El Salvador Communications - 2021

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Telephones - fixed lines

total subscriptions: 882,498

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 13.73 (2019 est.)

Telephones - mobile cellular

total subscriptions: 9,442,667

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 146.91 (2019 est.)

Telecommunication systems

general assessment:

El Salvador’s telecom sector is challenged by low population, poor infrastructure, and unequal income distribution compounded by corruption and criminal influence; liberal regulation promotes mobile penetration in replacement of fixed-line density; operators testing 5G in 2020 (2020)

(2020)

domestic: growth in fixed-line services 14 per 100, has slowed in the face of mobile-cellular competition at 147 per 100 (2019)

international: country code - 503; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System (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

multiple privately owned national terrestrial TV networks, supplemented by cable TV networks that carry international channels; hundreds of commercial radio broadcast stations and 1 government-owned radio broadcast station; transition to digital transmission to begin in 2018 along with adaptation of the Japanese-Brazilian Digital Standard (ISDB-T)

Internet country code

.sv

Internet users

total: 2,153,776

percent of population: 33.82% (July 2018 est.)

Broadband - fixed subscriptions

total: 492,265

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 8 (2018 est.)

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