The Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA) has followed up its recent award of a 4G licence to Nepal Telecom (NT) by calling on rival operator Ncell to submit its own work plan for the rollout of LTE technology in the 1800MHz band which it currently uses for 3G services. According to a report from the Kathmandu Post, Ncell’s plan will be submitted ‘soon’, with services expected to be launched in early 2017; NT has already been given permission to launch 1800MHz LTE networks from 1 January. Ncell spokesperson Milan Mani Sharma is quoted as saying: ‘Infrastructure to launch the service, including the billing system, is ready. All we need to do is align our system with the spectrum once we get the licence.’ It is thought that Ncell’s 4G approval has been delayed because of a row over the company’s capital gains tax. The operator is majority owned by Axiata Group of Malaysia.