We all have been through the pain of selecting a good ISP (Internet service provider) at least once. Endless hours of browsing through ISP’s website makes thing more confusing. All ISP claim themself to be the best in the town, their website makes you feel like you should get every one of them. So the question comes down to this: which one to choose? Well, there aren’t any specialized algorithm that filters out the best ISP in Nepal, it all depends on your need. Nevertheless, we have listed out the major pillars that make you choose ISP in Nepal for your internet requirement.
Major factors to Consider to Choose ISP in Nepal
Technology
Well, there are several technologies you can choose for the internet service (ISP) at your place. Some technology makes the best ISP to suit your internet requirements at your place. ISPs bring internet to your place either by using Wired or Wireless technologies. These days, Fiber internet (aka FTTH) seems to be the most popular technology for wired internet. Here is a separate post on how to get an internet connection at home in Nepal, providing details of all technologies, advantages, disadvantages, and requirements.
Availability
It doesn’t matter if the service is good or the price is low but it isn’t available in your area. If you are inside the Kathmandu valley then you may have a lot of ISP to choose from. It’s best to call the ISP to check whether it’s available in your area. NTC’s ADSL covers all 77 districts, while WiMax covers 68 districts (*conditions apply for availability at your place). Meanwhile, WorldLink has coverage in 63 districts. (Read more on Worldlink providing internet service in all areas of the country).
Upload and Download speed
This might be the most important factor that everyone looks to choose an ISP in Nepal. We know how tedious a task it is to head over to the individual ISP website. Think carefully about the task you will be doing with the internet service. Is it just plain web browsing or some serious video streaming? Above 10 Mbps seems to be the benchmark speed in Nepal nowadays with most ISP providing that speed at a reasonable cost. We know how tedious a task it is to head over to the individual ISP website. So sit back and relax we have a whole article just for that:
Check out: Best ISP in Nepal; Offers and Speed
Cost
This may be the bottleneck for most users but over a few years, the costs are actually decreasing with increasing bandwidth rate, mainly because of competition among the ISP. Since you require a modem for the connection, some rent the modem with a deposit fee or you may have to buy it. Other cost includes installation fee (Most ISP install free of cost), wire costs, deposits, taxes. If you choose to install a package for a few months at a time, there will be a reduction in price.
Terms of Service
There comes a lot of strings attached to nearly every ISP. It’s best to inquire about all the terms of service before you make a hasty decision. For example, there may be data restriction (if limited service is used), the downfall of data speed after the data package is depleted. Find more details about the Fair Usage Policy (FUP).
Add-ons
Add-ons are special features that ISP gives you to make it look like you are getting a good bang for the buck. The most common Add-on in Nepal is the TV connection along with the internet connection. With the government’s policy to encourage digital TV connection (with HD TV), this might be the package well-suited for you.
Reliability and Customer support
The things listed above don’t count at all if the service isn’t reliable. Reliability isn’t something to be measured by download speed or anything. The best way to check the reliability of the ISP is to ask the current users of that particular ISP. There may be your friend or neighbor using the same ISP, ask him/her about the reliability and customer service and make sure to ask as many people as possible.
Check out: Toll-free numbers of ISP for customer inquiry/complain
Now, let’s be real, clearly, there isn’t a single ISP that satisfies all the above-mentioned criteria. If you choose one of the factors we listed above then you may have to compromise one another. There will always be sacrifices. No matter what your preference is, whether it may be speed or cost, don’t forget to be sure about the most important factor of all: RELIABILITY.
If you have more ideas on the criteria to choose ISP in Nepal, you can pour in your ideas here in the comment below.
