| Telephones - main lines in use | total subscriptions: 11,393 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: less than 1 (2019 est.) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | total subscriptions: 9,658,548 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 77.53 (2019 est.) |
| Telecommunication systems | general assessment: telecom market impacted by energy shortages and instability in neighboring states; government investing in smart city infrastructure; growing economy and foreign aid from South Korea help launch telecom sector, despite widespread poverty; expansion of LTE services; competing operators roll out national fiber optic backbone through connection to submarine cables, ending expensive dependence on satellite; importer of broadcasting equipment from China (2021) (2020)domestic: the capital, Kigali, is connected to provincial centers by microwave radio relay, and recently by cellular telephone service; much of the network depends on wire and HF radiotelephone; fixed-line less than 1 per 100 and mobile-cellular telephone density has increased to 76 telephones per 100 persons (2019) international: country code - 250; international connections employ microwave radio relay to neighboring countries and satellite communications to more distant countries; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) in Kigali (includes telex and telefax service); international submarine fiber-optic cables on the African east coast has brought international bandwidth and lessened the dependency on satellites 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 | 13 TV stations; 35 radio stations registered, including international broadcasters, government owns most popular TV and radio stations; regional satellite-based TV services available |
| Internet country code | .rw |
| Internet users | total: 2,653,197 percent of population: 21.77% (July 2018 est.) |
| Broadband - fixed subscriptions | total: 8,885 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: less than 1 (2018 est.) |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
