Telecommunications in the Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is considered one of the countries with the most advanced telecommunications infrastructures in Latin America, with over 8.9 million cell phones connected (on just about 10 million populants, with 3.5 million of them on extreme poverty conditions) and large companies like Codetel and Orange (FR) on the telecommunications market. Broadband Internet access is growing, with over 622,931 Internet accounts globally and 3,851,278 Internet users as of December 2010 according to INDOTEL (DR Telecommunications Institute). Broadband DSL represents about 56% of the total Internet subscribers. There is access to regular ADSL, G.SHDSL, and services only on metropolitan areas, costs are high and service is decent. Cable Internet is offered by a couple of cable companies at lower costs than ADSL but the service is very deficient and unreliable. WiFi is becoming more common. It is available in some universities. Most hotels also offer wi-fi internet. The implementation of the WiMAX and HSPA technology by some of the Cellphone service providers are resulting in the rapid investment by other providers in the market to match the new and faster platform of services. Mobile broadband users have seen their percentage grow from 14% in 2007 all the way to 39% in 2010, and will continue to grow as more and more users are opting for this type of technology in a country where Home Broadband speeds are more expensive and slower. Also the ongoing installation of a Fiber-Optic network structure in the National District and the City of Santiago (second largest in the country) will force other competitors into upgrading theirs to be able to compete in the markets they now lead.

As of October 2018, not including taxes.

Key: DOP: Dominican peso, USD: United States dollar. Exchange rate ( $50 DOP : $1 USD )

Pricing – Home Internet Access (By ISP)[13]

The following table shows the speeds/prices* available and designed for home usage.

*Note: The pricing and speeds are subject to change since Altice, Claro and Wind have multi plans (Two or Three services combined), those plans have a discount on all services. Up to 25% discount for combined services.

Pricing – Mobile Broadband (By ISP)

Currently the mobile internet market is governed by three aspects:

1. The first is based on a contract where you are granted a certain amount of data (MB/GB) per month, after having consumed the data you can continue browsing at 512 Kbps.
2. Second option is a monthly income (postpaid) for the acquisition of a speed package with "unlimited data" (is subject to fair use policies with unlimited browsing at 512 Kbps after you surpass the monthly capacity).
3. Third group belongs to the prepaid modality, in this option the client determines the number of days or amount of data he needs to navigate.

There are no government restrictions on access to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitors e-mail or Internet chat rooms without judicial oversight.[5]

The 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 ensure freedom of speech and press. The independent media are active and express a wide variety of views without restriction. Individuals and groups are generally able to criticize the government publicly and privately without reprisal, although there have been incidents in which authorities intimidated journalists or other news professionals. Local journalists engage in self-censorship, particularly when coverage could adversely affect the economic or political interests of media owners. The government denies using unauthorized wiretapping or other surreptitious methods to interfere with the private lives of individuals and families, however, human rights groups and opposition politicians allege that such interference does occur.[5]