Cyprus Communications 2021, CIA World Factbook

total subscriptions: 323,914

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 25.86 (2019 est.)

Telephones - mobile cellular

total subscriptions: 1,243,151

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 99.24 (2019 est.)

Telecommunication systems

general assessment:

despite the growth of Cyprus's telecom sector, the market is dominated by its state-owned operator; one of the highest broadband penetration rates in the region; DSL remains the dominant access platform as broadband is restricted to a few towns; fixed-line and mobile cable infrastructure available for more than half of premises; fiber infrastructure in development; improved regulations provide confidence for investment in network infrastructure and competing services; operator expanded FttP services and initiated cable connection to France and Egypt; operator signed vendor agreement with international investor, Huawei, to develop 5G; operators extended LTE services and upgraded transmission capacity on TE-North Cable System (2021)

(2020)

domestic: fixed-line is 37 per 100, and 144 per 100 for mobile-cellular; open-wire, fiber-optic cable, and microwave radio relay (2019)

international: country code - 357 (area administered by Turkish Cypriots uses the country code of Turkey - 90); a number of submarine cables, including the SEA-ME-WE-3, CADMOS, MedNautilus Submarine System, POSEIDON, TE North/TGN-Eurasia/SEACOM/Alexandros/Medes, UGARIT, Aphrodite2, Hawk, Lev Submarine System, and Tamares combine to provide connectivity to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, and Southeast Asia; Turcyos-1 and Turcyos-2 submarine cable in Turkish North Cyprus link to Turkey; tropospheric scatter; satellite earth stations - 8 (3 Intelsat - 1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean, 2 Eutelsat, 2 Intersputnik, and 1 Arabsat) (2019)

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

mixture of state and privately run TV and radio services; the public broadcaster operates 2 TV channels and 4 radio stations; 6 private TV broadcasters, satellite and cable TV services including telecasts from Greece and Turkey, and a number of private radio stations are available; in areas administered by Turkish Cypriots, there are 2 public TV stations, 4 public radio stations, and 7 privately owned TV and 21 radio broadcast stations plus 6 radio and 4 TV channels of local universities, plus 1 radio station of military, security forces and 1 radio station of civil defense cooperation, as well as relay stations from Turkey (2019)

Internet country code

.cy

Internet users

total: 1,044,473

percent of population: 84.43% (July 2018 est.)

Broadband - fixed subscriptions

total: 326,565

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 26.07 (2019 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Cyprus 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 Cyprus 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Cyprus 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.