By Rabin Paudel. Prices were read from each ISP’s own website on 12 October 2026 (26 Asoj 2083), first at about 5:20 pm and again at about 10:10 pm Nepal time. Approved tariffs are from the Nepal Telecommunications Authority’s list dated 2083/05/16. This is a discrepancy audit, not a finding that any company broke the law.
The internet price hike in Nepal has been argued about for three weeks, mostly in general terms. The regulator says no increase has been approved. ISPs say costs and a court ruling leave them no choice. The two sets of numbers are rarely put side by side.
So we did. We took the 68-page list of tariffs approved by the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) and compared it, package by package, with the prices ISPs showed on their own websites on 12 October 2026. Where the two could be matched like for like, we worked out the gap.
The result is mixed, and that is the point. Some plans sit clearly above the approved figure even after adding every tax. Others sit well below it. And several large ISPs now show exactly the same price for the same speed, down to the rupee.
Key findings
- One price, many websites. Six ISPs (WorldLink, DishHome, Vianet, Subisu, Wi-Fi Nepal and Firstlink) show the same 12-month internet charge for 200 Mbps: Rs 16,830 with VAT, which is Rs 14,894 before VAT.
- Different ceilings. Four of the six have an NTA-approved 200 Mbps tariff, and the four are not the same. They range from Rs 1,011.38 to Rs 1,526.54 a month before tax. The same retail price is therefore under the approved figure for some ISPs and over it for others.
- Firstlink: 200, 250 and 300 Mbps were approved on 2083/05/08. The website’s one-month prices are 31% to 33% above the approved rate with all taxes added. Its 12-month prices are 7% to 12% above.
- Wi-Fi Nepal: the internet charge for 50 and 80 Mbps is 7% to 18% above the approved monthly, three-month and yearly prices with taxes added.
- WorldLink: 12-month plans are 5% to 9% below the approved rate. Its three-month and six-month 200 Mbps plans are 6% to 8% above it.
- ICS: 200 Mbps costs Rs 1,200 a month before tax against an approved Rs 1,100, a gap of 9.1%. Its 150 Mbps plan matches the approval exactly.
- Pokhara Internet: the yearly price is far above its most recent approval, but the page does not itemise the price and older, higher approvals are still printed in NTA’s list. This one is an open question, not a number.
- Vianet and Subisu: every plan we could match is below the approved tariff.
Internet price hike in Nepal: what happened in three weeks
The background matters, because it explains why prices moved at the same time.
- Around 22 September 2026 (6 Asoj 2083): the Supreme Court dismissed a writ filed by ISPs against a tax assessment. News reports name DishHome, Classic Tech, Vianet and Subisu as petitioners. The dispute is about the telecommunication service charge (TSC), currently 10%. ISPs had been treating up to half of each bill as a maintenance charge that carries no TSC.
- 2 October (16 Asoj): the Internet Service Providers’ Association of Nepal (ISPAN) announced that low-speed, low-price packages would no longer be sold or renewed from 5 October. In practice 50 Mbps became the entry tier. ISPAN cited inflation and higher fuel, fibre and equipment costs.
- 10 October (24 Asoj): NTA said internet charges have not increased, that it had received no proposal from ISPs to raise tariffs, and that charging above the approved rate would bring action under the Telecommunications Act and Regulations. It restated that a tariff proposal must be filed at least three months before it takes effect.
- 12 October: NTA went further. According to press reports of its notice, some providers had raised prices and changed packages without consent, and others had not published their approved rates. ISPs were told to publish every approved package, price and condition on their websites, apps and service centres.
NTA’s spokesperson told The Kathmandu Post that prior approval is mandatory both for new packages and for discontinuing old ones. ISPAN’s position, as reported there, is that approval is needed for new tariffs but not for withdrawing existing packages.
How we compared approved tariffs with website prices
The approved side. We used NTA’s Updated Approved Tariff List of Internet Service Providers dated 2083/05/16. For each ISP and speed we took the most recent approval in that list. Most entries state that the price excludes all taxes and includes support and maintenance.
