Telecommunications in Mozambique

Telecommunications in Mozambique include radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet.

Radio and television
  • Radio stations:
    • state-run radio provides nearly 100% territorial coverage and broadcasts in multiple languages; a number of privately owned and community-operated stations; transmissions of multiple international broadcasters are available (2007);[1]
    • AM 13, FM 17, shortwave 11 (2001).
  • Radios: 730,000 (1997).
  • Television stations: 1 state-run TV station supplemented by private TV station; Portuguese state TV's African service, RTP Africa, and Brazilian-owned TV Miramar are available (2007).[1]
  • Televisions: 90,000 (1997).

Telephones
  • Main lines:
    • 88,100 lines in use, 148th in the world (2012);[1]
    • 78,300 lines in use (2008).
  • Mobile cellular:
    • 8.1 million lines (2012);[1]
    • 4.4 million lines (2008).
  • Telephone system:[1]
    • General assessment: a fair telecommunications system that is with a heavy state presence, lack of competition, and high operating costs and charges (2011);
    • Domestic: stagnation in the fixed-line network contrasts with rapid growth in the mobile-cellular network; mobile-cellular coverage now includes all the main cities and key roads, including those from Maputo to the South African and Swaziland borders, the national highway through Gaza and Inhambane provinces, the Beira corridor, and from Nampula to Nacala; extremely low fixed-line teledensity; despite significant growth in mobile-cellular services, teledensity remains low at about 35 per 100 persons (2011);
    • International: calling code +258; landing point for the EASSy and SEACOM fiber-optic submarine cable systems; Satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 3 Indian Ocean) (2011).

Internet

Mozambique has a comparatively low Internet penetration rate with only 4.8% of the population having access to the Internet compared to 16% for Africa as a whole.[8]

Telecommunication de Mozambique (TDM), Mozambique's national fixed-line operator, offers ADSL Internet access for home and business customers. In early 2014 packages ranged from 512 kbit/s with a 6 GByte cap for MTN750 (~US$21) to 4 Mbit/s with a 43 GByte cap for MTN4300 (~US$118).[9]

The three mobile operators, Movitel, mCel and Vodacom, also offer 3G Internet access.[10]

Mozambique was the first African country to offer broadband wireless services using WiMax.[11]

With the introduction of the SEACOM submarine cable in July 2009 and the EASSY submarine cable in July 2010, Mozambique now has access to less expensive international connectivity and is no longer reliant on VSAT or neighbor South Africa for Internet transit services.

Internet censorship and surveillance

There are no government restrictions on access to the Internet, however, opposition party members report government intelligence agents monitor e-mail.[12]

The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and the press, and the government generally respects these rights in practice. Individuals can generally criticize the government publicly or privately without reprisal. Some individuals express a fear that the government monitors their private telephone and e-mail communications. Many journalists practice self-censorship.[12]

See also

References
  1. "Communications: Mozambique", World Factbook, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 7 January 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  2. Calculated using penetration rate and population data from "Countries and Areas Ranked by Population: 2012" Archived 2017-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, Population data, International Programs, U.S. Census Bureau, retrieved 26 June 2013
  3. "Percentage of Individuals using the Internet 2000-2012", International Telecommunications Union (Geneva), June 2013, retrieved 22 June 2013
  4. "Fixed (wired)-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012", Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE, International Telecommunication Union. Retrieved on 29 June 2013.
  5. "Active mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012", Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE, International Telecommunication Union. Retrieved on 29 June 2013.
  6. Select Formats Archived 2009-05-13 at the Wayback Machine, Country IP Blocks. Accessed on 2 April 2012. Note: Site is said to be updated daily.
  7. Population, The World Factbook, United States Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on 2 April 2012. Note: Data are mostly for 1 July 2012.
  8. "Key ICT indicators for developed and developing countries and the world (totals and penetration rates)" Archived 2013-06-06 at the Wayback Machine, International Telecommunications Unions (ITU), Geneva, 27 February 2013
  9. "Tarifas: Servięos de Dados e Internet", Telecommunication de Mozambique (TDM).
  10. Barton, James. "Connectivity lags in Mozambique but mobile looks strong – R&M". Developing Telecoms. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
  11. Ashford, Warwick (2006-04-26). "Mozambique wins WiMax race". ITWeb. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
  12. "Mozambique", Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State, 22 March 2013. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
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