Nepal Telecom Recycled 1.5 Million Inactive SIM Cards:
Nepal Telecom has made more than 1.5 million inactive SIM cards reusable. Under the numbering scheme, Nepal Telecom has 'recycled' the old SIM card after completing the number of mobile numbers that can be created from the operator code.
"The SIM card, which has not been used for a long time, has been recycled for reuse," said Dilli Adhikari, managing director of the telco. He said that even if the number of the new SIM card recycled in this way is old, it can be resold in the market.
Nepal Telecom has received operator codes 984 and 986 from NTA. Telecom SIM card numbers start from this number. In addition, Nepal Telecom is using 985 for postpaid SIM card users.
From 984 and 986, the NTC can create a maximum of 20 million SIM card numbers. After exceeding 20 million prepaid numbers last Manshir, 2076, the NTC has been recycling and providing SIM cards in the market ever since.
"After the cap of the number generated from the operator code is completed, we are now recycling and reactivating the inactive SIM card," the official said. He claims that the old inactive SIM card has been recycled as per the instructions of NTA. He said that it will also help the users who want the old number.
The Nepal Telecommunication Authority (NTA) had decided to automatically deactivate the SIM cards that had not been used for six months. The NEA had taken such a decision to discourage the trend of buying but not using SIM cards. However, the service providers have not implemented the NEA's decision for fear of deactivating the SIM card. Nepal Telecom has started the work of using a large number of inactive SIM cards for the first time as there is no possibility of creating additional SIM card numbers.
The move by the NTC has reduced the company's subscriber base. According to the MIS report released by NTA till Chaitra, the NTC has lost more than 4.2 million users since Manshir, 2076. However, the NTC has claimed that the figures are not entirely accurate.
"Recycling the SIM card has reduced the number from 1.5 to 2 million," said the managing director, "but not the same as shown in MIS." According to NTA, the number of GSM mobile users has decreased from 21.453 million last Manshir 2076 to 17.139 million by Chaitra 2076. Ncell has 16.9 million mobile users. Smart Telecom has reached its customer base of 2.1 million.
Telecommunications expert Anandaraj Khanal says that recycling SIM cards by service providers can push the customer base. However, if the SIM card is not used for more than six months, the company can create the number by recycling, he said.
He said that when NTA prepares the numbering plan in 2070 BS, it is estimated that a maximum of 10 million numbers can be generated from one operator code and that will be enough for the Nepali market. "At that time, it was not expected that the number of customers would increase as much as it is now," he said.
What is mobile numbering?
Mobile numbering is the way to use a mobile number in the country concerned. In Nepal, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority has implemented a 10-digit mobile numbering system that is still in use worldwide. Accordingly, the mobile code has been fixed to the number starting from 9 digits.
The next two digits are considered the operator code. For example, Nepal Telecom's mobile numbers start with 84 or 86 after 9, that is the operator code. Ncell's operator codes are 80 and 81. Smart Telecom's 88. The seven digits after the operator code are the customer's own mobile number.
According to the operator code provided by NTA, Smart Telecom can create 10 million SIM card numbers. Similarly, Ncell, which has received two operator codes, can create 20 million SIM card numbers. This is a number other than Ncell's postpaid. As the number is very important and only limited resources, NEA has given importance to the use of an inactive SIM card.