The website side. We read each ISP’s own pricing page twice on the same day and kept the raw pages and screenshots. We checked official domains against NTA’s licensee list wherever it records a website, email or phone number for the company. Aggregator sites and news reports were not used for prices.
Putting both on the same tax basis. An approved tariff excludes TSC and VAT. A website price often includes them. To compare fairly we added both taxes to the approved figure:
Approved tariff × 1.10 (TSC) × 1.13 (VAT) = approved tariff × 1.243
This is generous to the ISP. It assumes TSC is charged on the whole bill, and where a page says only that VAT is included, we assumed TSC is inside the price too. If TSC is billed on top, the real gaps are larger than the ones below.
What we left out. Refundable deposits, drop-wire charges, router or ONU rental and TV subscriptions are not part of the comparison. Only the recurring internet charge is.
Terms. Where NTA approved only a monthly price, we multiplied it by the number of months. Where NTA approved a three-month or yearly price directly, we used that.
Threshold. We flag gaps above 5%. That is our screening line, not a legal one.
Finding 1: one price table across competing ISPs
This is the 12-month internet charge for 200 Mbps on each website.
| ISP | Price shown | Tax basis stated on the page | With VAT |
|---|---|---|---|
| WorldLink | Rs 14,894 | TSC included, VAT extra | Rs 16,830 |
| DishHome | Rs 14,894 | Excluding VAT | Rs 16,830 |
| Vianet | Rs 16,830 | VAT included | Rs 16,830 |
| Subisu | Rs 16,830 | VAT included | Rs 16,830 |
| Wi-Fi Nepal | Rs 16,830 | VAT included (stated in Nepali) | Rs 16,830 |
| Firstlink | Rs 16,830 | VAT/tax included | Rs 16,830 |
| Classic Tech | Rs 1,241 a month, billed annually (Rs 14,892 a year) | Not stated | Rs 16,828 if VAT is extra |
| CG Net | Rs 17,330 | 13% VAT and TSC included | Rs 17,330 |
The match goes beyond one speed. Wi-Fi Nepal and Firstlink show an identical table from 50 to 200 Mbps: Rs 1,100, 1,200, 1,400, 1,500 and 1,650 a month, with 5% off for six months and 15% off for twelve. WorldLink and DishHome show the same three-month (Rs 4,248) and six-month (Rs 8,323) prices for 200 Mbps before VAT. One-time charges repeat as well: Rs 1,130 for drop wire and Rs 1,130 for the router or ONU on a yearly plan appear at Wi-Fi Nepal, Firstlink and Subisu.
Wi-Fi Nepal files these packages under a web address that contains the words “ispan-plan”. We have not seen an ISPAN document that sets these prices, so we do not attribute the table to ISPAN. We only record that the same figures appear on competing websites.
Here is why that matters. The approved 200 Mbps tariff is Rs 1,011.38 a month for Firstlink, Rs 1,190 for WorldLink, Rs 1,264 for Subisu and Rs 1,526.54 for Vianet, all before tax. DishHome, Classic Tech, CG Net and Wi-Fi Nepal have no 200 Mbps entry in the list at all. A single shared retail price cannot fit all of those approvals equally.
Finding 2: where the website price is above the approved tariff
Firstlink Communications
NTA approved Firstlink’s 200, 250 and 300 Mbps home packages on 2083/05/08, about seven weeks before our check, at a 1:8 sharing ratio. Firstlink’s page says its prices include VAT and tax.
| Speed and term | NTA-approved, before tax | With TSC and VAT | On the website | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 200 Mbps, 1 month | Rs 1,011.38 | Rs 1,257 | Rs 1,650 | +31.2% |
| 200 Mbps, 12 months | Rs 12,136.56 | Rs 15,086 | Rs 16,830 | +11.6% |
| 250 Mbps, 1 month | Rs 1,095.66 | Rs 1,362 | Rs 1,800 | +32.2% |
| 250 Mbps, 12 months | Rs 13,147.92 | Rs 16,343 | Rs 18,360 | +12.3% |
| 300 Mbps, 1 month | Rs 1,179.94 | Rs 1,467 | Rs 1,950 | +33.0% |
| 300 Mbps, 12 months | Rs 14,159.28 | Rs 17,600 | Rs 18,900 | +7.4% |
The three-month and six-month prices are 21.6% to 28.5% above the same benchmark. Firstlink’s 80, 100 and 150 Mbps home plans have no entry in the list that we could find.
