Spice Nepal plans to double subscriber base in 2010

Nepalese wireless operator Spice Nepal, which is owned by TeliaSonera and operates the Mero Mobile brand in the country, says it hopes to double its subscriber base to around four million by the end of this year. In an interview with local paper MyRepublca, Anastasia Bondar, marketing director of Spice Nepal, said the firm had amassed a market share of between 20% to 25%, but planned to double its subscriber base in 2010 of the back of a number of ‘aggressive’ marketing plans it is preparing. The firm is also interested in rolling out 3G services but notes that currently Nepalese users are not keen to be tied in to one- or two-year contracts making the decision to invest in 3G a more difficult one.