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
Definition: This entry includes a brief general assessment of a country's telecommunications system with details on the domestic and international components. The following terms and abbreviations are used throughout the entry:
Source: CIA World Factbook - This page was last updated on Saturday, September 18, 2021