One observation, which is our own arithmetic: Rs 1,011.38, 1,095.66 and 1,179.94 become exactly Rs 1,200, 1,300 and 1,400 when you add TSC on half the bill and 13% VAT. That suggests the approvals were sized for those round monthly prices. With TSC on the whole bill, the same approvals come to Rs 1,257, 1,362 and 1,467. A full pass-through of the tax therefore explains a rise of about 4.8%, not 31%.
Wi-Fi Nepal
Wi-Fi Nepal’s entry (approved 2080/05/22, sharing ratio 1:2) is the cleanest comparison in the list. NTA approved monthly, three-month and yearly prices directly, noted that support and maintenance are included, and noted that the previous tariff was discontinued. The website separates the internet charge from the wire, router and deposit.
| Speed and term | NTA-approved, before tax | With TSC and VAT | Internet charge on the website | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 Mbps, 1 month | Rs 810 | Rs 1,007 | Rs 1,100 | +9.3% |
| 50 Mbps, 3 months | Rs 2,190 | Rs 2,722 | Rs 3,200 | +17.6% |
| 50 Mbps, 12 months | Rs 8,190 | Rs 10,180 | Rs 11,220 | +10.2% |
| 80 Mbps, 1 month | Rs 905 | Rs 1,125 | Rs 1,200 | +6.7% |
| 80 Mbps, 3 months | Rs 2,455 | Rs 3,052 | Rs 3,500 | +14.7% |
| 80 Mbps, 12 months | Rs 9,145 | Rs 11,367 | Rs 12,240 | +7.7% |
A new 12-month connection at 50 Mbps is listed at Rs 14,480 in total. That adds Rs 1,130 drop wire, Rs 1,130 router rental and a Rs 1,000 refundable deposit to the Rs 11,220 internet charge. We compared only the internet charge. The site also sells 100, 150, 200 and 300 Mbps, speeds that the current approval does not list.
WorldLink
WorldLink is the largest ISP, and its result has two halves. NTA approved its 200 to 600 Mbps tariffs on 2083/04/21 at a 1:2 ratio. WorldLink’s pages say TSC is included in the internet charge and VAT is extra, so we compared against the approved tariff plus 10% TSC, before VAT.
| Speed and term | Approved, before tax | With TSC | On the website | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 200 Mbps, 3 months | Rs 3,570 | Rs 3,927 | Rs 4,248 | +8.2% |
| 200 Mbps, 6 months | Rs 7,140 | Rs 7,854 | Rs 8,323 | +6.0% |
| 200 Mbps, 12 months | Rs 14,280 | Rs 15,708 | Rs 14,894 | -5.2% |
| 400 Mbps, 3 months | Rs 4,050 | Rs 4,455 | Rs 4,646 | +4.3% |
| 400 Mbps, 12 months | Rs 16,200 | Rs 17,820 | Rs 16,248 | -8.8% |
| 500 Mbps, 3 months | Rs 4,200 | Rs 4,620 | Rs 4,867 | +5.3% |
| 500 Mbps, 12 months | Rs 16,800 | Rs 18,480 | Rs 17,168 | -7.1% |
| 600 Mbps, 12 months | Rs 20,004 | Rs 22,004 | Rs 20,000 | -9.1% |
Yearly customers pay less than the approved rate. Customers who buy 200 Mbps for three or six months pay more per month than the approved monthly tariff with TSC added. New connections also carry a one-time setup charge of Rs 3,000 on a 12-month plan and Rs 4,000 on a three-month plan, which includes a Rs 1,000 ONU deposit.
