Many users in Nepal are already experiencing slow internet speed owing to a spike in VPN use. The development follows a massive ban slap on 26 social media apps that failed to register at Nepal’s communication ministry by the deadline (September 3, 2025).
Users on both telcos and ISPs’ networks have been facing slow internet since the morning of September 5, a few hours after NTA directed service providers to block access to banned social networks on their networks. Internet users are seeing slow speeds, ‘loading failed’ screens, and similar issues.
As of writing this article, users of all major service providers, WorldLink, Vianet, and Classic Tech, are noticing the sluggish browsing speed on their WiFi connections. And slow internet is one of the effects of the social media ban we expected. That’s because Nepal’s large share of bandwidth, up to 80%, is consumed on social media.
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Slow internet crawls Nepal as social media ban pressures bandwidth with VPN
It was expected too. VPN and DNS apps bypass local cache and use international traffic to access restricted sites. This puts heavy pressure on existing internet infrastructure to handle traffic coming from abroad. Nepal sees around 2.5 Tbps of international traffic at present. This certainly rises as more users resort to VPNs to access this website.
After social media failed to approach the Communication Ministry for registration, the government has blocked access to Meta platforms, X, YouTube, etc. According to the NTA spokesman, only Viber, TikTok, WeTalk, and Popo Live are registered.
There are talks of Meta and Hamro Patro contacting the ministry for the registration process. But details are thin so far.
The government maintains that the ban will be lifted after the companies complete their registration at the ministry.
How are you coping with the social media outage currently? Or are you using VPN or DNS to access these platforms? Do share with us in the comments below.