KATHMANDU: Private telecom operator Ncell has formally appealed to Prime Minister Balen Shah, urging his intervention to review what the company describes as unlawful government decisions, unfair licence conditions, and amendments to Nepal’s telecommunications regulations that it says have undermined foreign investment and the telecom sector.
In a fresh letter sent Wednesday to the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Ncell requested the government to reconsider a series of decisions it claims were made in violation of existing laws. The company also asked Prime Minister Shah to direct the relevant authorities to rectify the disputed measures.
The letter, signed by Ncell Chief Executive Officer Michael Foley, argues that the government’s decisions are inconsistent with Nepal’s legal framework and are detrimental to Nepal’s investment climate, particularly for foreign investors in the telecommunications sector.
This is Ncell’s second formal appeal. The company had previously submitted a similar request on January 6, 2026 (23 Poush 2082) to the Prime Minister’s Office, several ministries and the Nepal Telecommunications Authority (NTA), seeking a review of the same issues. According to Ncell, no response or directive has been received from the government, prompting the renewed appeal.
Ncell stated that the Cabinet has the legal authority to revoke, amend or replace its own decisions if legal flaws, ambiguities, changed circumstances or new evidence emerge, particularly where doing so serves the public interest. “If a previous decision needs to be corrected, the Cabinet itself can revoke that decision and issue a new one,” the company said, arguing that because the disputed decisions were made by the Cabinet, it is also the body empowered to resolve the matter.
In its latest appeal, Ncell requested the government to review the Cabinet’s February 18, 2024 decision regarding the transfer of ownership of its parent company, which it claims was made contrary to Nepalese law. The company also challenged the additional conditions imposed by the Nepal Telecommunications Authority during the renewal of its operating licence, the Tenth Amendment to the Telecommunications Regulations, 1997, and the Cabinet’s subsequent decision of August 29, 2024. According to Ncell, these decisions have restricted constitutionally guaranteed rights, conflict with the Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act, 2019, and have created uncertainty for foreign investors while damaging Nepal’s telecommunications sector.
The controversy began after Ncell’s former majority shareholder, Axiata Investments (UK), decided to exit Nepal by selling its stake in Reynolds Holdings.
Following a bidding process, Spectrlite UK, a company wholly owned by non-resident Nepali businessman Satish Lal Acharya, acquired Axiata’s 80 percent stake in Ncell on November 16, 2023 (15 Mangsir 2080) under a commercial share purchase agreement between the two parties.
The transaction, however, became controversial after authorities argued that prior approval required under Nepal’s Telecommunications Regulations had not been obtained before the share transfer. The Nepal Telecommunications Authority has yet to formally recognise the transaction.
A separate petition challenging the share sale agreement was filed in the Supreme Court by Amresh Kumar Singh. The court later dismissed the petition, directing the relevant authorities to proceed in accordance with existing laws.
