Ncell announced in March 2025 to shut down its 3G network within the year. With the current progress, the company has discontinued its 3G network in 3 districts only. It is known that the company will gradually sunset the third-generation network in more districts. The move will allow it to focus more on newer technologies and higher efficiency.
The news comes as a first solid development from Ncell regarding the shutdown of its legacy network. Earlier, Nepal Telecom (NTC) announced its plan to close down 2G on the 1800 MHz band. But unlike Ntc, Ncell will gradually switch off 2G’s successor network 3G.
“We have a plan to shut down 3G. And we are looking at how many customers we have,” Ncell CEO said. He shared that the company has planned to shut down 3G services by 2025. At the same event, Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) Chairman Bhupendra Bhandari said, “The 3G shutdown should be done first, and only then we should move to 2G. There are 3 million 2G users. The government plans to provide 100 percent coverage of 4G this year and extend it to the entire country.
Bhandari said that Ncell informed the authority about its plan to shut down 3G service by December 2025. He praised the decision saying that it is good, and the telco should move to 5G service in major cities. He added that the move will also increase the telco’s revenues. “The spectrum that frees up after 3G shutdown can be used for 4G, and tax can be reduced,” he added.
Ncell has already said that it’s ready for 5G trial. It also launched Sadhain ON packs as a step towards 5G network.
The speculations have long remained over the possible phase out of older mobile networks in Nepal. You may like to read this post for more on this: 3G vs 2G: Which will go first in Nepal
With the rapid expansion of 4G, both companies have shared plans to cut down on legacy networks. The move will allow Ncell to focus more on 4G expansion and improvement. Ncell has already started using 2100 MHz for 4G, so it can increase the resources in 4G, by shutting down 3G in 2100MHz.
On the very topic, we have also made a post for you: Reasons to quit 3G network in Nepal
Why Ncell 3G shutdown could not complete in 2025?
Ncell had its plan to turn off 3G completely within last year. They also worked on it in several parts of the country, with careful attention not to impact customer experience. Now that the number of modern handsets (4G/5G) is increasing in the network and people are more attached to 4G, the company thought it would be easier to accomplish. But considering the possible impact of shutdown to customers and the number of Ncell VoLTE users still not sufficing to the needs, Ncell now took the gradual approach in the 3G sunset.
As announced on Magh 22, 2082 (Feb 5, 2026), Ncell has completed the 3G shutdown in three districts: Jhapa, Dhankuta and Tehrathum. As per Ncell, as a greater number of users will use modern smartphones (relying on 4G/5G) with higher VoLTE usage, the 3G sunset will ease. And in few years’ time, they even have to think of 2G shutdown to 4G sunset as 5G will inevitably be the dominant network providing faster data and efficient voice services.
Check out: How to take Ncell eSIM?
Having said that, it is not only the duty of telcos to elevate customer experience and be efficient by sunsetting a technology, but also of the country or the regulator. The regulator or the country itself can facilitate on many fronts to help the telcos achieve the target. One of them would be banning the import of 2G, 3G (non-VoLTE) phones to Nepal. Find out why is it important for telcos to stop the import of non-volte phones in Nepal.
Will you be affected by the 3G network shutdown of Ncell?
As Ncell plans to close down its 3G network, there is a concern that it will affect the users. But it’s less likely. Most devices these days come with 4G support, and Ncell has its 4G coverage across about 90% of local levels. Also, since Ncell is only pulling the plug on 3G, users will still have 2G for voice. Therefore, Ncell’s killing off 3G may not adversely hurt your services, unless you have a 3G only phone and stick with it for high-speed data.
At the same time, you can use Ncell VoLTE for voice. It also lets you enjoy HD-quality audio. Additionally, there’s Ncell VoWiFi to make calls using a WiFi network. So, not having a 3G option for voice won’t create a huge issue. As for broadband, there’s 4G at most Ncell sites. According to the latest NTA data, Ncell has over 1.38 lakh users on 3G network and 1.18 crore on 4G network. The data also highlights the growing irrelevance of this older-generation technology.
Check out: Ncell starts carrier aggregation in 3 4G bands
Do you think Ncell’s effort to shut down 3G network is the right step? Drop your opinion in our comment section below.
