Nepal Telecom Extends Free Voice, Data & SMS Services in Flood-Hit Areas

Nepal Telecom (NT) has decided to continue providing free voice calls, data and SMS services in areas affected by the floods in the BhoteKoshi and Trishuli river systems until further notice. The company had previously announced free voice call services along with 2GB of data and 50 SMS per day until August 30. However, considering the ongoing situation in the flood-affected areas, the services will now remain available until further notice. According to NT spokesperson Kamal Lamichhane, the free services were introduced and expanded to facilitate search, rescue and relief operations in the affected areas. Residents have been requested to use the free services only when necessary so that communication resources remain available for critical needs. The floods damaged several physical structures of Nepal Telecom’s telecommunications infrastructure, disrupting communication services in affected areas. Technical teams have been mobilized to repair the damaged infrastructure and restore regular telecommunications services as quickly as possible. Nepal Telecom said that most of the damaged structures have already been restored, while efforts are continuing to bring the remaining infrastructure back into operation at the earliest possible time.