Telecommunication systems: general assessment:
difficult economic climate, with lack of fixed telecom infrastructure; mobile services stronger than fixed telecom; low broadband penetration; adopted free mobile roaming with other G5 Sahel countries; World Bank project to facilitate digital progress; government contributes to Trans-Sahara Backbone network, with aims to extend fiber-optic and international capacity; LTE license awarded; government substantially taxes telecom sector (2021)
(2020)domestic: fixed-line 1 per 100 persons and mobile-cellular teledensity remains 41 per 100 persons despite a rapidly increasing cellular subscribership base; small system of wire, radio telephone communications, and microwave radio relay links concentrated in southwestern Niger; domestic satellite system with 3 earth stations and 1 planned (2019)
international: country code - 227; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean)
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
