STM Sanchar, also known as Gramintel and Nepal’s first rural telecom operator, has become the third telecom service provider to approach the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) seeking a unified license. This follows applications from United Telecom Limited (UTL) and Smart Cell in October and November 2012, respectively.
The unified licensing policy, introduced by the Nepalese government in May 2012, allows telecom companies to offer multiple services—including fixed line, GSM mobile service, and international long-distance calls—under a single license. Operators granted this license pay an initial fee of Rs 357.50 million, followed by a license renewal fee of Rs 20.13 billion every ten years and subsequently every five years.
STM Sanchar, operational since 2003, provides essential telecommunications services across more than 50 districts, including basic subscriber lines, international long-distance calling, Internet access, and telecenter services. The operator also runs public call offices (PCOs), rural telemedicine, and virtual community schools, serving a subscriber base of just over 5,000 users, according to the NTA.
NTA spokesperson Kailash Prasad Neupane confirmed that STM Sanchar submitted its application on Friday. He stated, “The process of awarding the license will commence once NTA verifies that STM has met all licensing conditions.” Upon approval, STM would receive 3 MHz of frequency spectrum to operate GSM services nationwide.
Neupane further mentioned that the NTA is currently verifying the licensing conditions of both Smart Telecom and UTL and is finalizing special guidelines for the unified license.
In parallel, the Nepalese government has issued a new order resolving constitutional challenges that previously hindered the NTA board from conducting meetings without a chairman. A Gazette notice now permits the board to designate a member to chair meetings until a new chairman is appointed. This follows the Supreme Court’s interim order against the appointment of Digambar Jha as chairman, which left the NTA without leadership.
