subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 1.02 (2019 est.)
total subscriptions: 6,779
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: less than 1 (2019 est.)
Telephones - mobile cellular
total subscriptions: 2,992,811
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 137.57 (2019 est.)
total subscriptions: 368,920
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 45.17 (2019 est.)
Internet country code
.ga
.gq
Internet users
total: 1,313,802
percent of population: 62% (July 2018 est.)
total: 209,253
percent of population: 26.24% (July 2018 est.)
Telecommunication systems
general assessment:
politically stable and oil laden, Gabon is one of wealthiest nations in Africa; liberalized and competitive market led development of mobile broadband, data service, and tests of 5G; fixed-line sector underdeveloped due to the lack of competition and high prices; South Korean investment in fiber segments as part of Central African backbone; sufficient international bandwidth through submarine cable systems; government committed to backbone infrastructure and e-health services; efforts towards new legal and regulatory improvements (2020)
(2020)
domestic: fixed-line is 1 per 100 subscriptions; a growing mobile cellular network with multiple providers is making telephone service more widely available with mobile cellular teledensity at 138 per 100 persons (2019)
international: country code - 241; landing points for the SAT-3/WASC, ACE and Libreville-Port Gentil Cable fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and West Africa; satellite earth stations - 3 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
general assessment:
Equatorial Guinea's climate for operator competition boosted mobile subscribership; broadband services are limited and expensive; submarine cable supported broadband and reliability of infrastructure; government backbone network will connect administrative centers; regional roaming agreement in process (2021)
(2018)
domestic: fixed-line density is about 1 per 100 persons and mobile-cellular subscribership is 45 per 100 (2019)
international: country code - 240; landing points for the ACE, Ceiba-1, and Ceiba-2 submarine cables providing communication from Bata and Malabo, Equatorial Guinea to numerous Western African and European countries; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian 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: 22,332
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 1.03 (2019 est.)
total: 1,620
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: less than 1 (2018 est.)
Broadcast media
state owns and operates 2 TV stations and 2 radio broadcast stations; a few private radio and TV stations; transmissions of at least 2 international broadcasters are accessible; satellite service subscriptions are available
the state maintains control of broadcast media with domestic broadcast media limited to 1 state-owned TV station, 1 private TV station owned by the president's eldest son (who is the Vice President), 1 state-owned radio station, and 1 private radio station owned by the president's eldest son; satellite TV service is available; transmissions of multiple international broadcasters are generally accessible (2019)
