The Nepal Telecommunication Corporation will make its Short Messaging Service (SMS) a regular feature for mobile owners after Tihar. Users will have the service free until 16 November, after which they will have to pay for text messaging. Sources in the corporation told us the NTC has recommended a reduction of tariffs, as part of the strategy to meet potential competition from a private operator expected to begin services later this year. The new tariffs would need government approval.

To text, customers go to the message menu on their mobiles and complete the set up, which involves dialling the SMS Service Centre (+ 9779810-28801). The procedure for writing and receiving text differs from set to set. The NTC presently has about 17,000 mobile subscribers, of whom about 15,500 are in Kathmandu Valley.