Botswana Communications - 2022

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Telephones - fixed lines

total subscriptions: 140,003 (2020 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 6 (2020 est.)

Telephones - mobile cellular

total subscriptions: 3,829,408 (2020 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 163 (2020 est.)

Telecommunication systems

general assessment: effective regulatory reform has made Botswana’s telecom market one of the most liberalized in the region; there is a service-neutral licensing regime adapted to the convergence of technologies and services, and several operators now compete in all telecom sectors; Botswana has one of the highest mobile penetration rates in Africa; in a bid to generate new revenue streams and secure market share, the three mobile network operators have entered the underdeveloped broadband sector by adopting of 3G, LTE, and WiMAX technologies; in the fixed-line broadband market they compete with a large number of ISPs, some of which have rolled out their own wireless access infrastructure; the landlocked country depends on satellites for international bandwidth, and on other countries for transit capacity to the landing points of international submarine cables; the landing of additional cables in the region in recent years has improved the competitive situation in this sector, while prices for connectivity have fallen dramatically (2022)

domestic: fixed-line teledensity has declined in recent years and now stands at roughly 6 telephones per 100 persons; mobile-cellular teledensity is roughly 163 telephones per 100 persons (2020)

international: country code - 267; international calls are made via satellite, using international direct dialing; 2 international exchanges; digital microwave radio relay links to Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)

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 a downturn, particularly in mobile device production; progress toward 5G implementation has resumed, as well as upgrades to infrastructure; consumer spending on telecom services has increased due to the surge in demand for capacity and bandwidth; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home is still evident, and the spike in this area has seen growth opportunities for development of new tools and increased services

Broadcast media

2 TV stations - 1 state-owned and 1 privately owned; privately owned satellite TV subscription service is available; 2 state-owned national radio stations; 4 privately owned radio stations broadcast locally (2019)

Internet country code

.bw

Internet users

total: 1,505,040 (2020 est.)

percent of population: 64% (2020 est.)

Broadband - fixed subscriptions

total: 259,525 (2020 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 11 (2020 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Botswana on this page is re-published from the 2022 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Botswana 2022 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Botswana 2022 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.