Innovative Communication System (ICS)
ICS states that TSC and VAT are added on top of its prices, so both sides are before tax. The approval is dated 2083/05/08 at a 1:6 ratio.
| Speed and term | NTA-approved | On the website | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 150 Mbps, 1 month | Rs 900 | Rs 900 | 0.0% |
| 200 Mbps, 1 month | Rs 1,100 | Rs 1,200 | +9.1% |
| 200 Mbps, 3 months | Rs 3,300 | Rs 3,500 | +6.1% |
| 200 Mbps, 1 year | Rs 13,200 | Rs 13,300 | +0.8% |
The gap is Rs 100 a month on one plan. ICS is also far cheaper than the shared price table above: it lists 50 Mbps at Rs 500 a month before tax.
Pokhara Internet
Pokhara Internet shows one yearly figure per speed: Rs 14,480 for 50 Mbps and Rs 17,540 for 100 Mbps. The page says this includes 13% VAT, TSC, a basic support service charge and a Rs 500 deposit for the ONU. NTA’s most recent entry for the company (2082/01/26) approves Rs 7,585.30 a year for 50 Mbps and Rs 9,271 for 100 Mbps, before TSC and VAT.
How large the gap is depends on which reading is correct.
| Reading | 50 Mbps | 100 Mbps |
|---|---|---|
| Whole price minus the Rs 500 deposit, against the 2082 approval with taxes | +48.3% | +47.9% |
| If the price is built like the identical totals elsewhere (internet charge of Rs 11,220 and Rs 14,280) | +19.0% | +23.9% |
| Against older approvals still printed in the list (2079/10/23: Rs 1,010.40 and Rs 1,474.93 a month) | -7.2% | -22.5% |
All five Pokhara Internet prices (Rs 14,480, 15,500, 17,540, 18,560 and 20,090) are identical to the complete new-connection totals at Wi-Fi Nepal, where that total includes wire, router rental and a deposit. Pokhara Internet’s page does not break its figure down, so we cannot say how much of it is the internet charge.
NTA’s list also does not say whether the 2082 approval replaced the 2079 one. If the older, higher approvals are still in force, today’s price is within them. That is why we treat this as a question for the company and the regulator, not as a 48% finding.
Finding 3: where the website price is below the approved tariff
A fair audit has to show the other side.
| ISP and plan | Approved with TSC and VAT | On the website (VAT included) | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vianet 200 Mbps, 12 months | Rs 22,770 | Rs 16,830 | -26.1% |
| Vianet 400 Mbps, 12 months | Rs 29,370 | Rs 18,360 | -37.5% |
| Vianet 600 Mbps, 12 months | Rs 38,940 | Rs 22,950 | -41.1% |
| Subisu 200 Mbps, 12 months | Rs 18,854 | Rs 16,830 | -10.7% |
| Subisu 450 Mbps, 12 months | Rs 27,714 | Rs 21,420 | -22.7% |
| Subisu 650 Mbps, 12 months | Rs 31,682 | Rs 24,480 | -22.7% |
Vianet’s three-month plans are also 16% to 33% below. Vianet’s page mentions VAT but not TSC; even if 10% TSC were added on top, its 200 Mbps yearly plan would still be 18.7% below the approved figure. Subisu’s approved packages carry data caps with fallback speeds, which the comparison does not capture.
Classic Tech lists 100 Mbps at Rs 1,053 a month billed annually, against an older approval of Rs 2,571 a month for a 1:1 package. The products are not the same, so we draw no conclusion beyond the obvious one: that price is not above that approval.
Finding 4: speeds on sale that we could not find in NTA’s list
NTA’s 12 October notice asks ISPs to publish their approved packages. These are the speeds we found on sale with no matching entry in the 2083/05/16 list.
