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

Radio and television

Radio stations Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio sta ...

: ** 1 state-owned radio station, and 1 private radio station owned by the president's eldest son; transmissions of multiple international broadcasters are accessible (2007);"Communications: Equatorial Guinea"
''World Factbook'', U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 27 January 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2014. ** no AM, 3 FM, and 5 shortwave stations (2001)."Communications: Equatorial Guinea"
''World Factbook'', U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 8 March 2010. Retrieved 10 February 2014 via Internet Archive. *

Radios Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitt ...

: 180,000 (1997). *

Television stations A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the ear ...

: ** 1 state-owned TV station; satellite TV service is available; transmissions of multiple international broadcasters are accessible (2007); ** 1 TV station (2001). *

Television set 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 ...

s: 4,000 (1997). The state maintains direct or indirect control of all broadcast media. The government owns the only national radio and television broadcast system, RTVGE. The president's eldest son owns the only private radio station. Satellite broadcasts are widely available, including the French language Africa24 television news channel that occasionally carries opposition criticism. Foreign channels, including Radio France International (RFI) and the BBC World Service, were broadcast uncensored throughout the country.

Telephones

* Calling code: +240 *

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 phone call. In the dialling sequence, the prefix precedes the country calling code (and, fur ...

: 00 * Land lines: ** 14,900 lines in use, 195th in the world (2012); ** 10,000 lines in use, 204th in the world (2008). * Mobile cellular: ** 501,000 lines, 169th in the world (2012); ** 346,000 lines, 165th in the world (2008). * Telephone system: digital fixed-line network in most major urban areas and good mobile coverage; fixed-line density is about 2 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular subscribership has been increasing and in 2011 stood at about 60 percent of the population; international communications from Bata and the capital, Malabo, to African and European countries (2011). * Satellite earth stations: 1 Intelsat (

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by t ...

) (2011). * Communications cables: Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) submarine cable system, links countries along the west coast of Africa to each other and on to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and France.

Internet

* Top-level domain: .gq * List of countries by number of Internet users, Internet users: ** 95,649 users, 169th in the world; 13.9% of the population, 158th 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 ** 14,400 users, 200th in the world (2009). * List of countries by number of broadband Internet subscriptions, Fixed broadband: 1,372 subscriptions, 174th in the world; 0.2% of population, 159th 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. * List of countries by number of broadband Internet subscriptions, Wireless broadband: Unknown (2012)."Active mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012"
Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE, International Telecommunication Union. Retrieved on 29 June 2013. * List of countries by number of Internet hosts, Internet hosts: 7 hosts, 227th in the world (2012). * List of countries by IPv4 address allocation, IPv4: 3,072 addresses allocated, less than 0.05% of the world total, 4.5 addresses per 1000 people (2012).Population
The World Factbook, United States Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on 2 April 2012. Note: Data are mostly for 1 July 2012. * Internet service providers: 9 ISPs (2009).

Internet censorship and surveillance

There are no government restrictions on access to the Internet or credible reports the government monitors e-mail or Internet chat rooms without judicial oversight. Most overt criticism of the government comes from the country's community in exile, and the Internet has replaced broadcast media as the primary way opposition views were expressed and disseminated."Equatorial Guinea"
''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 February 2014. Although the constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and freedom of the press, press, the law grants authorities extensive powers to restrict media activities, which the government uses to limit these rights. While criticism of government policies is allowed, individuals generally can not criticize the president, his family, other high-ranking officials, or the security forces without fear of reprisal. Libel is a criminal offense, but there were no instances of the government using these laws to suppress criticism during 2012. The constitution and law prohibit arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence, but the government often does not respect these prohibitions. Search warrants are required unless the crime is in progress or for reasons of national security. Security forces enter homes without authorization and arrest alleged criminals, foreign nationals, and others, often without required judicial orders. The government reportedly attempts to impede criticism by monitoring the activities of the political opposition, journalists, and others. Journalists are subject to surveillance and practice self-censorship.

References

* *

External links