CG LifeCell Launches BiP App in Nepal

CG posted a half-page Ad in Kantipur a few days ago. And the Ad was a mess in terms of information. What are we to understand with the slogan “What’s new, What’s better, What’s BiP”?So, we had to do some digging. The top right corner says CG LifeCell. This means this Ad has something to do with the partnership of CG and Lifecell that was made official with signing in MWC 2019. LifeCell is a Ukranian Telecom company which is wholly owned by Turkcell, a Turkish telecom giant. This partnership means that CG is getting serious about starting its own telecom service in Nepal.

But, CG doesn’t want to be just a telecom company. It wants to be what LifeCell calls a Digital Operator. Lifecell has digital services like BiP, fizy, TV+, Lifebox, Okudo, etc that provide extra digital services to its customers other than just calling and texting. TV+ (not to be confused with Apple TV+) is a service that allows you to watch TV channels directly into your phone. Okudo is a news service. You get it.

This now leads us to BiP. “What is BiP” CG asked us in its own ad. So, we decided to find out and let CG know. I downloaded BiP from the play store on to my new Honor 10 Lite that I am currently testing (the phone’s good so far). And after using it for a while, I understand the reason for CG’s confusion. I, too, couldn’t understand what BiP was. It looks like an app that we can text and call from but it has games and a little bit of news too.

What’s BiP app like?

It is kinda like the Facebook messenger. No, it’s more like Viber. You can call from within the app but it doesn’t use Wifi like messenger and Viber even if you have a connection. Also, there’s only a group chat messaging service and you can’t send a message to a particular person here. I am not joking. Just try this app. The games were cool though. But I would die before I waste my time in those. And my days aren’t as bad that I have to download this app just for the salacious gossip that the ‘explore’ section (the news section) serves me.

So, yeah – I don’t understand BiP. Maybe after CG starts marketing this service better and releases some how-to videos, I can get a hang of it. Until then, it’s just a cute looking app that I don’t want in my phone. Sorry.

P.S. I have an inkling that BiP wants to be the new Hamro Patro.