KATHMANDU
Ncell customers can now browse the internet and Facebook even when they do not have a data pack or balance to use data to go online. Making this possible, Ncell and Meta have partnered to allow Ncell consumers to continue using the internet and Facebook with no balance and stay connected.
Even in areas with robust broadband coverage, many people remain unconnected or under-connected as they cannot afford to have data consistently. To help bridge these gaps, Ncell, under this collaboration with Meta, launched two products on Tuesday—Discover and Facebook Basic Mode, in line with its campaign Sadhain ON. This is extremely relevant for 2G handset customers who can avail this service to experience internet.
Discover allows text-only internet browsing & Facebook Basic Mode allows customers to access Facebook with text and images only – when there is no data pack or balance available for mobile data connectivity. Fair usage policy applies in both cases as per Ncell policy.
“We strongly believe that this initiative contributes to increasing internet adoption in Nepal and ensures that some basic services remain available on our customers’ mobile devices as part of our Sadhain ON campaign. Collaborated efforts like this will take a significant stride towards the achievement of the objective of a digitally inclusive Nepal,” said Umair Mohsin, Chief Commercial Officer of Ncell.
Discover is a mobile Android app. Ncell customers can use this app to browse text-only internet from Ncell. It can be utilised to browse any website. However, it does not support video, audio, and other types of data-intensive traffic when using free data. It is available for use regardless of whether a customer has a data balance. Discover also contains bookmarks to the websites of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) and the World Health Organization (WHO), in order to make reliable health and safety information accessible for people.
In Facebook Basic Mode, Ncell customers can continue to stay connected on text and images-only Facebook when they run out of data, or they do not have a balance to use data. Once customers purchase data, they automatically switch back to full Facebook mode with data charges.
