KATHMANDU: Nepal Telecommunications Authority publishes monthly statistical reports tracking subscriptions, market share, and population penetration across voice and internet services. The data presented here covers the period from mid-February to mid-May, 2026, spanning both mobile and fixed broadband segments.

It covers all licensed operators including Nepal Doorsanchar Company Ltd., Ncell Axiata Ltd., and private internet service providers. The figures offer a detailed snapshot of where connectivity stands in a country of 29,164,578 people.

How many total broadband internet subscribers does Nepal have for the period ending mid-May 2026?

Nepal recorded a total of 30,986,524 broadband internet subscriptions during the period from mid-February to mid-May 2026, according to the NTA report. This figure covers three categories: fixed wired broadband, fixed wireless broadband, and mobile broadband.

When subscriber counts are calculated using a household multiplier of 4.37 persons per connection for fixed broadband, the total number of individuals with access to internet services rises to 42,740,990.

This means broadband access, measured in terms of subscriptions rather than unique individuals, has well exceeded the country’s entire population of 29,164,578.

The main reason for this statistical overshoot is that a large number of people hold more than one mobile SIM card with an active data plan, which inflates the raw subscription count beyond the actual headcount of the population.

What is the breakdown between mobile broadband and fixed broadband in terms of total subscriptions during this period?

Of the total 30,986,524 broadband subscriptions recorded between mid-February and mid-May 2026, mobile broadband accounts for 27,498,552, representing 88.74 percent of all subscriptions.

Fixed wired broadband contributes 3,456,331 subscriptions, which is 11.15 percent of the total. Fixed wireless broadband is a distant third with 31,641 subscriptions, making up just 0.10 percent.

The gap between mobile and fixed internet is stark and telling. Nine out of every ten broadband users in Nepal connect through a mobile device rather than a home or office fixed-line connection.

This reflects both the affordability of mobile data packages and the relative ease of expanding mobile networks compared to laying physical fiber infrastructure across Nepal’s varied and often difficult terrain, where many communities remain far from road access.

What is the population penetration rate for broadband internet in Nepal?

The overall broadband population penetration rate stands at 146.55 percent for the period from mid-February to mid-May 2026. This figure appears to exceed 100 percent because many subscribers hold multiple SIM cards with active data plans, causing the subscription count to surpass the actual population.

Breaking this down by category, mobile broadband penetration sits at 94.29 percent, meaning almost the entire population is theoretically subscribed through mobile data. Fixed wired broadband penetration stands at 51.79 percent when the subscriber-to-person multiplier of 4.37 is applied to connection counts, reflecting the substantial but still incomplete reach of home fiber connections.

Fixed wireless broadband has a penetration rate of just 0.47 percent, confirming its marginal and largely supplementary role in Nepal’s overall connectivity picture.

The population reference figure used throughout the report is 29,164,578, sourced from the 2021 census conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics.

Which technology dominates Nepal’s broadband landscape and what are the penetration figures for each technology?

The 4G network is overwhelmingly the dominant broadband technology in Nepal with 26,733,208 users and a population penetration rate of 91.66 percent.

Fiber-to-the-home technology comes next, serving 15,102,724 users and achieving a penetration rate of 51.78 percent, which reflects the rapid expansion of private ISP networks across urban and semi-urban areas.

The 2G network still has 2,478,106 users and a population penetration proportion of 8.50 percent, indicating a residual segment of the population that has not yet transitioned to higher-speed networks. 3G accounts for 765,344 users and just 2.62 percent penetration.

Wireless broadband serves 138,271 users at 0.47 percent penetration, while ADSL and cable connections have become virtually obsolete, with only 1,442 users and a penetration rate recorded as 0.00 percent.

Across all technologies combined, the total user count reaches 45,219,096 with a combined penetration proportion of 155.05 percent, calculated against a family size of 4.37 and a national population of 29,164,578.

Which operator leads the mobile broadband market during this period and by how much?

In the mobile broadband segment, Nepal Doorsanchar Company Ltd., the state-owned telecommunications operator commonly known as Nepal Telecom, holds a majority market share of 55.58 percent with 15,282,327 subscriptions.

