Nepal Telecom is a big ISP company and they also provide internet through optical fibers. Their service is called NTC FTTH or Nepal Telecom FTTH. The word FTTH stands for Fiber to the home. The service from NTC actually started in 2072 in limited places. The packages were also different at that time but now NT Fiber is in many places. The company has expanded a lot and many users have shifted from ADSL to FTTH. Similar to some people, I have also been an ADSL user for 10 years and I have also migrated to the fiber service. So I wanted to share my Nepal Telecom FTTH review, comparison, detailed speed test, and views on the service.
Related: How to do Nepal Telecom ADSL to NTC FTTH Migration
Before I migrated to the NT Fiber service, I also had many questions because I could not find good reviews. So I used to ask people who have connections at home and people on the Internet. Almost everyone says that the service is better than ADSL. That is surely true but people couldn’t tell everything. So in this Nepal Telecom FTTH review, I will cover everything that is important. This includes speed test, speed in different services, consistency, stability, uptime, router review, and many other things. This NTC Fiber net review should provide a complete idea of the FTTH service from Nepal Telecom.
Connection Procedure Review
Nepal Telecom is a government organization but the work process has become faster these days. In previous days the process of getting a connection was very long. These days new connections of FTTH are provided as early as one day. However many people have faced long queues and lack of response from the staffs.
In some places, NTC is upgrading the connection of existing ADSL and landline PSTN users by themselves. This makes the connection procedure very easy. However, in most places, customers have to go to the office and fill a form to request an upgrade. In my case, it took me 2 days to complete the upgrade task. On the first day, I noted the NT Fiber box number outside my home and went to the office to ask about its activeness. After the staff confirmed that the box is ready to distribute a new connection, I took one form and came home for filling it. By the way, if the Optical Termination Box (OTB) on the pole already has cables coming out then there is no need to ask at the office. Just download the form from the NTC website for FTTH connection and fill it.
On the second day, I submitted the form and got the new connection. The staff came to my home the same day and just installed everything. In my case, everything was smooth and installation time was short. However one of my friends had to wait for 4 days for the staff to come. So the experience for everyone is different. Overall we suggest that NTC make the procedure even faster and make the upgrade application process online. This way people can save their time and it becomes easy.
Also Read: Best ISP in Nepal
NTC FTTH Router Review
Nepal Telecom has distributed routers of different models and companies till now. These things come in batches and differ in each tender. At the time of submitting the form, NTC allotted me an FTTH Customer-premises equipment (CPE) or simply router. The router is TEWA-500G GPON ONU from Sichuan Tianyi Kanghe Communication Co. Ltd. It is a router with LAN output, double WiFi antennas, and two telephone line outputs. The router is very easy to install and looks quite good. NTC provides router and drop cable to customers who pay at once for at least 3 months. So I got the router, optical drop wire, and 3 months of internet service for Rs 2850.
The TEWA-500G has 4 LAN output where two LAN ports are gigabit ports and the remaining two are fast ethernet ports. This means it is 2GE+2FE system. The Gigabit ports (GE) support 1000 Mbps transfer speed and FE ports support 100 Mbps. Therefore always connect your computer or secondary WAN router to 1st port.
In the case of router access, we have to give credit to Nepal Telecom for allowing users to access the routers. By the way, TEWA-500G CPE for the NTC FTTH also has TR-069 like other Nepali ISPs which means the company can have access to it. Inside the TEWA-500G router, the interface is very basic, many things are hidden and there isn’t much feature except settings such as Wireless settings. Users can set WiFi name, password, security type, repeater, guest wifi, and Mac ID access control. It would have been better if there were more settings such as port forwarding, DNS server, bandwidth control, and QoS.
Price Comparison
As I have been a long-time user of ADSL, my main comparison of NT Fiber is with older services. This is because both Nepal Telecom ADSL and NT Fiber internet services are from NTC and the price range is similar. Before migrating, I used to pay Rs 800 per month for the ADSL 5 Mbps unlimited service. Currently, for FTTH in 2022, I pay Rs 1000 per month for a 25 Mbps unlimited internet package with free telephone. At first, the service was 15 Mbps when I upgraded but after a month of my purchase of the connection, NTC upgraded to 25 Mbps for new users at the same price of Rs 1,000.
In the past, I actually used to pay Rs 800 for ADSL plus an average of Rs 400 for telephone, so the FTTH package is cheaper and faster in comparison. Nepal Telecom has actually brought a good package with good speed after many NTC FTTH package price reductions and revisions. You should check the latest NTC FTTH tariff list and charges for more details on price and package comparison.
