Kathmandu — Nepal's two largest telecom operators, Ncell and Nepal Telecom, both switched on commercial 5G service across the Kathmandu Valley this week, marking the country's entry into next-generation mobile networks after more than two years of trial deployments.
Initial coverage spans central Kathmandu, Lalitpur, and Bhaktapur, with download speeds in early tests reaching up to 600 megabits per second. Both operators say nationwide rollout to provincial capitals will follow over the next eighteen months, contingent on spectrum allocation from the Nepal Telecommunications Authority.
Industry analysts say the rollout could accelerate growth in mobile banking, telemedicine, and e-commerce, sectors that have struggled with inconsistent connectivity outside the valley. Device affordability remains a hurdle: fewer than one in five smartphones currently sold in Nepal support 5G bands.