Ncell completes 21 years as Nepal’s telecom sector faces revenue and investment pressures

Ncell has completed 21 years of operations in Nepal, serving more than 14 million customers while facing declining telecom revenue, weaker capital investment and the challenge of financing 5G expansion.

PUBLISHED18-SEP-2026 10:32 AM

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Ncell completes 21 years as Nepal’s telecom sector faces revenue and investment pressures

Kathmandu, September 18, 2026 — Ncell, Nepal’s first private-sector GSM mobile service provider, has completed 21 years of commercial operations, marking more than two decades of expansion in the country’s telecommunications and digital sectors.

Ncell began commercial service on September 17, 2005, under the name Mero Mobile. At the time, mobile penetration in Nepal was around 6 percent. The company now serves more than 14 million customers, while overall mobile penetration in Nepal has crossed 100 percent, according to figures presented in connection with its 21st anniversary.

The company was incorporated as Mero Mobile in 2004. TeliaSonera entered Nepal through the acquisition of Spice Nepal in 2008, and Mero Mobile was rebranded as Ncell in 2010. Axiata Group acquired Ncell in 2016. On December 1, 2023, UK-based Spectrlite UK Limited acquired 100 percent of Reynolds Holdings Limited from Axiata UK; Reynolds holds an 80 percent equity stake in Ncell.

Ncell was converted into a public limited company and renamed Ncell Axiata Limited on August 3, 2020. This corrects an earlier reference to 2021.

Over its 21-year history, the company has expanded from basic mobile services to 3G, 4G and a range of digital services. Ncell's 4G network currently reaches around 95 percent of Nepal’s population, according to figures reported for its anniversary.

Among the company's major milestones were the expansion of 3G service to the Everest region in 2010, the launch of 4G in 2017, the commercial introduction of VoLTE in 2022 and the launch of eSIM services later that year. Ncell also introduced the 970 mobile number series in 2023.

Ncell has also highlighted its contribution to Nepal’s public finances. The company says it has contributed more than Rs 300 billion in taxes and fees since its establishment. More recent company-related figures show that its cumulative contribution had exceeded Rs 340 billion by the end of fiscal year 2023/24, while it contributed Rs 20.30 billion in taxes and fees during that fiscal year alone.

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The company established the Ncell Foundation in September 2024 to bring its CSR initiatives under a single institutional framework. At the time of its launch, Ncell said it had spent more than Rs 2 billion on CSR programmes over the previous 19 years.

Its social initiatives have included the Kathmandu Ring Road Green Belt, telemedicine and health programmes, and digital information technology laboratories in 60 government and community schools. The company has also reported providing assistance during the 2015 earthquake, the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent floods and other disasters.

Despite its expansion, Ncell’s anniversary comes as Nepal’s telecommunications sector faces declining revenue and reduced capital investment.

Ncell’s industry assessment shows that telecom service revenue declined from Rs 92.08 billion in fiscal year 2018/19 to Rs 66.38 billion in fiscal year 2024/25. Normalised profit after tax fell from Rs 18.65 billion to Rs 5.11 billion over the same period, while capital expenditure declined from Rs 17.19 billion to Rs 4.13 billion.

The company attributes the pressure partly to the growing use of over-the-top services, declining international voice revenue and intense competition that has pushed data prices downward. It estimates that the overall telecom market, which once approached Rs 100 billion, has contracted to below Rs 70 billion, while the sector’s contribution to gross domestic product has fallen from around 5 percent to about 2 percent.