21 April Kathmandu, 2020
NTC and Ncell are the two leading network service providers in Nepal. With covering almost 90% of the total mobile users in Nepal, there arises a question of which is actually the best network provider in Nepal.
We can’t judge the best network but we can definitely compare the services and tariffs of the network providers. Okay, let’s dig into the service tariffs based on their respective website.
Tariffs without Package Subscription:
The first thing to compare is the local call rates. When a person calls from Ncell to Ncell or any other national operator, the person will be charged Rs. 2.54 per minute inclusive of all taxes. When you call Ncell to Ncell at night time, you’ll be charged Rs. 0.88 per minute. In the meantime, if you call within the network from NTC GSM pre-paid, you’ll be charged Rs. 1.50 per minute at peak hours (6 am to 10 pm) and Rs. 0.55 at night time. GSM post-paid will cost you Rs. 1.00 per minute at peak hours.
If you use mobile data without subscribing to any packages, Nepal Telecom will charge you Rs. 1.00 per MB in GPRS, 3G, and 4G usage. Well, I couldn’t find the normal data tariff of Ncell on its website.
Package Offers:
Nepal Telecom was seen as a bit cheaper in terms of tariffs if a person uses services without subscribing to any package. What’s the condition in terms of data package subscription, then? Here we’ll discuss the package rates of the two leading network providers.
Ncell Data Packages:
Ncell has got different plans for data. This starts with the ‘Get more on 4G offer’. In this offer, you’ll get a 100% 4G bonus and a 100% nighttime bonus. The very beginning package includes 105 MB combined (35MB all time+ 35MB 4G+ 35MB night) for Rs. 11.49. The highest package in this offer will provide you with 9GB combined (3GB+3GB+3GB) at Rs. 453.30.
Ncell also has a plan called ‘Data Pack with Video Offer’. Basically, in this package, you’ll get 1 hr of video streaming per day till your package ends. You’ll also get a 100% nighttime bonus in this package. The package starts from Rs. 49.80 with a combined 1.5GB along with one-hour video streaming of data valid for 1 day to Rs. 1,020.24 with a combined 32GB along with 1-hour video streaming per day valid for 30 days.
Ncell also has the next plan called as ‘Mero plan’. In this plan, the customer gets extra data for YouTube and the voice call rate is also decreased for Ncell to Ncell calls. The main balance won’t be deducted if the package is expired. It is an auto-renewal plan. It’s also divided into two types. The first one is weekly with a validity of 1 week. The weekly package starts from a package of Rs. 99.77 which contains 2GB of data. A user won’t get YouTube data with this package however the Ncell to Ncell call rate will be reduced to Rs. 1.28. The only other package available in this type costs Rs. 191.54 and contains 4GB of data and 2GB of extra data for YouTube. The Ncell to Ncell call rate will be Rs. 1.28.
Another type in the ‘Mero plan’ is monthly. 100% of YouTube data is provided with the package. It starts at the cost of Rs. 254.10 containing 1GB of mobile data and 1GB of YouTube data. The Ncell to Ncell call rate is 1.28. The ending package will cost Rs. 1275.62 for 25 GB mobile data and 25 GB YouTube data. The Ncell to Ncell call rate is reduced to Rs. 0.64 per minute.
NTC Data Packages:
Nepal Telecom also has got different data plans for users. It starts with All Time Data Pack to all Large Data Pack.
The first plan it has got for the users is the All-Time Data Pack. It starts with a 60MB Data pack for Rs. 15 valid for 1 day to all up to 14000MB (approx. 13.7 GB) Data Pack for Rs. 700 valid for 28 Days. It also has got a 700 MB Data pack for Rs. 100 calling it ‘Eco Pack’.
Then, there comes the ‘Unlimited Night Data’ plan. In this plan, you’ll be getting 1GB of data per night at Rs. 90 for 7 nights and Rs. 18 for a night. Users generally get confused at this plan thinking that they’ll get unlimited data without any boundaries. But, that’s not the case, their internet connection will be lowered to a base connection once they consume 1GB of data.
NT also offers a ‘1GB Per Day Data Pack’. Users can get 1GB of data per day at Rs. 45 for one day. This plan is also available for weekly and 28 days plan where users will get 1GB of data per day at Rs. 250 for 7 days and 28 days for Rs. 850.
There also exists a ‘Night Data Pack’ in which you can buy 400MB of Night data for Rs. 12 valid for 1 Night.
You need to be clear that Night Packs in NT can be used from 11 PM to 6 AM.
NT also offers ‘Day Data Packs’ where you can get 80MB data at Rs. 10 and 200MB data at Rs. 15 both valid for 1 day and can be used from 6 AM to 6 PM.
