Telecommunications in Austria

• 3.4 million fixed line phones, 47th in the world (2011).[1]

The majority of fixed lines are analogue, with Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) lines for the remainder.

Fixed-line subscribership has been in decline since the mid-1990s and was eclipsed by mobile-cellular in the late 1990s.[1]

• 7.6 million mobile phone lines in use, 60th in the world (2011).[1]

The Austrian mobile phone market is highly competitive, with some of the lowest rates in Europe.[2] Due to the geographical structures of Austria (mountains, flat lands, lakes) many providers use it as a "testing range" for new services. Mobile number portability was introduced in 2008, allowing users to retain their mobile phone numbers when switching between network operators. The original area codes allocated to each operator can no longer be used to determine the network with which a subscriber is registered.

First generation networks

• D-Netz by Telekom Austria. This network was switched off at the end of the 1990s.

Second generation networks

There are three nationwide GSM networks which also support additional brands and mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs).

• A1: originally Mobilkom. It now runs a mixed GSM-900, GSM-1800 and UMTS network. Also provides service for MVNO's bob, B-free (owned by A1), Red Bull Mobile and Yess!
• T-Mobile: originally max mobil. It now runs a mixed GSM-900, GSM-1800 and UMTS network. Also marketed as telering as a separate brand.
• Orange: originally One (until September 2008). A mixed GSM-1800 and UMTS network. Since end 2011 owned by Drei/Hutchinson Whampoa.

Third generation networks

• Drei: Owned by Hutchinson Whampoa, a Hong Kong based company that runs its own UMTS network.

In August 2014, IFPI Austria has requested Internet blocking for several file sharing web sites such as The Pirate Bay and isoHunt, starting the latest August 14, 2014 (postponed from August 1, 2014). This procedure has been heavily criticized in the media, as there is no formal procedure for unblocking such IPs ever again, and no formal review process that incorrect blocks cannot be obtained. Users sharing an IP may be blocked as a side effect, too.

As of May 2016, Austrian ISPs are now once again free to unblock all previously blocked sites after the government appealed a new law for file sharing similar to the one in Switzerland. Although the IFPI is still trying to challenge this ruling.[14]

There are no government restrictions on access to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitors e-mail or Internet chat rooms without appropriate legal authority. Individuals and groups engage in the peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. Authorities work to restrict access to Web sites containing information that violates the law, such as neo-Nazi and child pornography sites. Authorities restrict access to banned Web sites by trying to shut such sites and forbidding the country's Internet service providers to carry them.[15]

The Austrian constitution provides for freedom of speech and press, and the government generally respects these rights in practice. An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combine to ensure freedom of speech and the press. The independent media are active and express a wide variety of views with few restrictions. Individuals generally criticize the government publicly or privately without reprisal. The law prohibits arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence, and the government generally respects these prohibitions in practice.[15]

The law prohibits incitement, insult, or contempt against a group because of its members’ race, nationality, or ethnicity if the statement violates human dignity and the government strictly enforces these laws. The law prohibits public denial, belittlement, approval, or justification of the Nazi genocide or other Nazi crimes against humanity in a print publication, a broadcast, or other media and the government strictly enforces these laws. Strict libel and slander laws discourage reporting of governmental abuse. For example, many observers believed that the ability and willingness of the police to sue for libel or slander discourages individuals from reporting abuse by police.[15]

On 31 July 2012, a 26-year-old man received an 18-month sentence, of which 12 months were to be served, for posting that his favorite book was Hitler’s Mein Kampf and linking to Nazi material on his Facebook page.[15]

In February 2007 Austrian authorities were able to uncover a "child-pornography ring" involving seventy-seven countries, based on a report by a man working for a Vienna-based Internet file-hosting service.[16]