Telecom Companies Are Reducing Voice Call Rates Soon – Now Rs 44 Paisa Cheaper per minute

Despite the wide range of services provided by the Nepalese telecom sector, voice call reigns as the oldest and the most used service by the customers. As its popularity soars, the voice call rates have also decreased massively since its inception. However, the voice call tariff has remained quite saturated in this decade. Now, from the beginning of Magh, Telecom companies are reducing voice call rates by Rs 44 paisa per minute as per the policy brought up by Nepal Telecommunications Authority.

As for now, the voice call rate will be decreased only on the calls made from one telecom company to another telecom company. The call rate for other networks from NTC which used to cost Rs 2 per minute will shrink to 1.56 per minute. Likewise, the local call rates for Ncell-to-Ncell and other networks will now cost Rs 1.55 per minute which used to be Rs 1.99 per minute. Just like this, the smart cell call rate from smart to other network operators will be decreased to Rs 1.48 per minute from Rs 1.92 per minute.

Since Nepal Telecom is decreasing voice call rates for calls made outside its network, NTC users will be able to get benefits from the reduced voice call rates while making off-net calls. Both Ncell and Smart Cell have an All-net call policy. It means the call to any network within a country will cost the same in Ncell and Smart sims. However, the call rate will subside in the off-net voice call rate i.e. voice calls to another network/carrier. As no telecom companies have shown obstruction to this decision made by NTA, the decision of reducing voice call rates will most likely go forward starting Magh 1.

Moreover, it should be noticed that the voice call rates will decrease for internal calls within the country only. No decisions have been made by NTA for international call tariffs for now. NTA has assured to determine the international call tariff in the future after conducting a proper study on the impacts of Covid-19 and the revenue of telecom companies. Finally, this decision of reducing voice call rates will provide huge relief to the telecom service users.

Ongoing and Reducing Voice Call Rates in Nepal

How Call Tariff Works

In simple words, a Call Tariff can be understood as a financial charge incurred by the Customer through the use of an IP Voice service. Call tariffs may differ from one telecom service provider to another according to their terms. At a minimum, tariffs imposed must cover the cost of providing the service to the consumer. Call tariffs are also used to cover maintenance, additional research, and other indirect costs associated with providing the service. Hence, call tariffs are imposed in such a way that it covers all direct and indirect cost of the service provider and without the risk of losing its customers due to heavy tariff.

The voice calls made within the same telecom network (operator/carrier) are called On-net calls. In the same way, the voice calls to another network/carrier are known as off-net calls. There is also another term called all-net in which the call to any network within a country basically costs the same amount. In the context of Nepal, the all-net calls are only available with Ncell and Smart Cell.

The voice call tariff may differ while calling a person within the same telecom service provider or a different one. Generally, on-net calls are cheaper than off-net voice calls. That’s why the cost of voice calls from NTC-to-NTC is cheaper than that of NTC-to-Ncell. At the outset, Ncell and Smart Cell offer the same voice call rate for on-net and off-net calls as it applies the all-net policy.