Internet speed across Nepal slowed down for about an hour and a half on Sunday night, echoing a similar disruption that occurred on May 2. The previous slowdown in May was caused by Indian bandwidth provider Airtel cutting off service due to non-payment of bandwidth fees.

However, Nepal Telecom clarified that Sunday’s issue was unrelated to payment delays. According to the state-owned telecom company, a fiber cable was severed in two locations—Farenda and Kolhuhi Bazar in Uttar Pradesh, India—disrupting Airtel’s network. As a result, internet service in Nepal experienced partial disruptions between 9:07 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. Santosh Poudel, spokesperson for the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA), confirmed that the regulator had received informal reports about the incident.

Meanwhile, Nepal’s internet service providers (ISPs) continue to face challenges due to the government’s refusal to grant foreign currency exchange facilities for bandwidth payments. The delay in approving these facilities stems from ISPs failing to clear outstanding royalty and Rural Telecommunication Development Fund (RTDF) fees.

Following a ruling by the High Court, Patan, ISPs including WorldLink and Subisu cleared their dues and penalties, on November 15 and about a month ago, respectively. Despite this, the government has yet to approve their foreign currency exchange requests.

Subash Khadka, CEO of the Internet Service Providers’ Association of Nepal (ISPAN), stated that WorldLink and Subisu have settled their dues but are yet to get approval for currency exchange. He said that continued delays and rising penalties have severely impacted Nepali ISPs.

NTA spokesperson Poudel assured that there is no issue in recommending foreign exchange approval for ISPs that have cleared their dues. He stated that the file of WorldLink has already been forwarded to the Ministry, while a decision on Subisu’s file is expected soon. However, he noted that verification and monitoring processes have caused some delays. Additionally, he revealed that the NTA is preparing to send a formal notice explaining why the licenses of ISPs failing to clear arrears should not be revoked.

Due to the ongoing lack of foreign exchange approval, ISPs in Nepal have been unable to pay over Rs 6 billion for internet bandwidth imports, further exacerbating the sector’s financial strain.