The smartphone market in Nepal has seen exponential growth in users in recent years. To attract a mass of these consumers, all the network service providers have begun pushing their 4G plans into action more aggressively. For us end consumers, though, this fierce competition brings about more features and offers. In this article, we will be taking a look at the features, speed as well as 4G network coverage of NTC, NCELL, and Smartcell.
1) 4G Data Packs and Pricing
Currently, 4G sim cards from all providers are easily available in the market. Speaking of data packs, all three network providers have different data packs under different price ranges and validity periods. Below are the data packs from NTC, Ncell, and Smartcell.
NTC Data Packs
| Price   ( NRs.) |    Data Volume (MB) | Validity | Subscription Code |
| 50 | 200 | 7 Days | Type4G200MB& Send to1415 |
| 100 | 500 | 14 Days | Type4G500MB& Send to1415 |
| 200 | 1200 | 28 Days | Type4G1200MB& Send to1415 |
| 300 | 2000 | Type4G2000MB& Send to1415 | |
| 500 | 3600 | Type4G3600MB& Send to1415 |
Ncell Data Packs
| Price (including taxes) | All-time data (Can be used anytime) | Validity | ||
| Volume | Free Volume for 4G users | Price/MB for 4G users | ||
| Rs. 10 | 30MB | + 30MB 4G data | 17 paisa | 1 day |
| Rs. 30 | 100MB | + 100MB 4G data | 15 paisa | 3 day |
| Rs. 50 | 200MB | + 200MB 4G data | 13 paisa | 3 day |
| Rs. 70 | 250MB | + 250MB 4G data | 14 paisa | 7 day |
| Rs. 100 | 500MB | + 500MB 4G data | 10 paisa | 7 day |
| Rs. 300 | 1250MB | + 1250MB 4G data | 12 paisa | 30 day |
| Rs. 500 | 2500MB | + 2500MB 4G data | 10 paisa | 30 day |
| Rs. 1500 | 10000MB | +10000MB 4G data | 8 paisa | 30 day |
Smartcell Data Packs
| Data | Validity | MRP | To activate |
| 1gb=2gb | 30days | Rs 235 | *141*6*4*1# |
| 750mb=1.5gb | 15 days | Rs 145 | *141*6*3*1# |
| 500mb=1gb | 7 days | Rs 85 | *141*6*2*1# |
| 75mb=150mb | 1 day | Rs 15 | *141*6*1*1# |
2) 4G Coverage
NTC
Even though NTC is the largest of the three, currently 4G service from NTC only covers Kathmandu and Pokhara with extension plans to other major cities in the near future.
Ncell
Ncell seems to be quite ahead of the pack in terms of coverage. The 4G service from the provider is available in 21 cities across Nepal– Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Bhaktapur (including Nagarkot), Banepa, Dhulikhel, Pokhara, Damauli, Birtamode, Damak, Biratnagar, Dharan, Birgunj, Hetauda, Bharatpur, Butwal, Bhairahawa, Nepalgunj, Kohalpur, Birendranagar, Dhangadhi, and Lahan.
Smartcell
Smartcell like NTC currently only covers Kathmandu and Pokhara with its 4G plan.
3) 4G Speed
NTC
NTC provides an official 4G speed of 32.4 Mbps which is not very high in our opinion. During our peak hour test of the network, we received an average speed of around 7Mbps. While these speeds are slow taking a look at the global standard, in Nepal you can easily surf the web without any lag in this speed.
Ncell
Ncell provides an official 4G speed of 37 Mbps but in our peak hour tests, we received an average speed of only 4Mbps. This shows that only in paper Ncell provides the greater speed while in real life it is slower than NTC.
Smartcell
Smartcell provides an official 4G speed of 72 Mbps and in our peak hour tests we were getting an average speed of 23Mbps. So, in terms of speed alone Smartcell is ahead of the pack.
From this comparison, we can say that in terms of speed Smartcell is the best of the pack. Even during the peak hours, you can get speeds averaging 23 Mbps, which is enough here in Nepal. In terms of coverage, though, Ncell is far ahead, covering 21 cities, whereas the other two only cover Kathmandu and Pokhara. So, right now if you want to try 4G and are outside of Kathmandu and Pokhara your only option is Ncell. But if you live inside Kathmandu valley or Pokhara then you can give it a try to Smartcell. You can use their 4G Night Unlimited data Packs, which start from just Rs.18 (Inclusive TAX).
