Starlink in Nepal and what it means for wifi on your trek

Starlink isn’t licensed in Nepal, so don’t bring a dish on your trek. The Nepal Telecommunications Authority says Starlink must register in Nepal and get permission before it can sell internet to anyone or downlink satellite signals in the country. It hasn’t done either. Starlink’s own availability map lists Nepal with no service status. As recently as 30 August 2026, Starlink was offering free service for flood-hit areas “as soon as we receive permission”. For a trekker, that means lodge wifi and a local SIM are the legal ways online, and a dish in your duffel is a risk you don’t need.

Is Starlink legal in Nepal right now?

No. Starlink can’t legally provide service to customers in Nepal without licences it doesn’t hold. That is the position of the Nepal Telecommunications Authority, stated by its assistant spokesperson Pradeep Paudyal to The Kathmandu Post on 10 July 2026. He said the company “must first register in Nepal and obtain permission before selling internet services directly to consumers or downlinking satellite signals within Nepali territory”.

The same report explains what is blocking it. Nepal lets foreign investors own up to 80 percent of an internet service provider, and the other 20 percent must be held by a Nepali partner. Starlink has consistently sought full foreign ownership. The communications minister, Bikram Timilsina, said it “would not be appropriate to amend legislation solely for one company”. We found nothing since then that changes this. The latest signal points the same way: Starlink’s August offer of free flood internet was conditional on permission it didn’t yet have.

Can I bring my own Starlink dish on a trek?

Don’t. The regulator has said that using unlicensed internet service is punishable, and it has named base camps. In its May 2025 notice the NTA said its monitoring division had reports of companies running mountain expeditions that were offering satellite internet in base camps without authorisation. It warned that “the use or distribution of telecommunications (internet) services without prior permission from the Government of Nepal or a license from the NTA is punishable”.

The warning names use, not only selling. So carrying a Roam kit to Gorak Shep and switching it on isn’t a grey area just because you paid for the subscription at home. The Kathmandu Post’s July report says complaints continue about terminals being used illegally in the Himalaya, “particularly by foreign trekkers and expedition groups”. We couldn’t find an official statement on how customs treats a terminal at the airport, and we won’t guess. The simple answer is to leave it at home.

There’s also the route to Nepal. India has strict rules on devices that transmit to satellites, and many flights to Kathmandu connect through Delhi. If you’re flying that way with any satellite device, read the India transit rule for satellite devices first.

What this means for lodge wifi

Legitimate lodge wifi in Nepal comes through Nepali providers, and some of them resell satellite bandwidth legally. The NTA spokesperson told The Kathmandu Post that Nepali internet providers are free to buy wholesale bandwidth from licensed international satellite operators. Several companies already do, and resell it within Nepal. Two companies hold licences for satellite personal communications: Constellation, which has used the Thuraya network since 2002, and iFour Technology. So “satellite wifi” at a high lodge isn’t automatically illegal. What matters is whether it comes through a licensed provider.

You can’t check that from a dining room, and it isn’t your job to. What you can control is your own kit. Buy a local SIM on arrival. Our Nepal SIM card guide covers which network reaches higher. Use the lodge’s wifi where it’s sold, and expect it to be slower and pricier as you climb. How far each valley’s signal actually reaches is in how far up the trail the wifi reaches.

Will Starlink come to Nepal?

Possibly, but not before it gets a licence or a licensed Nepali partner, and nobody has published a date. The Kathmandu Post reports that Starlink has discussed local partners with the minister, and that several Nepali providers are interested. Bangladesh’s decision to let Starlink export bandwidth gives it a technical route in. None of that is a licence.

If it does happen, the change will show up in two places before any lodge sign: Starlink’s own availability map, which today lists Nepal as neither available nor launched, and the NTA or the Nepali press announcing the licence. Until both say so, treat any “Starlink works fine in Nepal” claim online as describing unlicensed use, not a legal service.

What we would actually do

Trek with a local SIM and lodge wifi, and leave the dish at home. On the main Everest, Annapurna and Langtang trails, that covers most evenings. If you have to be online for work every day, plan your stay around the towns rather than trying to bring your office up to 5,000 metres. If your route is genuinely remote, the question is emergency communication, not internet, and a dish is the wrong tool for that. Everything else about phones, power and device rules is in our travel tech hub.

Keep reading

Sources: The Kathmandu Post, 10 July 2026, “Starlink eyes Nepal entry via Bangladesh but domestic regulatory policy hurdles persist”, for the NTA’s position, ownership rules, licensed operators and the minister’s statement; Republica, 6 May 2025, on the NTA’s notice and Section 21 of the Telecommunications Act 1997; Onlinekhabar, 30 August 2026, on Starlink’s conditional flood offer; Starlink’s public availability data behind starlink.com/map, read on 27 September 2026. Features and coverage change; check the maker’s own page before you rely on a device.

Photos via Pexels: Volker Meyer (cover), Teju, Alejandro De Roa.