Nepal Telecom

Ncell Axiata Ltd. follows with 12,216,225 subscriptions, accounting for 44.42 percent of the mobile broadband market. Together the two operators account for all 27,498,552 mobile broadband subscriptions in the country, as no other licensed operator currently provides mobile broadband services in Nepal.

The gap between them is notable but not overwhelming. Nepal Telecom’s lead stands at roughly 11 percentage points, and Ncell remains a strong and competitive presence in the mobile data segment.

The competition between the two is particularly significant given that mobile broadband represents 88.74 percent of all broadband subscriptions in the country, making control of this segment central to the overall market structure.

Who is the largest fixed broadband internet service provider in Nepal and what is its market share?

WorldLink Communications Ltd. is Nepal’s largest fixed broadband provider by a very significant margin. WorldLink had 1,078,709 total connections, comprising 1,078,462 fiber connections, one ADSL/cable connection, and 246 wireless connections, giving it a market share of 30.93 percent.

WorldLink Communications

This means almost one in three fixed broadband subscribers in Nepal is connected through WorldLink, a dominance that sets it far apart from its nearest competitors.

Nepal Doorsanchar Company Ltd. is second with 383,101 total connections and a 10.98 percent share, followed by Dish Media Network Ltd. with 369,218 connections at 10.59 percent.

Vianet Communication Ltd. holds fourth place with 363,037 connections and 10.41 percent market share, and Classic Tech Pvt. Ltd. is fifth with 286,953 connections at 8.23 percent.

The concentration of market power in WorldLink alone highlights how consolidated the upper tier of Nepal’s fixed broadband market has become.

How many internet service providers feature in the top twenty ISP list and what does the combined picture look like?

The NTA report for the period mid-February to mid-May 2026 lists twenty named fixed broadband operators plus a residual category labelled Other, representing smaller ISPs that did not individually qualify for the top twenty.

Together these twenty operators plus the residual category account for 3,487,972 total fixed broadband connections. The report breaks these connections down by technology: fiber accounts for the overwhelming majority at 3,456,001 connections, ADSL and cable connections are near-extinct at 330, and wireless connections total 31,641.

The list spans a wide range of scale, from WorldLink’s 1,078,709 connections at the top to I. Zone Pvt. Ltd. with 5,840 connections and a 0.17 percent share near the bottom, and Chitrawan Unique Net Pvt. Ltd. with 6,190 connections at 0.18 percent.

This spread reflects a market where a small number of large private operators and the state telecom dominate while dozens of smaller players occupy narrow regional or local niches.

What is the role of fiber technology in Nepal’s fixed broadband market during this period?

Fiber-to-the-home, referred to in the NTA report as FTTH, is the clear backbone of Nepal’s fixed wired broadband segment. Of the 3,456,331 fixed wired broadband subscriptions recorded, virtually all are fiber connections.

Nepal Doorsanchar Company Ltd. alone carries 354,169 FTTH subscriptions, while private ISPs together contribute 3,101,832 FTTH subscriptions, reflecting the aggressive network expansion undertaken by private operators over recent years.

When the family size multiplier of 4.37 is applied, the fiber subscriber base translates into 15,102,724 individual users, giving fiber a population penetration proportion of 51.78 percent.

ADSL and cable technology, by contrast, has been reduced to just 330 connections nationally, a figure that underscores the near-complete transition of fixed wired internet to fiber across both the state operator and the private sector. The decline of ADSL is essentially irreversible at this point.

What is the total voice telephony subscription count and how is it distributed across service categories?

Total voice telephony subscriptions in Nepal stood at 30,248,958 during the period from mid-February to mid-May 2026. Mobile services dominate this figure entirely, with 29,831,608 mobile subscriptions representing 98.62 percent of all voice service subscriptions in the country.

Fixed voice services, including PSTN lines and FTTH-based voice, account for 416,168 subscriptions, which is 1.376 percent of the total. Global Mobile Personal Communications by Satellite, or GMPCS, is a negligible segment with 1,182 subscriptions and a 0.004 percent share, operated by Constellation Pvt. Ltd. with 1,166 subscriptions and I4 Technology Pvt. Ltd. with 16.

Nepal Telecom’s fixed voice portfolio includes 30,846 PSTN lines and 385,322 FTTH voice subscriptions.

