Telecommunications in the Dominican Republic include radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet.
Numerous television channels are available.
Tricom, S.A,
WIND Telecom, S.A.,
Viva (network operator)
Trilogy Dominicana, doing business as Viva, is a mobile network operator in the Dominican Republic.
History
Founded in 1883 as All America Cables & Radio Dominican Republic (an ITT subsidiary), the company was the country's first telecom to ...
, and
Claro Codetel provide television services digitally, with channels from Latin America and elsewhere in the world. There are extensive mobile phone and land-line services. Internet access is available as
Cable Internet,
ADSL
Asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) is a type of digital subscriber line (DSL) technology, a data communications technology that enables faster data transmission over copper telephone lines than a conventional voiceband modem can provide. ...
,
WiMAX
Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) is a family of wireless broadband communication standards based on the IEEE 802.16 set of standards, which provide physical layer (PHY) and media access control (MAC) options.
The WiMAX ...
,
EDGE
Edge or EDGE may refer to:
Technology Computing
* Edge computing, a network load-balancing system
* Edge device, an entry point to a computer network
* Adobe Edge, a graphical development application
* Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...
,
EV-DO
Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO, EVDO, etc.) is a telecommunications standard for the wireless transmission of data through radio signals, typically for broadband Internet access. EV-DO is an evolution of the CDMA2000 (IS-2000) standard which su ...
and
UMTS
The Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a third generation mobile cellular system for networks based on the GSM standard. Developed and maintained by the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), UMTS is a component of the Inte ...
/
HSDPA
High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) is an amalgamation of two mobile protocols—High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA)—that extends and improves the performance of existing 3G mobile telecommunicat ...
in most parts of the country. Projects to extend
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wave ...
(wireless internet) hot spots have been undertaken in
Santo Domingo
, total_type = Total
, population_density_km2 = auto
, timezone = AST (UTC −4)
, area_code_type = Area codes
, area_code = 809, 829, 849
, postal_code_type = Postal codes
, postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional)
, websi ...
. Since 2015 the country has been actively extending its fiber optics network, to provide faster and more reliable internet to business and private users.
The Instituto Dominicano De Telecomunicaciones (INDOTEL) regulates and supervises the development of the country's telecommunications market.
Radio and television
* Radio stations: AM 146, FM 233, shortwave 14 (2013). A combination of state-owned and privately owned radio stations with more than 300 radio stations operating (2007).
["Communications: Dominican Republic"]
''World Factbook'', U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 7 January 2014. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
* Radios: 1.44 million (1997).
* Television stations: 46 (2012). A combination of state-owned and privately owned broadcast media; 1 state-owned and a number of private TV networks; networks operate repeaters to extend signals throughout country (2007).
[
* Pay TV: 49,010 subscribers (2010).
* ]Television sets
A television set or television receiver, more commonly called the television, TV, TV set, telly, tele, or tube, is a device that combines a tuner, display, and loudspeakers, for the purpose of viewing and hearing television broadcasts, or using ...
: 770,000 (1997).
Cable television in the Dominican Republic is provided by a variety of companies. These companies offer both English and Spanish language television, plus a range of channels in other languages, high definition channels, pay-per-view
Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast.
Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...
movies and events, sports packages, premium movies channels and adult channels such as HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
, Playboy TV
Playboy TV (originally The Playboy Channel) is a pay television channel based in the United States.
History
The channel first launched on December 9, 1980, as Escapade by Rainbow Programing Services (a joint-venture of four cable companies, ...
, Cinecanal
Cinecanal is a Latin American pan-regional cable television channel launched on April 1, 1993. It is owned by a group of Hollywood studios and Latin American cable companies. It is owned by the Fox Networks Group, a subsidiary of Disney Internat ...
, MLB Extra Innings
MLB Extra Innings is an out-of-market sports package distributed in North America by satellite provider DirecTV since 1996 and by most cable providers since 2001. The package allowed its subscribers to see up to 80 out-of-market Major League Bas ...
, etc. The channels are not only from the Dominican Republic, but also the United States and Europe.
In the Dominican Republic there are 46 in VHF and UHF channels free-to-air
Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the FTA Receiver, appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring ...
channels. The programming on the free of charge channels consists mainly of locally produced entertainment shows, news, and comedy shows; and foreign sitcoms, soap operas, movies, cartoons, and sports programs.
The main service provider in the Dominican Republic is Tricom. Aster is concentrated in Santo Domingo, but is expanding its service throughout the Dominican Republic. There are new companies using new technologies that are expanding quickly such as Claro TV (IPTV
Internet Protocol television (IPTV) is the delivery of television content over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. This is in contrast to delivery through traditional terrestrial, satellite, and cable television formats. Unlike downloaded media, ...
and Satellite TV
Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna commo ...
