Nepal's first mobile telephone company 'soft-launched' its service this week three years after obtaining its license. Spice Nepal Private Limited (SNPL) changed ownership half-way through the set up process after the Khetan group sold its share to a consortium lead by Russian Nepali businessmen. "We are pleased to inform you that most elements of our GSM network have been installed," SNPL said in a statement on Tuesday. The company is carrying out tests with select customers before launching the main service which will go under the brandname, 'Mero Mobile' and have numbers beginning with 9801.

On Tuesday, secretary of the Ministry of Information and Communication Lok Man Singh Karki and chairman of Nepal Telecommunication Authority Suresh Kumar Pudasaini ceremonially launched the service by talking to each other through the new system.