Nepal Telecom has already started its highly awaited service – 4G since yesterday. They have started it targeting New Year on an event organized at Hotel Soaltee. 4G/LTE is a new technology in Nepal and people get it confused. So, we have come up with some Frequently Asked Questions about 4G/LTE. This can help you get your confusion clear.
What is 4G/LTE?
4G is the successor to the 3G. 4G refers to the Fourth Generation which is the form of Evolved High-Speed Package Access (HSPA+) and Long-Term Evolution (LTE). This lets us use high-speed internet right on our mobile device without any hassle. It provides you path-breaking mobile internet experience, buffer-free streaming and amazingly clear videos. It enables you to enjoy bandwidth-intensive contents such as videos/music streaming, cloud services and alike.
What is the Coverage of 4G/LTE?
The coverage of 4G is now limited to two major cities of Nepal i.e. Kathmandu and Pokhara. Nepal Telecom (NT) is providing 4G from 308 base transceiver stations (BTS) GSM towers in Kathmandu Valley and 25 BTS GSM towers in Pokhara on 1800MHz band. It will be expanded throughout the Nation very soon.
Other Cities are said to be connected with 4G in the coming few months once the test phase is completed successfully. Till then you can enjoy 3G and 2G services.
What are the requirements to be able to use 4G/LTE?
There are several things that you need to be able to use 4G but some of them are
- 4G enabled Handset that supports LTE 1800MHz band
- PostPaid Universal-SIM (U-SIM) (Both PostPaid and PrePaid can use 4G Soon)
- Should be present in LTE network coverage area
These are the main requirements, if you fail to meet any of these conditions then you will not be able to use 4G/LTE.
How to subscribe to Nepal Telecom’s 4G service?
If you fulfil all the above-mentioned points then you can subscribe to 4G. To do so you need to go to dialer and dial *444#. Now you are subscribed to 4G. You will also get the promotional offer free of cost.
How do I get Nt’s 4G/LTE compatible SIM?
You can visit NT’s office at Hattigauda, Gongabu, Chhauni, Babarmahal, Chabahil, Sundhara, Jawalakhel, Sajha Bhawan, Thimi and Bhaktapur in Kathmandu Valley and Mahendrapul in Pokhara to get NT’s 4G/LTE compatible SIM by carrying required documents along with you. You will get your SIM exchanged with regular SIM replacement process.
What is the 4G/LTE Service activation Fee?
You will not be charged for activating 4G on your SIM, which means it is free of charge.
What are the Tariffs and packages for 4G users?
For now, as a promotional offer we have provided free 4GB data @1GB/day which is valid for 4 days from the date of subscription. This is applicable for GSM postpaid users only for now. If subscribers’ usage goes beyond this data volume limit, then normal tariff@Rs1/MB will be levied. However, subscribers can enjoy browsing at 4G speed using existing data packages offered for GSM postpaid subscribers that are as follows:
a) 10MB @Rs 8 valid for 2 days
b) 50MB @Rs 35 valid for 10 days
c) 200MB @Rs 130 valid for 1 month
d) 500MB @Rs 300 valid for 1 month
e) 1G @Rs 500 valid for 1 month
f) 3G @Rs 1290 valid for 2 months
g) 5G @Rs 1800 valid for 3 months
What is the Upload and Download Speed of NT’s 4G/LTE?
NT claims users can get up to 32Mbps Max Speed on their LTE network and the speed can fluctuate based on the conditions.
