subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 3.73 (2019 est.)
total subscriptions: 490,103
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 5.38 (2019 est.)
Telephones - mobile cellular
total subscriptions: 5,788,432
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 94.46 (2019 est.)
total subscriptions: 7,559,829
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 82.92 (2019 est.)
Internet country code
.ni
.hn
Internet users
total: 1,695,340
percent of population: 27.86% (July 2018 est.)
total: 2,853,505
percent of population: 31.7% (July 2018 est.)
Telecommunication systems
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
general assessment:
among the poorest countries in Central America, Honduras has a neglected telecom sector complicated by political stalemate and geographic challenges; mobile subscribership is growing; DSL and cable Internet available in urban areas but expensive; government proposed ICT master plan to boost e-government and business, including free Internet to households; US based network ready to deploy 5G (2021)
(2020)
domestic: private sub-operators allowed to provide fixed lines in order to expand telephone coverage contributing to a small increase in fixed-line teledensity 5 per 100; mobile-cellular subscribership is roughly 73 per 100 persons (2019)
international: country code - 504; landing points for both the ARCOS and the MAYA-1 fiber-optic submarine cable systems that together provide connectivity to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System (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: 217,618
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 3.55 (2019 est.)
total: 390,377
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 4.28 (2019 est.)
Broadcast media
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)
multiple privately owned terrestrial TV networks, supplemented by multiple cable TV networks; Radio Honduras is the lone government-owned radio network; roughly 300 privately owned radio stations
