Belarus Communications - 2021

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Telephones - fixed lines

total subscriptions: 4,451,144

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 46.88 (2019 est.)

Telephones - mobile cellular

total subscriptions: 11,627,249

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 122.46 (2019 est.)

Telecommunication systems

general assessment:

government owns and administers backbone network and much of telecom market with no independent regulator; government and telecom regulator are concluding three major programs aimed at developing the telecom sector and digital economy to enable 5G services and extension of fiber infrastructure; growing applications for smart cities; developing mobile broadband and data services to rural areas; commercial LTE services extended to 80% of the population; operators provide standalone 5G service and NB-IoT services; international connection through fiber optic and terrestrial link, nascent satellite system; importer of broadcasting equipment from China (2021)

(2020)

domestic: fixed-line teledensity is improving although rural areas continue to be underserved, 48 per 100 fixed-line; mobile-cellular teledensity now approaches 123 telephones per 100 persons (2019)

international: country code - 375; Belarus is landlocked and therefore a member of the Trans-European Line (TEL), Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line, and has access to the Trans-Siberia Line (TSL); 3 fiber-optic segments provide connectivity to Latvia, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine; worldwide service is available to Belarus through this infrastructure; additional analog lines to Russia; Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik earth stations; almost 31,000 base stations in service in 2019 (2020)

note: the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced downturn, particularly in mobile device production; many network operators delayed upgrades to infrastructure; progress towards 5G implementation was postponed or slowed in some countries; consumer spending on telecom services and devices was affected by large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home became evident, and received some support from governments

Broadcast media

7 state-controlled national TV channels; Polish and Russian TV broadcasts are available in some areas; state-run Belarusian Radio operates 5 national networks and an external service; Russian and Polish radio broadcasts are available (2019)

Internet country code

.by

Internet users

total: 7,539,145

percent of population: 79.13% (July 2018 est.)

Broadband - fixed subscriptions

total: 3,214,869

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 33.86 (2019 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Belarus on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Belarus 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Belarus 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.