NTC FTTH Speed Test
It is one of the most important aspects of the review that everybody wants to know. I performed a lot of speed tests with the Nepal Telecom FTTH service to find out the NTC Fiber net speed. I carried out the speed tests on different devices, modes, services, and different times. This means the speed test results of my review include tests using WiFi and LAN. It is very important to check both modes because we have seen discrepancies in speed in the two modes. Usually, LAN provides better results than WLAN or WiFi.
I have also tested the service at different times such as morning, day and night because it gives a good idea of the speed of service at peak and off-hours. There are also speed tests on normal downloads, video streaming, and P2P. I have also included a few speed test results from the older ADSL service as well. All of these should provide a good idea about the new service. All the speed test results given below are for 15 Mbps and 25 Mbps connection from Nepal Telecom for FTTH service.
Upload and Download Speed Test Results for 15 Mbps Connection
| Download (Mbps) | Upload (Mbps) | Ping (ms) | Time (NPT) | Testing Site/Server | Device/Mode | Result ID |
| 46.62 | 30.74 | 2 | 8:49 AM | Speedtest.net/Nepal Telecom | Desktop/LAN | 12142997541 |
| 47.70 | 14.40 | 4 | 8:39 AM | Speedtest.net/Cherry World | Mobile/WiFi | |
| 15.58 | 15.49 | 2 | 8:49 AM | Speedtest.net/Wifi HD Nepal | Desktop/LAN | 12142999474 |
| 29.50 | 29.8 | 3 | 8:40 AM | Speedtest.net/Nepal Telecom | Mobile/WiFi | |
| 15.59 | 15.33 | 34 | 8:50 AM | Speedtest.net/Airtel Mumbai | Desktop/LAN | 12143001803 |
| 14.50 | 14.80 | 40 | 8:41 AM | Speedtest.net/Airtel Mumbai | Mobile/WiFi | |
| 42.00 | 170.00 | 5 | 8:51 AM | Fast.com/NP,IN,IN | Desktop/LAN | |
| 39.00 | 38.00 | 4 | 8:36 AM | Fast.com/NP,IN,IN | Mobile/WiFi | |
| 14.20 | 18.00 | 264 | 8:52 AM | Google Fiber Speedtest/Atlanta | Desktop/LAN | |
| 46.62 | 15.42 | 1 | 1:08 PM | Speedtest.net/Cherry World | Desktop/LAN | 12143756228 |
| 47.60 | 30.80 | 3 | 1:14 PM | Speedtest.net/Nepal Telecom | Mobile/WiFi | |
| 31.22 | 30.73 | 2 | 1:09 PM | Speedtest.net/Nepal Telecom | Desktop/LAN | 12143758882 |
| 14.30 | 14.6 | 4 | 1:15 PM | Speedtest.net/Subisu CableNet | Mobile/WiFi | |
| 15.56 | 15.40 | 45 | 1:10 PM | Speedtest.net/TataSky Chennai | Desktop/LAN | 12143762014 |
| 14.30 | 14.90 | 51 | 1:15 PM | Speedtest.net/TataSky Chennai | Mobile/WiFi | |
| 40.00 | 170.00 | 5 | 1:11 PM | Fast.com/NP,IN,IN | Desktop/LAN | |
| 43.00 | 39.00 | 4 | 1:16 PM | Fast.com/NP,IN,IN | Mobile/WiFi | |
| 14.00 | 15.70 | 269 | 1:12 PM | Google Fiber Speedtest/Atlanta | Desktop/LAN | |
| 46.06 | 15.38 | 2 | 9:47 PM | Speedtest.net/WebSurfer Nepal | Desktop/LAN | 12146014570 |
| 47.10 | 14.60 | 3 | 9:41 PM | Speedtest.net/Arrownet | Mobile/WiFi | |
| 31.23 | 30.22 | 1 | 9:48 PM | Speedtest.net/Nepal Telecom | Desktop/LAN | 12146018221 |
| 29.50 | 29.70 | 3 | 9:42 PM | Speedtest.net/Nepal Telecom | Mobile/WiFi | |
| 14.00 | 12.60 | 281 | 9:49 PM | Speedtest.net/VI India Gwalior | Desktop/LAN | 12146026798 |
| 15.90 | 13.90 | 143 | 9:43 PM | Speedtest.net/VI India Kolkata | Mobile/WiFi | |
| 41.00 | 44.00 | 6 | 9:50 PM | Fast.com/NP,IN,IN | Desktop/LAN | |