The data as a whole confirms that fixed voice telephony has been comprehensively replaced by mobile across Nepal, with virtually all telephone communication now taking place through mobile networks regardless of income level or geography.

How does Nepal Telecom compare to Ncell in the overall voice market for this period?

In the overall voice market based on SIM subscriptions for the period, Nepal Doorsanchar Company Ltd. holds 16,208,474 subscriptions, giving it a market proportion of 53.584 percent.

Ncell Axiata Ltd. follows with 14,039,302 subscriptions and a 46.413 percent share. The remaining 1,182 subscriptions belong to GMPCS operators, which together hold 0.004 percent of the market.

Nepal Telecom’s lead over Ncell across all voice subscriptions is therefore roughly seven percentage points, which is a broader margin than what the mobile broadband sub-market suggests on its own.

This wider gap reflects Nepal Telecom’s strong presence in fixed voice, its FTTH voice subscriptions of 385,322, and its larger GSM/IMT mobile subscriber base of 15,792,306, compared to Ncell’s mobile-only base of 14,039,302.

Nepal Telecom’s advantage is therefore spread across multiple service categories rather than resting on a single segment.

What is the population penetration rate for voice telephony services?

Voice telephony penetration in Nepal stands at a combined 103.718 percent for the period from mid-February to mid-May, 2026, exceeding 100 percent because of widespread multiple SIM ownership.

The population reference figure used is 29,164,578, drawn from the Central Bureau of Statistics projection covering the 2011 to 2031 series. Mobile voice penetration alone is 102.287 percent, meaning there are more mobile voice subscriptions than there are people in the country, driven by users maintaining SIM cards from more than one operator for coverage or cost reasons.

Fixed voice services reach a penetration rate of just 1.427 percent, underscoring how marginal landline telephony has become across Nepal. GMPCS services penetrate at 0.004 percent, reflecting their limited deployment to a small number of specialised users.

The overall picture indicates near-universal mobile voice access on a subscription basis, though multi-SIM inflation means the true picture of how many distinct individuals have access is more nuanced than the headline figure suggests.

How significant is fixed wireless broadband as a category in Nepal’s internet market during this period?

Fixed wireless broadband occupies a very limited position in Nepal’s internet market during the period from mid-February to mid-May, 2026. It accounts for just 31,641 subscriptions out of a total 30,986,524 broadband subscriptions, representing a mere 0.10 percent of the overall market.

When the subscriber multiplier is applied, fixed wireless reaches 138,271 individuals, giving it a population penetration rate of only 0.47 percent. Nepal Telecom holds 28,603 of these wireless connections under a Radio/WiFi category, while private ISPs together contribute just 3,038 connections.

Among the top twenty ISPs, several maintain small wireless subscriber bases alongside their core fiber business, including Classic Tech with 650 wireless connections, Techminds Network with 270, and Websurfer Nepal with 338. But in each case these wireless lines are a small fraction of their total portfolios.

Fixed wireless broadband appears to serve niche requirements or remote coverage gaps where fiber infrastructure has not yet reached, rather than competing meaningfully with fiber as a mainstream delivery technology for home or business internet.

What does the 3G versus 4G subscription split tell us about the state of mobile network modernisation in Nepal?

The data for mid-February to mid-May, 2026 makes clear that 4G has become the dominant mobile broadband technology in Nepal by an overwhelming margin, with 26,733,208 subscriptions against 3G’s 765,344.

In population penetration terms, 4G reaches 91.66 percent while 3G stands at only 2.62 percent, a ratio that reflects the rapid network upgrade cycle both Nepal Telecom and Ncell have pursued in recent years.

Nepal Telecom contributes 14,607,654 of the 4G subscriptions and 674,673 of the 3G subscriptions, while Ncell accounts for 12,125,554 4G and 90,671 3G subscriptions. The EVDO technology, once operated by Nepal Telecom as a mobile broadband option, was fully phased out beginning August 2023, and carries zero subscriptions in this reporting period.

The 2G network still retains 2,478,106 users at 8.50 percent population penetration, indicating that a residual segment of users, likely in remote or economically marginalised areas, continues to depend on the oldest generation of mobile connectivity.

The overall picture points to a mobile sector that is substantially modernised at the network level even as full 4G coverage for every corner of Nepal remains a work in progress.