Venezuela Communications - 2024

Telephones - fixed lines

total subscriptions: 3,146,844 (2022 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 11 (2021 est.)

Telephones - mobile cellular

total subscriptions: 17 million (2021 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 60 (2021 est.)

Telecommunication systems

general assessment: Venezuela’s fixed-line teledensity was relatively high for the region before the steady growth in the number of lines came to an end in 2015; since then, the number of lines has plummeted, and by late 2021 teledensity had fallen to about 17.3%; the cause is largely linked to the country’s ongoing economic troubles, which have compelled many people to terminate fixed-line telecom services and others still to flee the country; these pressures have also distorted sector revenue and have placed into disarray operators’ investment plans aimed at improving networks and expanding the reach and capabilities of new technologies and services; the fixed broadband penetration rate is lower than the regional average, while data speeds are also relatively low; there is no effective competition in the provision of DSL, and as a result the state-owned incumbent CANTV has had little incentive to improve services from its meager revenue streams; mobile penetration in Venezuela is also below the regional average; the number of mobile subscribers fell by an estimated 2.4% in 2020, year-on-year, as subscribers terminated services in a bid to reduce discretionary spending, this decline is expected to continue into 2022, with subscriber growth not returning until 2023 (2021)

domestic: fixed-line is 11 per 100 and mobile-cellular telephone subscribership is 60 per 100 persons (2021)

international: country code - 58; landing points for the Venezuela Festoon, ARCOS, PAN-AM, SAC, GlobeNet, ALBA-1 and Americas II submarine cable system providing connectivity to the Caribbean, Central and South America, and US; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 PanAmSat (2020)

Broadcast media

Venezuela has a mixture of state-run and private broadcast media that are subject to high levels of regime control, including the shuttering of opposition-leaning media outlets; 13 public service networks, 61 privately owned TV networks, a privately owned news channel with limited national coverage, and a regime-backed Pan-American channel; 3 regime-run radio networks officially control roughly 65 news stations and another 30 stations targeted at specific audiences; regime-sponsored community broadcasters include 235 radio stations and 44 TV stations; the number of private broadcast radio stations has been declining, but many still remain in operation (2021)

Internet country code

.ve

Internet users

total: 22,734,162 (2022 est.)

percent of population: 78.7% (2022 est.)

Broadband - fixed subscriptions

total: 2,561,556 (2020 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 9 (2020 est.)