| 36.00 | 37.00 | 4 | 9:43 PM | Fast.com/NP,IN,IN | Mobile/WiFi | |
| 14.50 | 14.20 | 250 | 9: 51 PM | Google Fiber Speedtest/Atlanta | Desktop/LAN |
Upload and Download Speed Test Results for 25 Mbps Connection
| Download (Mbps) | Upload (Mbps) | Ping (ms) | Time (NPT) | Testing Site/Server | Device/Mode | Result ID |
| 77.88 | 25.71 | 1 | 8:48 AM | Speedtest.net/Arrownet Pvt. Ltd | Desktop/LAN | 12437309456 |
| 24.13 | 1.12 | 164 | 8:49 AM | Speedtest.net/Vi Siliguri | Desktop/LAN | 12437311756 |
| 72 | 26 | 6 | 8:50 AM | Fast.com/NP,IN,IN | Desktop/LAN | |
| 24.0 | 23.9 | 265 | 8:50 AM | Google Fiber Speedtest/Charlotte | Desktop/LAN | |
| 64.9 | 27.8 | 5 | 8:35 AM | Speedtest.net/Classictech | Mobile/WiFi | |
| 52.8 | 55.6 | 4 | 8:35 AM | Speedtest.net/Nepal Telecom | Mobile/WiFi | |
| 25.3 | 27.2 | 84 | 8:36 AM | Speedtest.net/Airnetwork Bihar | Mobile/WiFi | |
| 44 | 52 | 35 | 8:37 AM | Fast.com/NP,IN,IN | Mobile/WiFi | |
| 8.20 | 16.0 | 257 | 8:38 AM | Google Fiber Speedtest/Atlanta | Mobile/WiFi | |
| 51.93 | 51.54 | 1 | 1:29 PM | Speedtest.net/Mercantile | Desktop/LAN | 12438075814 |
| 52.12 | 25.68 | 2 | 1:30 PM | Speedtest.net/Broadlink Network | Desktop/LAN | 12438079210 |
| 25.65 | 25.49 | 46 | 1:31 PM | Speedtest.net/Tatasky Mumbai | Desktop/LAN | 12438081850 |
| 74 | 420 | 7 | 1:31 PM | Fast.com/NP,IN,IN | Desktop/LAN | |
| 23.4 | 23.7 | 270 | 1:32 PM | Google Fiber Speedtest/Atlanta | Desktop/LAN | |
| 24.2 | 24.5 | 6 | 1:24 PM | Speedtest.net/Worldlink | Mobile/WiFi | |
| 52.2 | 64.5 | 4 | 1:24 PM | Speedtest.net/Nepal Telecom | Mobile/WiFi | |
| 27.8 | 24.7 | 125 | 1:26 PM | Speedtest.net/Fabnet Kolkata | Mobile/WiFi | |
| 62 | 54 | 39 | 1:35 PM | Fast.com/NP,IN,SG | Mobile/WiFi | |
| 14.8 | 16.0 | 279 | 1:35 PM | Google Fiber Speedtest/Atlanta | Mobile/WiFi | |
| 25.85 | 25.55 | 1 | 10:09 PM | Speedtest.net/Websurfer | Desktop/LAN | 12440117733 |
| 51.45 | 25.55 | 3 | 10:10 PM | Speedtest.net/Classictech | Desktop/LAN | 12440121149 |
| 24.83 | 25.05 | 145 | 10:11 PM | Speedtest.net/Jio Hyderabad | Desktop/LAN | 12440128368 |
| 79 | 73 | 6 | 10:12 PM | Fast.com/NP,IN,SG | Desktop/LAN | |
| 24.5 | 23.6 | 269 | 10:13 PM | Google Fiber Speedtest/Atlanta | Desktop/LAN | |
| 54.7 | 53.7 | 4 | 10:01 PM | Speedtest.net/Nepal Telecom | Mobile/WiFi | |
| 24.6 | 2.35 | 50 | 10:02 PM | Speedtest.net/Next Geekers | Mobile/WiFi | |
| 25.7 | 26.7 | 71 | 10:03 PM | Speedtest.net/Airtel Calicut | Mobile/WiFi | |
| 54 | 34 | 108 | 10:05 PM | Fast.com/NP,IN,SG | Mobile/WiFi | |
| 5.79 | 16 | 272 | 10:06 PM | Google Fiber Speedtest/Atlanta | Mobile/WiFi |
Browsing, File Downloads, P2P and Video Stream Experience
The first thing that felt faster just after replacing the ADSL router in my home and using the internet from the FTTH router was page speed. Web pages load much faster and everything feels very snappy. All the major websites such as Google, YouTube, Reddit, Facebook, Twitter, etc launch fast on computers. The feed scrolling and site launch are very fast compared to the old service. This kind of change feels very positive and many upgraders might notice it. However, many won’t feel much difference in their daily social media browsing such as Facebook on mobile. So your experience may vary.
