subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 1.94 (2019 est.)
total subscriptions: 137,842
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: less than 1 (2019 est.)
Telephones - mobile cellular
total subscriptions: 1,226,660
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 20.36 (2019 est.)
total subscriptions: 33,014,160
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 74.46 (2019 est.)
Internet country code
.er
.sd
Internet users
total: 78,215
percent of population: 1.31% (July 2018 est.)
total: 13,311,404
percent of population: 30.87% (July 2018 est.)
Telecommunication systems
general assessment: least developed telecommunications market in Africa, largely due to restrictions of state-owned telecom monopoly; most fixed-line telephones are in Asmara; cell phone use is limited by government control of SIM card issuance; low penetration of computer use and Internet; market ripe for competition and investment; direct phone service between Eritrea and Ethiopia restored in September 2018; government operator working on roll-out of 3G network (2020) (2020)
domestic: fixed-line subscribership is less than 2 per 100 person and mobile-cellular 20 per 100 (2019)
international: country code - 291 (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:
well-equipped system by regional standards with ongoing upgrades; despite economic challenges, government continues to boost mobile infrastructure through build-out of fiber-broadband network across country; economic climate has not encouraged client growth in telecom, but some investment has been made to build mobile towers and expand LTE services; growth of e-money services; 2020 launch of Chinese-based satellite to develop space technology sector; interim constitution safeguards rights and freedoms, though some Internet users continue to face harassment for activities; importer of broadcasting equipment from UAE and China (2021)
(2020)
domestic: consists of microwave radio relay, cable, fiber optic, radiotelephone communications, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations; teledensity fixed-line less than 1 per 100 and mobile-cellular 77 telephones per 100 persons (2019)
international: country code - 249; landing points for the EASSy, FALCON and SAS-1,-2, fiber-optic submarine cable systems linking Africa, the Middle East, Indian Ocean Islands and Asia; satellite earth stations - 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: 600
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: less than 1 (2017 est.)
total: 32,762
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: less than 1 (2018 est.)
Broadcast media
government controls broadcast media with private ownership prohibited; 1 state-owned TV station; state-owned radio operates 2 networks; purchases of satellite dishes and subscriptions to international broadcast media are permitted (2019)
the Sudanese Government directly controls TV and radio, requiring that both media reflect government policies; TV has a permanent military censor; a private radio station is in operation (2019)
