subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 13.73 (2019 est.)
total subscriptions: 1,974,006
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 11.71 (2019 est.)
Telephones - mobile cellular
total subscriptions: 9,442,667
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 146.91 (2019 est.)
total subscriptions: 20,874,130
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 123.83 (2019 est.)
Internet country code
.sv
.gt
Internet users
total: 2,153,776
percent of population: 33.82% (July 2018 est.)
total: 10,777,827
percent of population: 65% (July 2018 est.)
Telecommunication systems
general assessment:
El Salvador's telecom sector is challenged by low population, poor infrastructure, and unequal income distribution compounded by corruption and criminal influence; liberal regulation promotes mobile penetration in replacement of fixed-line density; operators testing 5G in 2020 (2020)
(2020)
domestic: growth in fixed-line services 14 per 100, has slowed in the face of mobile-cellular competition at 147 per 100 (2019)
international: country code - 503; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave System (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
general assessment:
due to years of underinvestment in infrastructure, has one of the lowest fixed-line tele densities in the region; rural areas rely on mobile services with little access to fixed-line access; mobile tele-density on par with region and is the most developed sector, with near universal phone connections; private investment to bring free Internet to parks; two submarine cables due for completion will support growth in fixed and mobile broadband (2021)
(2020)
domestic: fixed-line teledensity roughly 11 per 100 persons; fixed-line investments are concentrating on improving rural connectivity; mobile-cellular teledensity about 119 per 100 persons (2019)
international: country code - 502; landing points for the ARCOS, AMX-1, American Movil-Texius West Coast Cable and the SAm-1 fiber-optic submarine cable system that, together, provide connectivity to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; connected to Central American Microwave System; 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 subscriptions
total: 492,265
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 8 (2018 est.)
total: 506,000
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 3 (2017 est.)
Broadcast media
multiple privately owned national terrestrial TV networks, supplemented by cable TV networks that carry international channels; hundreds of commercial radio broadcast stations and 1 government-owned radio broadcast station; transition to digital transmission to begin in 2018 along with adaptation of the Japanese-Brazilian Digital Standard (ISDB-T)
4 privately owned national terrestrial TV channels dominate TV broadcasting; multi-channel satellite and cable services are available; 1 government-owned radio station and hundreds of privately owned radio stations (2019)