The normal file or software download speed from servers and P2P file sharing speed are very good in the NTC Fiber internet service. In the case of my 25 Mbps package, all the downloads had at least 18 Mbps (2.2 MB/s) speed. The speeds mostly exceeded the limit in some cases. Usually, files downloading and P2P traffic was around 2.5 MB/s speed which is terrific. This speed and stability were seen all around the day and even in peak hours at night. In the case where file servers were far, the download speeds were in the 20 Mbps range and were only as low as about 13 Mbps.
One place where everyone notices differences is video streaming and playback. YouTube videos play at 1080p resolution on default without any issues. Even 4K video streaming is quite easy and that is incredible. Facebook videos also play well at 1920×1080 resolution without any freeze. Amazon Prime videos and Netflix videos also play fine at HD quality. However, they take a lot of bandwidth in small time.
Gaming on NTC Fiber
I actually don’t play online games on any platform. I don’t play online games on my phone or computer. My choice for gaming is always offline single-player story mode or local multiplayer. Therefore I can’t provide a gaming experience for people who like to play games such as PUBG, Free Fire, CS:GO, Call of Duty, and many others. However, I have found some comments on social media sites that say good things about gaming on NT Fiber.
Uptime and Stability
Nepal Telecom FTTH service is very stable in my review. I have used it for one whole month and there has not been any downtime. I have used the service for a whole month during the day and for some parts at night. NT FTTH is very stable and the speed is quite consistent all day. The service has very high uptime which is a good thing. We actually hear many people complaining about downtime from other private ISPs but NTC has a good track record on this aspect.
NTC FTTH service is stable if there is no physical damage to your connection. So I have had a good experience with the service. Usually, internet downtime happens when there is an issue in the ISP server or connection. By connection, I mean the optical ground wire (OPGW) coming to the OTB on the pole and drop cable connection the OTP to CPE inside your home. If any physical accident happens or fiber breakage occurs, then downtime can happen.
In the past, I also faced huge ADSL downtime issues, connection problems, and stability issues for many years. I used to go to the office to complain because nobody used to pick up the phone or they were busy. However, the problems disappeared drastically from 2017. Since then there has been very little downtime with NTC ADSL. Overall the experience was very good for the last few years. Now, the FTTH service from Nepal Telecom is also very good with high uptime and stability.
FUP: Is it truly unlimited?
Fair Use Policy (FUP) is a rule that ISPs impose over an unlimited internet connection in Nepal. This actually is very contradictory because FUP actually locks users and doesn’t let them enjoy unlimited. Many private ISP in Nepal have a certain limit of bandwidth use even in unlimited packages. If a user consumes a certain amount of data in a short period or a certain amount of time, the ISP reduces their speed. They say that it is to ensure every customer can enjoy and have the best experience. By the way, people don’t like it and we can find people complaining on social media handles of service providers.
Most Internet Service Providers in Nepal have a clear rule regarding FUP. They have publicly published rules with data limits, caps, and penalty periods. Similarly, in the case of Nepal Telecom, they also have FUP and they are on daily basis. In the case of the 8 Mbps package data limit is 20 GB/day, for 25 Mbps package the limit is 30 GB/day, for a 40 Mbps service the limit is 40 GB/day, and for the 80 Mbps package the limit is 60 GB/day. After the limit is reached, the speed is throttled back to 5 Mbps. Moreover, in comparison to other ISPs, this volume is quite less.
Therefore in a sense, it is both limited and unlimited. A user actually has a daily data cap for the contract speed. So you can only enjoy fast speed for a certain amount. After the data cap is reached speed is back to 5 Mbps. The 5 Mbps is unlimited though. However, it is quite uncommon for normal users to reach the limit. But people who stream video content and download games can surely reach it easily.
Conclusion
Nepal Telecom FTTH service is actually good because of many aspects. First of all, it is a must have upgrade from ADSL. If you are still using NTC ADSL and you have Fiber available in your area, upgrade to FTTH. Even if you have paid in advance, the balance can be shifted to the new service. According to my friend who was upgraded automatically has 8 Mbps service and he is also satisfied. In another case, if you pay for ADSL and PSTN monthly, change it immediately because the Fiber package is cheaper and faster.
In my review, the NT Fiber service shows good uptime, stability, speed, and consistency. Daily web browsing, downloading, video playback, and streaming have been good for a 4 person family. Actually, the deciding factor is always user and speed. The 15 Mbps package is good enough for 4 member family. The better thing is the base package is 25 Mbps now, so that is much better. Things are actually different when everyone is a heavy user or you have distributed it. Many people actually distribute WiFi with their tenants so it may not be enough. For such people, a high-speed package is better.
NTC also has a high-speed package which can be sufficient for a large number of users. The bandwidth need and price factor is your thing to decide. Always pick the service that fits in your budget. However, be careful about service quality as well. For the time being, the current package and service quality from Nepal Telecom is good for me and I hope to see even further better improvements in service.
