Eritrea Communications - 2022

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Telephones - fixed lines

total subscriptions: 66,000 (2020 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 2 (2020 est.)

Telephones - mobile cellular

total subscriptions: 1.801 million (2020 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 51 (2020 est.)

Telecommunication systems

general assessment: Eritrea’s telecom sector operates under a state-owned monopoly for fixed and mobile services; as a result of such restrictions on competition, the country has the least developed telecommunications market in Africa; mobile penetration stands at only about 20%, while fixed-line internet use barely registers; this is exacerbated by the very low use of computers, with only about 4% of households having a computer, and most of these being in the capital, Asmara; the 3G network continues to rollout which provides basic internet access to the majority or Eritreans; investment in telecom infrastructure is still required to improve the quality of services; the government has embarked on a work program to do exactly that, specifically aimed at extending services to remote areas, improving the quality of services, and ensuring that more telecoms infrastructure is supported by solar power to compensate for the poor state of the electricity network; additional foreign investment in telecom infrastructure, as well as introduction of more competition, would help transform what remains a virtually untapped market (2022)

domestic: fixed-line subscribership is less than 2 per 100 persons and mobile-cellular is just over 51 per 100 (2020)

international: country code - 291 (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 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

government controls broadcast media with private ownership prohibited; 1 state-owned TV station; state-owned radio operates 2 networks; purchases of satellite dishes and subscriptions to international broadcast media are permitted (2019)

Internet country code

.er

Internet users

total: 53,200 (2019 est.)

percent of population: 1% (2019 est.)

Broadband - fixed subscriptions

total: 5,000 (2020 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 0.1 (2020 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Eritrea 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 Eritrea 2022 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Eritrea 2022 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.