| ISP | On the website | In NTA’s list |
|---|---|---|
| DishHome | 200, 300, 350, 600, 750 Mbps and 1 Gbps | 10 to 40 Mbps (2079/01/22) and 30 to 100 Mbps (2078/08/05) |
| CG Net | 150, 200, 350, 444, 555 and 666 Mbps | 50 and 80 Mbps (2080/05/22) |
| Classic Tech | 200, 300 and 500 Mbps | 50, 80 and 100 Mbps (2078/09/26) |
| Wi-Fi Nepal | 100, 150, 200 and 300 Mbps | 50 and 80 Mbps (2080/05/22) |
| Firstlink | 80, 100 and 150 Mbps home plans | 200 to 300 Mbps (2083/05/08) and 15 to 60 Mbps (2079/02/25) |
| Pokhara Internet | 80, 150 and 200 Mbps | 20 to 100 Mbps (2082/01/26) |
Not finding an entry is not proof that no approval exists. The list is dated 2083/05/16 and an approval issued after that would not be in it. It does mean a customer cannot check these prices against any published approval today.
What we dropped because we could not verify it
An earlier draft of this audit contained claims that did not survive checking. We list them so nobody repeats them.
- Nepal Airlink: a quoted price of Rs 850 for 20 Mbps. NTA’s licensee record lists no website for the company, and the one site we found is a billing login portal with no tariff. Removed.
- Everest Wireless Network: quoted yearly prices for 120 and 300 Mbps. The company’s site, ewnet.com.np, currently lists no packages or prices. Removed.
- NNET: its site shows 100, 200 and 300 Mbps plans, but every one is marked as coming soon, with no price. Removed.
- Swift Net: no official pricing page found for the licensee named in the tariff list. Removed.
- Nimble Network: the site on Nimble’s own domain shows 60 Mbps at NPR 1,499 and 100 Mbps at NPR 1,999 a month, against approvals of Rs 884.95 and Rs 1,194.69 before tax. On paper that is about 35% above. But the site states no tax basis, and its FAQ, terms and privacy links are empty placeholders, so we cannot tell whether these are live retail prices. We do not treat those figures as a confirmed tariff.
What this audit does not prove
- It is not a legal finding. Only NTA can decide whether a tariff has been breached. It holds the approval letters; we have the public list.
- Websites change. These are the prices shown on 12 October 2026.
- A website price is not an invoice. What a customer is actually billed, and how the bill is split, can differ.
- Speed is not the whole product. Sharing ratio, data caps and fallback speeds differ between approvals and are not always stated on websites.
- We did not contact the ISPs before publishing. Every figure comes from their public pages and NTA’s public documents. Any response we receive will be added here.
Questions for NTA and the ISPs
- When an ISP has two approvals for the same speed, does the newer one replace the older one?
- Has any ISP named here filed or received a new approval after 2083/05/16?
- Do the approved monthly tariffs cap multi-month plans on a pro-rata basis?
- Are the higher-speed packages in Finding 4 approved, and where is that published?
- To Firstlink, Wi-Fi Nepal, WorldLink, ICS and Pokhara Internet: which approval covers the prices shown on 12 October 2026?
- Why do competing ISPs show identical prices and identical one-time charges?
How to check your own bill after the internet price hike in Nepal
- Find your package in the approved list. Our ISP-by-ISP tariff guide has the approved rates of the ten largest ISPs, and the full NTA list is linked under Sources.
- Multiply the approved monthly rate by 1.243. That is the most you should see as the internet charge for one month with TSC and VAT. Multiply again by the number of months for a longer plan.
- Compare only the internet charge. Drop wire, router rental and deposits are separate lines. Ask which of them are refundable.
- Ask your ISP for the approval date of your package. NTA has told ISPs to publish this.
- Keep the invoice. If the internet charge is above the approved figure with taxes, you can file a complaint with NTA.
If you are comparing mobile data instead of fibre, our NTC Dashain Tihar offer guide lists the current packs.
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Frequently asked questions
Has NTA approved an internet price hike in Nepal?
No. On 10 October 2026 NTA said internet charges have not increased, that it had received no proposal from ISPs to raise tariffs, and that charging above the approved rate would lead to action.
How do I calculate the highest price my ISP can charge?
Take the NTA-approved monthly tariff for your speed and multiply it by 1.243. That adds 10% TSC and 13% VAT. Equipment charges and refundable deposits are separate.
Why do WorldLink, Vianet, Subisu and DishHome show the same price?
