Supreme Court to Hear Petition Demanding Ban on Nepal Telecom's Ringback Tones

A petition filed at the Supreme Court demanding a halt to the ringback tones played on Nepal Telecom's landline and mobile phones has been scheduled for hearing. Advocate Bimal Pokharel has filed the writ petition naming Nepal Telecom, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, and the Nepal Telecommunications Authority as respondents. The case has been listed for hearing before a joint bench of Justices Manoj Kumar Sharma and Shrikanta Paudel.

The petition asserts that due to the unnecessary and frequently played 'ringback tones' by Nepal Telecom, consumers using Nepal Telecom SIM cards are being forced to switch to services offered by private telecommunication companies or use services from foreign companies like WhatsApp, Messenger, and Viber.

Furthermore, the petition argues that because foreign service providers are not registered in Nepal, the country is incurring significant losses in revenue. It demands that Nepal Telecom cease immediately playing 'ringback tones' during various occasions such as festivals, fairs, celebrations, and anniversaries, as the practice causes harassment to consumers instead of providing cheap and quality service, forces them to listen to tones against their will, and creates mental stress. The petition seeks an order, including a mandamus, to immediately stop playing these tones.