Slovakia vs. Ukraine
Telecommunications
| Slovakia | Ukraine | |
|---|---|---|
| Telephones - main lines in use | total subscriptions: 675,297 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 12.41 (2019 est.) | total subscriptions: 4,182,994 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 9.52 (2019 est.) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | total subscriptions: 7,399,534 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 135.96 (2019 est.) | total subscriptions: 54,842,940 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 124.78 (2019 est.) |
| Internet country code | .sk | .ua |
| Internet users | total: 4,391,969 percent of population: 80.66% (July 2018 est.) | total: 25,883,509 percent of population: 58.89% (July 2018 est.) |
| Telecommunication systems | general assessment: a modern telecom system; one operator has near monopoly of fixed-line market; competition in mobile- and fixed-broadband market; broadband growth in recent years; competition among DSL, cable, and fiber platforms; FttP growth in cities; operator launched 1Gb/s cable broadband service in 3 cities and 200,000 premises in 2019; EU funding for development and improvement of e-government and online services; regulator prepared groundwork for 5G services in 2020 (2021) (2020)domestic: four companies have a license to operate cellular networks and provide nationwide cellular services; a few other companies provide services but do not have their own networks; fixed-line 12 per 100 and mobile-cellular 136 per 100 teledensity (2019) international: country code - 421; 3 international exchanges (1 in Bratislava and 2 in Banska Bystrica) are available; Slovakia is participating in several international telecommunications projects that will increase the availability of external services; connects to DREAM cable (2017) 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: Ukraine's telecom market continues to face challenges resulting from the annexation of Crimea by Russia and unrest in eastern regions; developing telecom market has attracted international investors from Russia, Turkey, and Azerbaijan; government plan emphasizes improvement of domestic trunk lines, international connections, and a national mobile-cellular system; operators moving from 3G services to 4G, but some areas still use 2G; LTE services available in cities; FttP networks taking over DSL platforms; government approved plan in 2020 for 5G migration and operator is developing IoT capabilities; improvement of licensing requirements for operators and positive reforms for users; importer of broadcasting equipment from China (2021) (2020)domestic: fixed-line teledensity is 10 per 100; the mobile-cellular telephone system's expansion has slowed, largely due to saturation of the market that is now 131 mobile phones per 100 persons (2019) international: country code - 380; landing point for the Kerch Strait Cable connecting Ukraine to Russia; 2 new domestic trunk lines are a part of the fiber-optic TAE system and 3 Ukrainian links have been installed in the fiber-optic TEL project that connects 18 countries; additional international service is provided by the Italy-Turkey-Ukraine-Russia (ITUR) fiber-optic submarine cable and by an unknown number of earth stations in the Intelsat, Inmarsat, and Intersputnik satellite systems 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: 1,585,092 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 29.12 (2019 est.) | total: 6,784,185 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 15.44 (2019 est.) |
| Broadcast media | state-owned public broadcaster, Radio and Television of Slovakia (RTVS), operates 2 national TV stations and multiple national and regional radio networks; roughly 50 privately owned TV stations operating nationally, regionally, and locally; about 40% of households are connected to multi-channel cable or satellite TV; 32 privately owned radio stations | Ukraine's media landscape is dominated by oligarch-owned news outlets, which are often politically motivated and at odds with one another and/or the government; while polls suggest most Ukrainians still receive news from traditional media sources, social media is a crucial component of information dissemination in Ukraine; almost all Ukrainian politicians and opinion leaders communicate with the public via social media and maintain at least one social media page, if not more; this allows them direct communication with audiences, and news often breaks on Facebook or Twitter before being picked up by traditional news outlets Ukraine television serves as the principal source of news; the largest national networks are controlled by oligarchs: TRK Ukraina is owned by Rinat Akhmetov; Studio 1+1 is owned by Ihor Kolomoyskyy; Inter is owned by Dmytro Firtash and Serhiy Lyovochkin; and StarlightMedia channels (ICTV, STB, and Novyi Kanal) are owned by Victor Pinchuk; a set of 24-hour news channels also have clear political affiliations: 112-Ukraine and NewsOne tacitly support pro-Russian opposition and are believed to be controlled by political and business tycoon Viktor Medvedchuk; pro-Ukrainian government Channel 5 and Pryamyi are linked to President Petro Poroshenko; 24 and ZIK are owned by opposition, but not pro-Russian, politicians; UA: Suspilne is a public television station under the umbrella of the National Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine; while it is often praised by media experts for balanced coverage, it lags in popularity; Ukrainian Radio, institutionally linked to UA: Suspilne, is one of only two national talk radio networks, with the other being the privately owned Radio NV (2019) |
Source: CIA Factbook
