Cote d'Ivoire vs. Liberia
Telecommunications
| Cote d'Ivoire | Liberia | |
|---|---|---|
| Telephones - main lines in use | total subscriptions: 271,724 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 1.01 (2019 est.) | total subscriptions: 8,394 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: less than 1 (2019 est.) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | total subscriptions: 37,376,603 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 139.16 (2019 est.) | total subscriptions: 2,793,316 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 56.57 (2019 est.) |
| Internet country code | .ci | .lr |
| Internet users | total: 12,295,204 percent of population: 46.82% (July 2018 est.) | total: 383,819 percent of population: 7.98% (July 2018 est.) |
| Telecommunication systems | general assessment: Côte d'Ivoire telecom systems continue to benefit from strong economic growth; fixed-line, Internet, and broadband sectors remain underdeveloped; mobile sector is strong; progress in national backbone network and connection to submarine cable that will increase Internet bandwidth; country is poised to develop broadband market and digital economy; government further tightened SIM card registration rules (2020) (2020) domestic: less than 1 per 100 fixed-line, with multiple mobile-cellular service providers competing in the market, usage has increased to about 145 per 100 persons (2019) international: country code - 225; landing point for the SAT-3/WASC, ACE, MainOne, and WACS fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and South and West Africa; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian 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: due to history of civil war and ruin of infrastructure, almost entirely wireless telecom market; good competition for mobile services; high cost and limited bandwidth means Internet access is low; additional investment needed for increased submarine cable access; progress in creating an attractive business-friendly environment is hampered by a weak regulatory environment, corruption, lack of transparency, poor infrastructure, and low private sector capacity; rural areas have little access; fixed-line service is stagnant and extremely limited; operators introducing e-commerce; importer of broadcast equipment from China (2021) (2020)domestic: fixed-line less than 1 per 100; mobile-cellular subscription base growing and teledensity approached 57 per 100 persons (2019) international: country code - 231; landing point for the ACE submarine cable linking 20 West African countries and Europe; satellite earth station - 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: 216,723 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 1 (2018 est.) | total: 8,000 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: less than 1 (2017 est.) |
| Broadcast media | state-controlled Radiodiffusion Television Ivoirieinne (RTI) is made up of 2 radios stations (Radio Cote d'Ivoire and Frequence2) and 2 television stations (RTI1 and RTI2), with nationwide coverage, broadcasts mainly in French; after 2011 post-electoral crisis, President OUATTARA's administration reopened RTI Bouake', the broadcaster's office in Cote d'Ivoire's 2nd largest city, where facilities were destroyed during the 2002 rebellion; Cote d'Ivoire is also home to 178 proximity radios stations, 16 religious radios stations, 5 commercial radios stations, and 5 international radios stations, according to the Haute Autorite' de la Communication Audiovisuelle (HACA); govt now runs radio UNOCIFM, a radio station previously owned by the UN Operation in Cote d'Ivoire; in Dec 2016, the govt announced 4 companies had been granted licenses to operate -Live TV, Optimum Media Cote d'Ivoire, the Audiovisual Company of Cote d'Ivoire (Sedaci), and Sorano-CI, out of the 4 companies only one has started operating (2019) | 8 private and 1 government-owned TV station; satellite TV service available; 1 state-owned radio station; approximately 20 independent radio stations broadcasting in Monrovia, with approximately 80 more local stations operating in other areas; transmissions of 4 international (including the British Broadcasting Corporation and Radio France Internationale) broadcasters are available (2019) |
Source: CIA Factbook
