subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 12.7 (2019 est.)
total subscriptions: 228,782
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 3.73 (2019 est.)
Telephones - mobile cellular
total subscriptions: 8,550,243
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 169.59 (2019 est.)
total subscriptions: 5,788,432
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 94.46 (2019 est.)
Internet country code
.cr
.ni
Internet users
total: 3,694,974
percent of population: 74.09% (July 2018 est.)
total: 1,695,340
percent of population: 27.86% (July 2018 est.)
Telecommunication systems
general assessment:
Costa Rica has broad telecom coverage though geographical distribution of digital service is unequal; recent regulator liberalization spurred expansion in all sectors; broadband market is the most advanced and highest penetration in Central America yet lags behind many South American countries; operators investing in NGN technology; number portability and cheaper broadband costs will increase competition; government aims to subsidize tele-health and e-learning (2021)
(2018)
domestic: 13 per 100 fixed-line, 162 per 100 mobile-cellular; point-to-point and point-to-multi-point microwave, fiber-optic, and coaxial cable link rural areas; Internet service is available (2019)
international: country code - 506; landing points for the ARCOS-1, MAYA-1, and the PAC submarine cables that provide links to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; connected to Central American Microwave System; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2019)
note: the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced downturn, particularly in mobile device production; many network operators delayed upgrades to infrastructure; progress towards 5G implementation was postponed or slowed in some countries; consumer spending on telecom services and devices was affected by large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home became evident, and received some support from governments
general assessment:
with authoritarian government, weak public institutions, and impoverished citizenry, Nicaragua's telecom system is dependent on upgrades through foreign investment, primarily from Russia and China; World Bank funded national fiber broadband network and links to Caribbean submarine cables; Chinese-financed projects, including airport, oil pipeline, and roads in process; nearly all installed telecom capacity now uses financed digital technology; lowest fixed-line tele-density and mobile penetration in Central America; Internet cafes provide access to Internet and email services; rural areas lack access to most basic telecom infrastructure; LTE service in dozens of towns and cities; importer of broadcasting equipment and computers from China (2021)
(2020)
domestic: since privatization, access to fixed-line and mobile-cellular services has improved; fixed-line teledensity roughly 4 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone subscribership has increased to 88 per 100 persons (2019)
international: country code - 505; landing point for the ARCOS fiber-optic submarine cable which provides connectivity to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2019)
note: the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced downturn, particularly in mobile device production; many network operators delayed upgrades to infrastructure; progress towards 5G implementation was postponed or slowed in some countries; consumer spending on telecom services and devices was affected by large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home became evident, and received some support from governments
Broadband - fixed subscriptions
total: 904,734
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 17.95 (2019 est.)
total: 217,618
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 3.55 (2019 est.)
Broadcast media
multiple privately owned TV stations and 1 publicly owned TV station; cable network services are widely available; more than 100 privately owned radio stations and a public radio network (2017)
multiple terrestrial TV stations, supplemented by cable TV in most urban areas; nearly all are government-owned or affiliated; more than 300 radio stations, both government-affiliated and privately owned (2019)
