Minister Kharel inaugurates Ncell VoLTE capacity enhancement at Pokhara data centre

KATHMANDU: Minister for Communication and Information Technology Jagadish Kharel on Sunday inaugurated Ncell’s Voice over Long Term Evolution (VoLTE) Capacity Enhancement Project at Ncell’s data centre in Pokhara during an observation visit.

The minister officially launched the project by switching on the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), expanded with high‑end servers to provide VoLTE and Voice over Wi‑Fi (VoWiFi) services. With this capacity enhancement, Ncell can now provide VoLTE service to 5 million active customers from the data centre.

VoLTE is an advanced telecommunications technology that provides high‑quality HD voice services with faster call connectivity over the 4G network. Ncell’s VoWiFi lets users make and receive calls using their existing Ncell number over any Wi‑Fi connection, allowing HD voice calls and SMS in areas where mobile signals are weak, such as basements, high‑rise buildings or remote locations with a stable Wi‑Fi connection.

As part of his inspection and courtesy meetings in Pokhara, Minister Kharel visited the data centre, which is currently operating as a disaster recovery centre. He was welcomed by Ncell’s Chief Corporate and Regulatory Officer Dilliram Shrestha and Corporate Communications and Sustainability Director Bishakha Laxmi Khadka.

Following the inspection, Minister Kharel said, “Infrastructure like this data centre of Ncell is contributing to the government’s goal of building a Digital Nepal. It stands as one of the key pieces of infrastructure supporting Nepal’s digitalisation drive.” He also praised the management and operation of the centre.

Dilliram Shrestha said the data centre, established and brought into operation in 2012, has played a crucial role in Nepal’s telecommunications and IT sector. “With the enhancement of VoLTE capacity, we will be extending modern VoLTE services to more customers backed by increased capacity,” he said.

During the visit, Shrestha and Ncell’s technical team briefed Minister Kharel on the centre’s capacity, technological aspects and overall role in Nepal’s telecommunications and ICT sector.