New Caledonia Communications - 2024

Telephones - fixed lines

total subscriptions: 46,000 (2021 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 16 (2021 est.)

Telephones - mobile cellular

total subscriptions: 260,000 (2021 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 90 (2021 est.)

Telecommunication systems

general assessment: New Caledonia’s telecom sector provides fixed and mobile voice services, mobile internet, fixed broadband access, and wholesale services for other ISPs; the country is well serviced by extensive 3G and LTE networks, and is considered to have one of the highest smartphone adoption rates in the Pacific region; by 2025, smart phone penetration is expected to reach 71%; while DSL is still the dominant fixed broadband technology, and a nationwide FttP network; the South Pacific region has become a hub for submarine cable system developments in recent years, with further networks scheduled to come online later in 2021 and into 2022; these new cables are expected to increase competition in the region with regards to international capacity; in 2020, the government owned telco commissioned Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN) to build the Gondwana-2 cable system to provide additional network capacity and complement the Gondwana-1 cable (2022)

domestic: fixed-line is 16 per 100 and mobile-cellular telephone subscribership 90 per 100 persons (2021)

international: country code - 687; landing points for the Gondwana-1 and Picot-1 providing connectivity via submarine cables around New Caledonia and to Australia; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2019)

Broadcast media

the publicly owned French Overseas Network (RFO), which operates in France's overseas departments and territories, broadcasts over the RFO Nouvelle-Calédonie TV and radio stations; a small number of privately owned radio stations also broadcast

Internet country code

.nc

Internet users

total: 237,800 (2021 est.)

percent of population: 82% (2021 est.)

Broadband - fixed subscriptions

total: 55,000 (2020 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 19 (2020 est.)