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South Sudan vs. Democratic Republic of the Congo

Telecommunications

South SudanDemocratic Republic of the Congo
Telephones - main lines in usesubscriptions per 100 inhabitants: less than 1 (2018 est.)total subscriptions: 0 NA

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: less than 1 (2018 est.)
Telephones - mobile cellulartotal subscriptions: 2,221,967

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 21.61 (2019 est.)
total subscriptions: 42,166,976

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 42.77 (2019 est.)
Internet country code.ss.cd
Internet userstotal: 814,326

percent of population: 7.98% (July 2018 est.)
total: 8,231,357

percent of population: 8.62% (July 2018 est.)
Telecommunication systemsgeneral assessment:

landlocked and war-torn with little infrastructure and electricity, Sudan has one of the least developed telecom and Internet systems in the world and one of the lowest mobile penetration rates in Africa; instability, widespread poverty, and low literacy rate all contribute to a struggling telecom sector; due to revenue losses, the few carriers in the market have reduced the areas in which they offer service; the government recognizes positive effects of ICT on development and is providing a range of investment incentives; international community provided billions in aid to help the young country; Chinese investment plays a growing role in the infrastructure build-out and energy sectors; by 2020, one operator had initiated e-money service; international fiber cable link from Juba to Mombasa will drive down costs of Internet; government utilizes unchecked power to conduct surveillance and monitor communications; importer of broadcasting equipment from China (2021)

(2020)

domestic: fixed-line less than 1 per 100 subscriptions, mobile-cellular 33 per 100 persons (2019)

international: country code - 211 (2017)

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 downturn, particularly in mobile device production; many network operators delayed upgrades to infrastructure; progress towards 5G implementation was postponed or slowed in some countries; consumer spending on telecom services and devices was affected by large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home became evident, and received some support from governments

general assessment:

due to decades of conflict and poor infrastructure, the Democratic Republic of Congo's telecom system is one of the least developed in the region; government aims to improve loose regulation through legislation; mobile networks are principal providers of telecom; LTE is geographically limited; investment from China and other foreign donors for fiber backbone; international bandwidth through WACS submarine cable; operator licensed to build landing station for submarine cable and tower upgrade that will provide competition in broadband, fixed, and mobile Internet services; operator added fiber link between Brazzaville and Kinshasa (2021)

(2020)

domestic: fixed-line connections less than 1 per 100 persons; given the backdrop of a wholly inadequate fixed-line infrastructure, the use of mobile-cellular services is over 43 per 100 persons (2019)

international: country code - 243; ACE and WACS submarine cables to West and South Africa and Europe; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (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 downturn, particularly in mobile device production; many network operators delayed upgrades to infrastructure; progress towards 5G implementation was postponed or slowed in some countries; consumer spending on telecom services and devices was affected by large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home became evident, and received some support from governments

Broadband - fixed subscriptionstotal: 200

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: less than 1 (2018 est.)
total: 4,620

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: less than 1 (2018 est.)
Broadcast media

a single TV channel and a radio station are controlled by the government; several community and commercial FM stations are operational, mostly sponsored by outside aid donors; some foreign radio broadcasts are available

(2019)

state-owned TV broadcast station with near national coverage; more than a dozen privately owned TV stations - 2 with near national coverage; 2 state-owned radio stations are supplemented by more than 100 private radio stations; transmissions of at least 2 international broadcasters are available

Source: CIA Factbook