Kathmandu, June 30

All Ncell customers in Pokhara and Damauli can now reap benefits from access to fourth generation (4G)/long term evolution (LTE) service.

Ncell, as a part of its plan to make 4G accessible to 15 per cent of population by 2017 under its vision to contribute to ‘Digital Nepal’, has expanded the service to western cities — Pokhara and Damauli. The company is officially launching the 4G service in these cities on Saturday (July 1), as per a media release.

With the launch, all Ncell subscribers of Pokhara and Damauli, who possess 4G SIM (U-SIM) with 4G compatible handset, would be able to experience high-speed mobile broadband connectivity. Customers who still have not changed their SIM to 4G SIM can easily upgrade the 4G SIM for free by visiting a nearby Ncell Centre or new customers can subscribe SIM to enjoy faster and higher quality of mobile broadband.

On the occasion of the official launch of the 4G, the company is providing free music streaming/downloads service through Yonder Music app for 30 days to customers who use data service through Ncell’s 4G SIM. Customers can dial *324# to start enjoying 4G service and 30 days of free Yonder Music which makes an extensive digital library of over 20 million Nepali and international songs. Customer can query their SIM type by sending SMS to 324 typing Q.

In the first phase, Ncell 4G was launched in Kathmandu Valley including in Nagarkot, Banepa and Dhulikhel on June 1, in line with the technology neutrality permission granted to the company to roll out the service that customers had been awaiting for a long time.

Ncell has been planning and testing 4G service in other cities nationwide, the release adds.

“With the launch of 4G in Pokhara and Damauli, we will be covering a total of 10.3 per cent population of the country with high-speed mobile broadband, while work is also underway to double 3G coverage to 60 per cent population focusing on rural and remote areas by 2018,” said Milan Sharma, corporate communications expert at Ncell.

Ncell plans to make 4G service available in 40 cities by 2018.