1-hour unlimited data pack (Technically 1 GB) can be bought for Rs. 20.
Besides this, there is Social Media Pack that can be used to browse Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and WhatsApp (official apps only). 70 MB of such data valid for 1 day can be bought at Rs. 10. Similarly, at Rs. 35, 250 MB of data valid for 3 days can be bought. 600 MB of such data can be bought at Rs. 65 which is valid for 7 days.
The next data pack available is Streaming Pack which can be used to stream YouTube and Live TV. You can get 300 MB of such data at Rs. 15 valid for 1 day, 650 MB at Rs. 30 valid for 3 days, and 1400MB at Rs. 60 valid for 7 days.
Besides all these, NT offers India Roaming data packs. A daily pack of 100 MB can be purchased at Rs. 125, a weekly pack of 500 MB can be purchased at Rs. 555, and a monthly roaming data pack of 1GB can be purchased at Rs. 1125.
You can get 60 GB data valid for 3 months at Rs. 3000.
According to my view, Ncell wins in small data packs and NTC is the winner for large data packs. The large data packs at NTC look to suit people’s needs.
FNF and My5 rates:
Ncell has the My5 service in which you can add 5 people in your My5 list and talk at Rs. 0.99 (exclusive of taxes) per minute. You’ll be charged Rs. 20 (exclusive of taxes) per month for the service. After adding the first 5 numbers in your group, each addition, modification, or deletion of the numbers will be charged Rs. 5 (excl. of taxes).
Nepal Telecom Friends and family (FNF) Service can be subscribed free of charge. One can call at 70 paise per minute from GSM prepaid and 50 paise per minute from GSM post-paid. It doesn’t charge an addition, modification, or deletion too.
Nepal Telecom looks better in this case.
Voice Packages:
Ncell:
Ncell offers various voice packages and you’ll get Night SMS with each subscription. It starts with 12-minute data with Rs. 11.49.
In 3 days pack, you can get 55 min at Rs. 31.92 with 35 night SMS.
In the Weekly pack, 75 minutes costs Rs. 62.57 and 125 minutes cost Rs. 71.51. You’ll get that night SMS equal to the number of minutes you purchase.
In the monthly pack, you can buy 425 minutes at Rs. 204.3 and 720 minutes at Rs. 306.46. You’ll get night SMS equal to no. of minutes in this pack too.
You can get 5 AM to 5 PM unlimited talk time at Rs. 15.32 along with 720 Night SMS in the time-based pack. In the same pack, you can buy 35 minutes voice pack at Rs. 8.94 with 35 Night SMS valid for 24 hours from 5 AM to 5 PM. At the same amount, you can get 120 minutes night voice pack with a 120-night SMS.
NTC:
In NTC, you won’t get any other extra offer with voice packs. In an all-time data pack, 14 minutes for 1 day cost Rs. 12, 40 minutes with 3 days validity cost Rs.30, 75 minutes with 7 days validity cost Rs.60, 490 minutes with 28 days validity cost Rs.240, and 1100 minutes with 42 days validity cost Rs.500.
Nepal Telecom has got Night Voice Pack (10:00 PM to 6:00 AM) too. In this pack, Rs. 9 can buy 60 minutes voice pack, and Rs. 12 can buy unlimited talk-time valid for one night. You can get 170 minutes night voice pack at Rs. 15 valid for three days. You’ll get 340 minutes at Rs. 30 valid for 7 days.
Besides all these, NT offers 100 Minutes Voice (5 AM to 5 PM) valid for a single day.
SMS Packages:
Ncell provides 1000 on network SMS package at Rs. 24.26. NTC is behind in the SMS package too. You can get 20 SMS at Rs. 5 for 1 day. It provides 70 SMS for Rs. 15 valid for 7 days. The highest package is Rs. 60 for 300 SMS with 28 days validity.
Which one has the widest 4G coverage?
Although Ncell claims to have the widest 4G coverage, it hasn’t disclosed the list of places with coverage. It says, its 4G network covers more than 1000 places. Nepal Telecom has expanded its 4G coverage to 499 local levels. The list is available on the website of Nepal Telecom. We believe, that 499 local levels are wider than Ncell’s 1000 places. So, we believe, Nepal Telecom has the widest 4G coverage in Nepal.
According to our view, Nepal Telecom wins the race in terms of coverage.
So, final words?
We already said at the beginning, that we can’t judge which one is better. It depends on the need and your phone usage reason. According to your needs, judge the best network provider, and don’t forget to let us know in the comment section of our Facebook post.
