Authority suspends free Wi-Fi mobility under pressure from Telecom-Ncell

The regulatory authority has been shocked after both mobile service providers presented such figures. Representatives of the state-owned Nepal Telecom and the private sector Ncell had repeatedly approached the regulatory authority and urged it to take the matter seriously.

The Authority had promised to take action after complaints were received from internet service providers that they were indiscriminately running Wi-Fi hotspots in violation of the regulations governing the operation of Wi-Fi hotspots. After that, the Authority’s Chairman Bhupendra Bhandari had been publicly stating that a study had been initiated on the issue of free Wi-Fi mobility in a subtle manner.

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During that time, the authorities have reportedly reached the conclusion that after observing that internet service providers were operating seamless Wi-Fi mobility services in some places, they will issue strict instructions and if they continue to do so, they will take action.

In a conversation with Tekpana, an Ncell official claimed that the country is losing more than Rs 14 billion annually due to internet service providers’ Wi-Fi hotspots. He said that such services are operating without any restrictions in most places.

Similarly, a telecom technician also said that out of the 14 billion rupees that are being lost, more than 8 billion rupees are going to the government as revenue under various headings. However, the NEA, which has been facing intense pressure for the past 7 years due to the continuous decline in the income of mobile service providers, has recently issued  a notice after their lobbying with the intention of discontinuing the free Wi-Fi mobility service.

The regulator has started shutting down the service after pressure mounted on internet service providers to shut down free Wi-Fi hotspots across the country, saying they were impacting their data revenue.

Telecom companies have long blamed free Wi-Fi mobility offered by ISPs as a major factor in their declining revenue. State-owned Nepal Telecom said in its quarterly financial report that “mobile data usage has declined significantly due to the mobility of competing ISPs and the provision of Wi-Fi services.”

Similarly, Ncell CEO and Managing Director Jabor Kayumov had repeatedly stated in public events that mobile data is not the primary source of internet access and that 77 percent of mobile subscribers spend more than 60 percent of their time on Wi-Fi. This, he concluded, has caused a major blow to the revenues of telecom companies.

Dr. Pradeep Paudyal, Deputy Director and Assistant Spokesperson of the Authority, said that it is wrong to interpret this as a move to close all Wi-Fi hotspots. He said that since the responsibility of providing seamless connectivity, roaming and mobility through Wi-Fi lies solely with mobile service providers, no one else is legally allowed to provide such services. That is, internet service providers are not allowed to provide seamless connectivity, roaming and mobility in the name of free hotspots.

“Hotspots can be placed in public places, such as temples, parks, airports, etc. Their purpose is to be used in emergency situations. The Wi-Fi provided in this way is not given to run any app continuously or download movies. They are only for use for a certain period of time. It is not allowed to place such Wi-Fi anywhere, anytime for any length of time. That is the job of mobile operators. After a certain period, they can be used by logging in again. This means that an attempt is made to discourage any user from using such a service for a longer period of time,” said Paudyal.

However, the authority has not specified how long a customer can use a Wi-Fi hotspot. It has given that right to the service provider itself.

“If necessary, the authority will specify it. We have not specified the time yet,” said Paudyal. Last Sunday, the authority had also warned of action against internet service providers operating Wi-Fi hotspots. The authority has warned of action against some service providers for operating Wi-Fi hotspots in violation of the provisions of the Hotspot Operation Regulations, 2075 BS.

Stating that only Telecom and Ncell are exempted from providing seamless connectivity/roaming/mobility services through Wi-Fi, the Authority has warned internet service providers to operate Wi-Fi hotspot services only in accordance with the conditions stipulated in the Hotspot Operation Regulations, 2075 BS.

While free Wi-Fi hotspots, which ISPs have been expanding across the country, have recently become a reliable means of internet access. Although internet is streamed through routers in public places, ISPs have been strengthening it from a security perspective. Due to this, the possibility of user data being stolen is low.

However, ISPs say it is not correct to say that telecoms’ revenues have decreased due to their free Wi-Fi. A senior official at Worldlink, which has the largest customer base, said that it is wrong to say that ISPs have taken over the market instead of focusing on how to stop telecom companies’ continuous revenue decline.

“We have not provided free Wi-Fi everywhere. We are providing the service only in public places where people congregate, such as temples and parks, as per the law. It is wrong to say that ISPs have provided free Wi-Fi uninterruptedly. We have not done so,” the Worldlink official told Tekpana.

ISPs are also providing free Wi-Fi hotspot services in various areas at the request of local governments. Worldlink alone operates more than 16,000 free Wi-Fi hotspots across the country.

Moreover, in places where mobile network quality is poor, Wi-Fi hotspots deployed by ISPs are becoming a good option for data. Free Wi-Fi hotspots have recently become a strong basis for connectivity in many places, rather than data, which is unreliable and expensive.

Even though 4G services are available across the country, questions about their quality are constantly being raised. This problem is experienced even more when traveling on most of the country’s highways.

This is also confirmed by the Internet Speed Global Index of the American Internet company Ookla. Nepal has been out of the global index for a year now, as the mobile data speeds of both telecom operators Nepal Telecom and Ncell are not reliable. Nepal has been included in Ookla’s Internet Speed Global Index continuously since 2017. However, it has not been included since July 2024. Nepal ranks 88th out of 152 countries in fixed broadband provided by ISPs due to unreliable data quality in mobile services.