Payments by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in Nepal to their Indian counterpart have ceased for the past ten months, and the government’s failure to address foreign exchange rate issues has been blamed.

The Federation of Computer Association of Nepal (CAN Federation) reported that the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MoCIT) did not facilitate the necessary foreign exchange process, leading to the prolonged halt in payments.

The dispute revolves around the payment to the Indian service provider Upstream, which supplies international bandwidth to Nepal.

Despite the ISPs’ and thus the general consumer’s reliance on Upstream for internet consumption in Nepal, the Ministry’s alleged lack of permission has prevented payments for the past ten months.