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Nicaragua Telecommunications Profile

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Telephones - main lines in usetotal subscriptions: 228,782

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 3.73 (2019 est.)
Telephones - mobile cellulartotal subscriptions: 5,788,432

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 94.46 (2019 est.)
Telecommunication systemsgeneral assessment:

with authoritarian government, weak public institutions, and impoverished citizenry, Nicaragua’s telecom system is dependent on upgrades through foreign investment, primarily from Russia and China; World Bank funded national fiber broadband network and links to Caribbean submarine cables; Chinese-financed projects, including airport, oil pipeline, and roads in process; nearly all installed telecom capacity now uses financed digital technology; lowest fixed-line tele-density and mobile penetration in Central America; Internet cafes provide access to Internet and email services; rural areas lack access to most basic telecom infrastructure; LTE service in dozens of towns and cities; importer of broadcasting equipment and computers from China (2021)

(2020)

domestic: since privatization, access to fixed-line and mobile-cellular services has improved; fixed-line teledensity roughly 4 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone subscribership has increased to 88 per 100 persons (2019)

international: country code - 505; landing point for the ARCOS fiber-optic submarine cable which provides connectivity to South and Central America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 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

Broadcast mediamultiple terrestrial TV stations, supplemented by cable TV in most urban areas; nearly all are government-owned or affiliated; more than 300 radio stations, both government-affiliated and privately owned (2019)
Internet country code.ni
Internet userstotal: 1,695,340

percent of population: 27.86% (July 2018 est.)
Broadband - fixed subscriptionstotal: 217,618

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 3.55 (2019 est.)

Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021

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