Uruguay Communications 2021, CIA World Factbook

total subscriptions: 1,165,373

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 34.47 (2019 est.)

Telephones - mobile cellular

total subscriptions: 4,779,787

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 141.39 (2019 est.)

Telecommunication systems

general assessment:

Uruguay has an advanced telecom market, with excellent infrastructure and one of the highest broadband penetration rates in Latin America; fully digitized; high computer use and fixed-line/mobile penetrations; deployment of fiber infrastructure will encourage economic growth and stimulate e-commerce; state-owned monopoly on fixed-line market and dominance of mobile market; nationwide 3G coverage and LTE networks; limited 5G commercial reach; strong focus on fiber infrastructure with high percentage of residential fixed-broadband connections and near total business connections; importer of broadcasting equipment from China (2021)

(2020)

domestic: most modern facilities concentrated in Montevideo; nationwide microwave radio relay network; overall fixed-line 34 per 100 and mobile-cellular teledensity 138 per 100 persons (2019)

international: country code - 598; landing points for the Unisor, Tannat, and Bicentenario submarine cable system providing direct connectivity to Brazil and Argentina; Bicentenario 2012 and Tannat 2017 cables helped end-users with Internet bandwidth; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (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

mixture of privately owned and state-run broadcast media; more than 100 commercial radio stations and about 20 TV channels; cable TV is available; many community radio and TV stations; adopted the hybrid Japanese/Brazilian HDTV standard (ISDB-T) in December 2010 (2019)

Internet country code

.uy

Internet users

total: 2,300,557

percent of population: 68.28% (July 2018 est.)

Broadband - fixed subscriptions

total: 1,012,410

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 29.95 (2019 est.)

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