| Telephones - main lines in use | total subscriptions: 13,426 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: less than 1 (2019 est.) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | total subscriptions: 1,583,192 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 73.74 (2019 est.) |
| Telecommunication systems | general assessment: small market with few business incentives; fixed-line tele-density and mobile penetration remains below regional average; introduction of mobile broadband in the country and LTE technology; 5G testing among first in region; landlocked, Lesotho has access to several submarine cables on African coast through neighboring countries yet Internet is expensive; importer of broadcasting equipment and computers from South Africa (2021) (2020)domestic: fixed-line is 1 per 100 subscriptions; mobile-cellular service dominates the market with a subscribership now over 114 per 100 persons; rudimentary system consisting of a modest number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a small radiotelephone communication system (2019) international: country code - 266; Internet accessibility has improved with several submarine fiber optic cables that land on African east and west coasts, but the country's land locked position makes access prices expensive; 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 |
| Broadcast media | 1 state-owned TV station and 2 state-owned radio stations; government controls most private broadcast media; satellite TV subscription service available; transmissions of multiple international broadcasters obtainable (2019) |
| Internet country code | .ls |
| Internet users | total: 569,114 percent of population: 29% (July 2018 est.) |
| Broadband - fixed subscriptions | total: 6,329 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: less than 1 (2018 est.) |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
