Telephones - fixed lines:
total subscriptions: 1.18 million
[see also: Telephones - fixed lines - total subscriptions country ranks ]
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 5
(July 2016 est.)
[see also: Telephones - fixed lines - subscriptions per 100 inhabitants country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
71
Telephones - mobile cellular:
total subscriptions: 3.606 million
[see also: Telephones - mobile cellular - total subscriptions country ranks ]
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 14
(July 2016 est.)
[see also: Telephones - mobile cellular - subscriptions per 100 inhabitants country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
134
Telephone system:
general assessment:
nationwide fiber-optic network; mobile-cellular service expanded beyond Pyongyang; infrastructure underdeveloped yet growing mobile penetration by means of foreign investment; low broadband penetration; mobile penetration in North Korea believed to stay well below other Asian nations due to government restrictions; 3G network deployed among universal population coverage
(2018)
domestic:
fiber-optic links installed down to the county level; telephone directories unavailable; mobile service launched in late 2008 for the Pyongyang area and considerable progress in expanding to other parts of the country since; fixed-lines are 5 per 100 and mobile-cellular 14 per 100 persons
(2018)
international:
country code - 850; satellite earth stations - 2 (1 Intelsat - Indian Ocean, 1 Russian - Indian Ocean region); other international connections through Moscow and Beijing
Broadcast media:
no independent media; radios and TVs are pre-tuned to government stations; 4 government-owned TV stations; the Korean Workers' Party owns and operates the Korean Central Broadcasting Station, and the state-run Voice of Korea operates an external broadcast service; the government prohibits listening to and jams foreign broadcasts
(2019)
