakh to the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) for using its utility poles to run its wires to provide internet services to its customers. The payment was deposited into the account of the NEA’s Distribution and Customer Service Directorate, Bagmati Province Division Office.
According to Jitendra Kumar Jha, Chief of the NEA’s Bagmati Province Division Office in Hetauda, the total payment includes Rs 41 lakh for FY 2082/83 and around Rs 10 lakh in outstanding fees. He also stated that so far, WorldLink is the only ISP to have paid its dues for the same fiscal year so far.
But the authority says that other internet and cable TV service providers have yet to pay their outstanding pole rental fees. The Bagmati Province Division Office estimates that more than Rs 3.44 crore in dues remains to be paid by different service providers.
In Nepal, ISPs use NEA and other service providers’ utility poles to run their internet wires to customers. For this, they have to pay a certain amount. But the fees have often remained a topic of debate among the ISPs.
WorldLink pays its pole rental fees
Recently, NEA had directed its regional and division offices to collect details of outstanding pole rental fees from ISPs and cable TV operators. It also asked providers to submit self-declarations of the electrical infrastructure they use and sign updated agreements. However, so far, WorldLink has been the only company to comply with the directive.
In 2082, NEA and the Internet Service Providers’ Association of Nepal (ISPAN) reached an agreement, under which service providers were expected to submit details of their electrical infrastructure use by 2082 Poush 20. Most providers failed to meet the deadline.
The NEA increased pole rental charges by 5.85%, effective from 2082 Bhadra 1, under the existing agreement with service providers. Following the revision, the annual rental rate for fiber per core per kilometer stood at Rs 33,872. Similarly, the annual charge for installing equipment for a node point within NEA premises was fixed at Rs 160,046. So far, WorldLink has cleared its outstanding dues on the revised rates.
It puts other ISPs under moral pressure to settle their pending payments as well.
WorldLink reached 11 lakh customers across Nepal. It’s the only ISP in Nepal to reach this enviable user base figure, while Nepal Telecom is following at second with about 4 lakh users.
