Uruguay Communications - 2021

Telephones - fixed lines

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.)