Telecommunications in Belize include radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet.

Radio and television

* Radio stations: ~25 radio stations broadcasting on roughly 50 different frequencies (2007); state-run radio was privatized in 1998."Belize"
''World Factbook'', U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 7 January 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2014. * Radios: 133,000 (1997). * Television stations: 8 privately owned TV stations; multi-channel cable TV provides access to foreign stations (2007). * Television sets: 41,000 (1997).

Telephones

Calling code Country calling codes or country dial-in codes are telephone number prefixes for reaching telephone subscribers in the networks of the member countries or regions of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). The codes are defined by the ...

: +501 * International call prefix: 00 * Main lines: 25,400 lines in use, 180th in the world (2012). * Mobile cellular: 164,200 lines, 184th in the world (2012). * Teledensity: fixed-line of slightly less than 10 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular approaching 70 per 100 persons (2011). * Telephone system: Above-average system; domestic trunk network depends primarily on

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 ...

(2011). *

Communications cable In electrical engineering, a transmission line is a specialized cable or other structure designed to conduct electromagnetic waves in a contained manner. The term applies when the conductors are long enough that the wave nature of the transmi ...

: Landing point for the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) fiber-optic telecommunications submarine cable that provides 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 stations: 8 (2

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 ...

, 6 unknown) (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 ...

.bz .bz is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for Belize. It is administered by the University of Belize. At one point, .bz domains were being marketed by an American company as standing for "business", and that company took legal ...

, administered by the Belize Network Information Center at the

University of Belize The University of Belize (UB) is an English-speaking multi-locational institute for higher education, and the national university of Belize. The institution offers certificates, diplomas, associate degrees, bachelor's degrees, and a graduate degre ...

. * Internet users: 81,930 users, 171st in the world; 25.0% of the population, 138th 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: 10,077 subscriptions, 148th in the world; 3.1% of the population, 115th in the world (2012)."Fixed (wired)-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012"
Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE, International Telecommunication Union. Retrieved on 29 June 2013. * Wireless broadband: 419 subscriptions, 147th in the world; 0.1% of the population, 146th in the world (2012)."Active mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012"
Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE, International Telecommunication Union. Retrieved on 29 June 2013. *

Internet hosts A network host is a computer or other device connected to a computer network. A host may work as a Server (computing), server offering information resources, services, and applications to users or other hosts on the network. Hosts are assigned at ...

: 3,392 hosts, 152nd 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 ...

: 61,952 addresses allocated, less than 0.05% of the world total, 189.0 addresses per 1000 people (2012). *

Internet Service Providers 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 privatel ...

: There are several ISPs in Belize: BTL,

Speed Net Speednet Communications Limited is a Belizean communications company established in 2003. It mostly deals with cellular services under the brand name "SMART" and other landline services. Background The BTL monopoly Prior to Speednet, Belizeans ...

, and others.

Internet censorship and surveillance

There are few government restrictions on access to the Internet and no credible reports that the government monitors e-mail or Internet chat rooms without judicial oversight. Prior to 2012, the government-owned telecommunications company blocked Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) services."Belize"
''Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012'', Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State, 20 March 2013. Retrieved 11 January 2014.National News: GOB lifts block on VOIP
'' The San Pedro Sun'', May 4th, 2013 The law 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 and the government generally respects these rights in practice. The constitution prohibits arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence, and government authorities generally respect these prohibitions in practice. Law enforcement agencies may, with judicial oversight, intercept communications to obtain information in the interest of "national security, public order, public morals, and public safety." The law defines communication broadly to encompass the possible interception of communication by post, telephone, facsimile, e-mails, chat, and/or text messages whether encrypted or unencrypted or whether provided by public or private providers.

References

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External links