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
Definition: This entry includes a brief general assessment of a country's telecommunications system with details on the domestic and international components. The following terms and abbreviations are used throughout the entry:
Source: CIA World Factbook - This page was last updated on Saturday, September 18, 2021