), Wind Telecom ( MMDS) and SKY
The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space.
In the field of astronomy, ...
(Satellite TV
Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna commo ...
).
On election day in May 2012 government broadcast regulators took two popular national television channels (11 and 33) off the air on the grounds that they violated an electoral law prohibiting distribution of exit poll or other unofficial information regarding the final results of the electoral process. Both channels were closed on the afternoon of 20 May and reopened the next morning.[
]
Telephones
* Area code
A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, rea ...
s: 809, 829, and 849.[
* ]International call prefix
An international call prefix, international dial-out code or international direct dial code (IDD code) is a trunk prefix that indicates an International call, international phone call. In the dialling sequence, the prefix precedes the country call ...
: +1
* Fixed lines: 1.0 million lines in use, 73rd in the world (2012).[
* Fixed line teledensity: 10 per 100 people (2011).][
* Mobile cellular: 9.0 million lines (2012).][
* Mobile cellular teledensity: 90 per 100 people (2011).][
* ]VoIP
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), also called IP telephony, is a method and group of technologies for the delivery of voice communications and multimedia sessions over Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the Internet. The terms Internet t ...
: 45,328 lines (2012).
* Domestic system: Relatively efficient system based on island-wide microwave radio relay
Microwave transmission is the transmission of information by electromagnetic waves with wavelengths in the microwave frequency range of 300MHz to 300GHz(1 m - 1 mm wavelength) of the electromagnetic spectrum. Microwave signals are normally lim ...
network (2011)[ and fiber optics lines that cover many of the main cities.
* Communications cables: Landing point for the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1), ]ANTILLAS I
ANTILLAS I is a fiber optic submarine communications cable that extends between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. It has been in service since June 1997 and is operated on a common carrier basis.
ANTILLAS I uses digital channels operating at ...
, and the Fibralink submarine cables that provide links to South
South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
and Central America, parts of the Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
, and the US (2011).[
* ]Satellite earth station
A ground station, Earth station, or Earth terminal is a terrestrial radio station designed for extraplanetary telecommunication with spacecraft (constituting part of the ground segment of the spacecraft system), or reception of radio waves fro ...
: 1, Intelsat
Intelsat S.A. (formerly INTEL-SAT, INTELSAT, Intelsat) is a multinational satellite services provider with corporate headquarters in Luxembourg and administrative headquarters in Tysons Corner, Virginia, United States. Originally formed as In ...
(Atlantic Ocean) (2011).[
]
Internet
* Top-level domain
A top-level domain (TLD) is one of the domains at the highest level in the hierarchical Domain Name System of the Internet after the root domain. The top-level domain names are installed in the root zone of the name space. For all domains in ...
: .do
.do is the ''country code top-level domain
A country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is an Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) t ...
[
* ]Internet users
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
: 4.5 million users, 62nd in the world; 45.0% of the population, 98th in the world (2012).[Calculated using penetration rate and population data fro]
"Countries and Areas Ranked by Population: 2012"
, Population data, International Programs, U.S. Census Bureau, retrieved 26 June 2013["Percentage of Individuals using the Internet 2000–2012"]
International Telecommunication Union (Geneva), June 2013, retrieved 22 June 2013
* Fixed broadband: 446,420 subscriptions, 72nd in the world; 4.4% of the population, 108th in the world (2012).["Fixed (wired)-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012"](_blank)
Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE, International Telecommunication Union
The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Unio ...
. Retrieved on 29 June 2013.
* Wireless broadband
Wireless broadband is telecommunications technology that provides high-speed wireless Internet access or computer networking access over a wide area. The term comprises both fixed and mobile broadband.
The term broadband
Originally the word "b ...
: 1.6 million subscriptions, 65th in the world; 15.4% of the population, 80th in the world (2012).["Active mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012"](_blank)
Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE, International Telecommunication Union
The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Unio ...
. Retrieved on 29 June 2013.
* Internet hosts: 404,500 hosts, 55th in the world (2012).[
* ]IPv4
Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) is the fourth version of the Internet Protocol (IP). It is one of the core protocols of standards-based internetworking methods in the Internet and other packet-switched networks. IPv4 was the first version de ...
: 857,600 addresses allocated, less than 0.05% of the world total, 85 addresses per 1000 people (2012).
* Internet service provider
An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise private ...
s (ISPs): 8: Claro (Fiber, ADSL and wireless), Tricom (Fiber, WiMAX, ADSL, and Cable), Aster (CABLE), VIVA (wireless), Orange (wireless), ONEMAX (Fiber GPON, Wireless PTP, Data Center), Wind Telecom (WiMAX) (2008).
