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Nepal mobile number operator identifier

Check whether a Nepali mobile number is NTC or Ncell from its first 3 digits, sourced from NTA's official numbering plan.

Every prefix below traces directly to NTA's own numbering table. Two prefix blocks belonged to operators whose licences have since been revoked, they're shown but clearly flagged as inactive rather than silently mixed in.

Enter a Nepali mobile number

The operator is identified from the number's first 3 digits (system code + operator code) alone, nothing is sent anywhere, this all happens in your browser. A full number is 10 digits starting with 9; you can also just type the first 3 digits to check a prefix.

How mobile prefixes work

A 3-digit prefix identifies the operator

NTA assigns each operator a system code and one or more operator codes, together forming the prefix on every number it issues.

The prefix

Every Nepali mobile number is 10 digits, starting with a 2-digit system code (96, 97 or 98) then a 1-digit operator code, together the 3-digit prefix that names the operator.

Two live operators

Only Nepal Telecom (NTC) and Ncell run a live mobile network today. NTC holds 974/975/976/984/985/986; Ncell holds 970/980/981/982.

No portability yet

Nepal has drafted a Mobile Number Portability regulation but has not deployed it, so a prefix still reliably points to the number's actual current operator.

Questions

Mobile operator prefixes, answered

How do I know which network a Nepali number belongs to?+

Every Nepali mobile number is 10 digits, and the first 3 digits (a 2-digit system code plus a 1-digit operator code) identify the operator it was issued to, per NTA's own numbering plan. Type the number into the box above and it's matched against that official table instantly, in your browser.

What are NTC's number prefixes?+

Nepal Telecom (NTC) is assigned system codes 97 and 98 with operator codes 4, 5 and 6, giving the prefixes 974, 975, 976, 984, 985 and 986, per NTA's National Numbering Allocation Plan.

What are Ncell's number prefixes?+

Ncell is assigned system code 98 with operator codes 0, 1 and 2, plus system code 97 with operator code 0, giving the prefixes 980, 981, 982 and 970, per the same NTA table.

Can I port my number between operators?+

Not yet. NTA drafted a Mobile Number Portability (MNP) Regulation in 2078 BS (2021), but as of this writing MNP has not actually been deployed, so no Nepali mobile number has changed operator while keeping its number. Until it goes live, a number's prefix reliably tells you its original (and current) operator; once MNP launches, a ported number could keep an old prefix under a new operator, which is exactly the kind of change that would need updating here.

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Sources & data note

Every prefix here traces back to NTA's own National Numbering Allocation Plan, the regulator's official cellular-mobile numbering table, cross-checked against a secondary source. Only NTC and Ncell run a live mobile network today: Smart Telecom's and UTL's prefixes are still listed in NTA's table (so kept here and confidence-rated "confirmed" for the original allocation) but both operators had their licences revoked in 2023 and are flagged inactive, since a number in those ranges no longer reaches a live line from that operator. Hello Mobile's 963 prefix does not appear in NTA's current table at all and rests only on a secondary source, so it is tagged "reported" rather than "confirmed". Mobile Number Portability is not yet live in Nepal, so prefixes reliably identify the issuing operator for now; that will change once porting goes live.