Nepal Telecom has published a tender to invite bids for the 1600 sites 2G, 4G Swap and Expansion project on October 13, 2026. The deadline to submit the bid is Nov 20,206. Ntc published a hard copy bid invitation with an ICB tender for reputed and competent bidders through a single-stage, double-envelope process.
The tender is about the most awaited Nepal Telecom’s mobile network (2G and 4G) expansion project, which has been under discussion for a long time. Minister for Communication had announced the project in the name of 1600 sites on several occasions, including in Parliament. It includes the supply, delivery, installation, and commissioning of equipment and systems for Ntc’s 2G and 4G network swap and expansion.
As known, Nepal Telecom’s 1600 Site tender includes swapping the existing 2G 4G network by the prospective bidder and using that equipment for other areas. This shall help the company to expand its mobile network to more areas and build a good coverage, capacity and quality network throughout the country. Since Nepal Telecom has already decided to shut down its 3G network, this project only includes 2G and 4G networks. As a matter of fact, 2G and 4G networks are sufficient to cater to all customer needs. 4G provides high-speed data for the latest phones, and 2G serves customers with feature phones. Similarly, there will be separate project to build 5G network at a later stage.
Network swap involves activities replacing or upgrading the existing equipment with more capacity, coverage, and better efficiency. But the actual scope depends on the technical specifications mentioned in the tender documents.
Although Nepal Telecom’s 4G coverage has reached 750 local levels and is available to over 95% of the inhabitants, there are still areas where 4G coverage is either unreliable or unavailable. This project shall work to fill those coverage and quality gaps for 4G