Broadband Internet access
The Dominican Republic is considered one of the countries with the most advanced telecommunications infrastructures in Latin America, with over 8.9 million cell phones connected (on just about 10 million populants, with 3.5 million of them on extreme poverty conditions) and large companies like Codetel
Claro (formerly CODETEL) is the largest telecommunications company in the Dominican Republic and provides local, long-distance, and wireless voice services, as well as Internet and IPTV services, to approximately four million customers.
History
U ...
and Orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
(FR) on the telecommunications market. Broadband Internet access is growing, with over 622,931 Internet accounts globally and 3,851,278 Internet users as of December 2010 according to INDOTEL (DR Telecommunications Institute). Broadband DSL represents about 56% of the total Internet subscribers. There is access to regular ADSL, G.SHDSL, and services only on metropolitan areas, costs are high and service is decent. Cable Internet is offered by a couple of cable companies at lower costs than ADSL but the service is very deficient and unreliable. WiFi is becoming more common. It is available in some universities. Most hotels also offer wi-fi internet. The implementation of the WiMAX
Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) is a family of wireless broadband communication standards based on the IEEE 802.16 set of standards, which provide physical layer (PHY) and media access control (MAC) options.
The WiMAX ...
and HSPA
HSPA may refer to:
* High Speed Packet Access, a mobile broadband technology
* Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association
Education
* High School Proficiency Assessment
* Humphrey School of Public Affairs
The Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Aff ...
technology by some of the Cellphone service providers are resulting in the rapid investment by other providers in the market to match the new and faster platform of services. Mobile broadband users have seen their percentage grow from 14% in 2007 all the way to 39% in 2010, and will continue to grow as more and more users are opting for this type of technology in a country where Home Broadband speeds are more expensive and slower. Also the ongoing installation of a Fiber-Optic network structure in the National District and the City of Santiago (second largest in the country) will force other competitors into upgrading theirs to be able to compete in the markets they now lead.
Pricing
As of October 2018, not including taxes.
Key: DOP: Dominican peso, USD: United States dollar. Exchange rate ( $50 DOP : $1 USD )
;Pricing – Home Internet Access (By ISP)
/ref>
The following table shows the speeds/prices* available and designed for home usage.
*Note: The pricing and speeds are subject to change since Altice, Claro and Wind have multi plans (Two or Three services combined), those plans have a discount on all services. Up to 25% discount for combined services.
;Pricing – Mobile Broadband (By ISP)
Currently the mobile internet market is governed by three aspects:
# The first is based on a contract where you are granted a certain amount of data (MB/GB) per month, after having consumed the data you can continue browsing at 512 kbit/s.
# Second option is a monthly income (postpaid) for the acquisition of a speed package with "unlimited data" (is subject to fair use policies with unlimited browsing at 512 kbit/s after you surpass the monthly capacity).
# Third group belongs to the prepaid modality, in this option the client determines the number of days or amount of data he needs to navigate.
Internet censorship and surveillance
There are no government restrictions on access to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitors e-mail or Internet chat rooms
The term chat room, or chatroom (and sometimes group chat; abbreviated as GC), is primarily used to describe any form of synchronous conferencing, occasionally even asynchronous conferencing. The term can thus mean any technology, ranging from ...
without judicial oversight.["Dominican Republic"]
''Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012'', Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State, 22 March 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
The constitution provides for freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...
and press
Press may refer to:
Media
* Print media or news media, commonly called "the press"
* Printing press, commonly called "the press"
* Press (newspaper), a list of newspapers
* Press TV, an Iranian television network
People
* Press (surname), a fam ...
, and the government generally respects these rights in practice. An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system ensure freedom of speech and press. The independent media are active and express a wide variety of views without restriction. Individuals and groups are generally able to criticize the government publicly and privately without reprisal, although there have been incidents in which authorities intimidated journalists or other news professionals. Local journalists engage in self-censorship, particularly when coverage could adversely affect the economic or political interests of media owners. The government denies using unauthorized wiretapping or other surreptitious methods to interfere with the private lives of individuals and families, however, human rights groups and opposition politicians allege that such interference does occur.[
]
See also
* Dominican Postal Institute
The Dominican Postal Institute (, INPOSDOM) is the Dominican institution charged with postal services for the Dominican Republic. It was established on November 15, 1985 by Law 307.
Apart from postal services, INPOSDOM offers email services for ...
* North American Regional Broadcasting Agreement
References
*
*
External links
nic.do
Network Information Center for the .do domain.
Claro
Compania De Servicios Inalambricos Dominicana
Indotel
Instituto Dominicano de las Telecomunicaciones.
Indotel
Dominican Republic Communications Regulation Authority.
ONEMAX
Orange
SKY
Tricom
VIVA
Wind Telecom
Teléfono Dominicana
{{Dominican Republic topics
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...