Their websites show the same 12-month charge for 200 Mbps, Rs 16,830 with VAT. We found no published document that explains it, and we have put the question to the companies in this article.
Is my ISP overcharging me?
Not necessarily. Several plans are below the approved tariff. Check your own invoice against the approved rate for your exact speed and term before drawing a conclusion.
Does a higher tax explain the new prices?
Only partly. Moving from TSC on half the bill to TSC on the whole bill raises a tax-inclusive price by about 4.8%. Gaps larger than that are not explained by the tax alone.
Conclusion
The internet price hike in Nepal is not one story. On yearly plans, WorldLink, Vianet and Subisu are below what NTA approved. On Firstlink’s monthly plans and Wi-Fi Nepal’s 50 and 80 Mbps plans, the website price is above the approved tariff even with every tax added. Pokhara Internet’s price cannot be judged until someone says which approval applies and what the figure contains.
What ties it together is a single price table that now appears on competing websites, laid over approvals that were never the same. NTA has asked ISPs to publish their approved packages. When they do, every table in this article can be checked in five minutes, by anyone.
Sources
- Nepal Telecommunications Authority, Updated Approved Tariff List of Internet Service Providers (2083/05/16), 68 pages: https://nta.gov.np/uploads/contents/Updated%20Approved%20Tariff%20List%20of%20Internet%20Service%20Providers%2020830516.pdf
- Nepal Telecommunications Authority, licensee list (used to confirm official ISP domains): https://nta.gov.np/license
- ISP pricing pages read on 12 October 2026: WorldLink, Vianet, Subisu, DishHome, Classic Tech, CG Net, Wi-Fi Nepal, Firstlink, ICS, Pokhara Internet
- Internet Archive copies taken the same day: Firstlink”>https://firstlink.net.np/internet”>Firstlink, Wi-Fi”>https://wifinepal.com.np/plan/”>Wi-Fi Nepal, Pokhara”>https://pokharainternet.com.np/resident/”>Pokhara Internet, WorldLink”>https://worldlink.com.np/internet-plan/6g-premium-200mbps-for-3-months-internet-only/”>WorldLink 200 Mbps, 3 months
- The Himalayan Times, “NTA warns internet providers against unauthorised tariff hikes” (10 October 2026): https://thehimalayantimes.com/ampArticle/1040594
- Khabarhub, “No increase in Internet tariffs, NTA warns of action against overcharging” (10 October 2026): https://english.khabarhub.com/2026/10/571428/
- Peoples’ Review, “NTA warns ISPs against charging above agreed internet package rates” (12 October 2026): https://peoplesreview.com.np/2026/10/12/nta-warns-isps-against-charging-above-agreed-internet-package-rates/
- The Kathmandu Post, “ISPs face questions over decision to drop low-cost internet packages” (6 October 2026): https://kathmandupost.com/money/2026/10/06/isps-face-questions-over-decision-to-drop-low-cost-internet-packages
- Nepali Telecom, “Internet price could increase by 50-100% after SC ruling on ISPs” (25 September 2026): https://www.nepalitelecom.com/2026/09/internet-price-could-increase-by-50-100-after-supreme-court-ruling-on-isps.html
- Nepal Press, report on the Supreme Court’s dismissal of the ISPs’ writ (22 September 2026): https://nepalpress.com/2026/09/22/766440/supreme-court-dismisses-isps-writ-petition-paving-the-way-for-collecting-billions-of-rupees-in-service-fees/
Digital Solution Pvt. Ltd. is an independent publisher and is not affiliated with any ISP or with NTA. The percentage gaps are our own arithmetic from the public figures above. ISPs and NTA are welcome to send corrections or documents through our contact page or on WhatsApp at +977 9766597181, and we will update this article.
Rabin Paudel
Rabin Paudel is the Founder of Digital Solution, a Content Creator, and an AI Trainer. He shares practical and easy-to-understand content on Artificial Intelligence, Digital Literacy, Online Services, FinTech, and Technology. His mission is to make technology simple, accessible, and useful for everyone.
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