Telecommunications in Eritrea are under the authority of the Government of Eritrea.

Infrastructure

The Eritrea Telecommunication Services Corporation, more commonly known as ''EriTel'', is the sole operator of both landline and mobile telephone communication infrastructure in

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopi ...

. However, it is one of several

internet service provider An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise priva ...

s in the country. The domestic telecommunications infrastructure is very inadequate. Most fixed line telephones are located in

Asmara Asmara ( ), or Asmera, is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the sixth highest capital in the world by altitude and the second highest capital in Africa. The c ...

, the capital and largest city. Cell phones are in increasing use throughout the country. The government is seeking international tenders to improve the system. On 13 April 2006, Eritrea received a soft loan from the government of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

to upgrade their communication infrastructure. The total sum loaned to EriTel was $23 million. All major cities are connected to the mobile telephone system in Eritrea except for

Assab Assab or Aseb (, ) is a port city in the Southern Red Sea Region of Eritrea. It is situated on the west coast of the Red Sea. Languages spoken in Assab are predominantly Afar, Tigrinya, and Arabic. Assab is known for its large market, beache ...

, as of 2023.

Telephone

* Fixed phones in use: 58,500 lines, 159th in the world (2011)."Eritrea"
''World Factbook'', U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 31 November 2013. * Mobile cellular phones in use: 241,900 lines, 175th in the world (2011). * Combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular subscribership is less than 5 per 100 persons (2011). * International country code: 291.

Radio and television

* The government controls all broadcast media with private ownership prohibited. Purchases of satellite dishes and subscriptions to international broadcast media are permitted. * Radio networks: 2 state-owned (2007). * TV stations: 1 state-owned (2007).

Internet

* Internet users: 48,692 users, 180th in the world; 0.8% of the population, 211th in the world (2012)."Percentage of Individuals using the Internet 2000-2012"
International Telecommunication Union (Geneva), June 2013, retrieved 22 June 2013 * Fixed broadband: 122 subscriptions, 192nd (last) in the world; 0.0% of the population, 192nd (last) in the world (2012)."Fixed (wired)-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012"
Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE,

International Telecommunication Union The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Unio ...

. Retrieved on 29 June 2013. * Mobile broadband: unknown."Active mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012"
Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE,

. Retrieved on 29 June 2013. * Internet hosts: 701 hosts, 177th in the world (2012). * Internet service providers (ISPs): 4 (2005) - EriTel, CTS, TFanus, Ewan. * Country code: ER * Top level domain:

.er .er is the country code top-level domain A country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is an Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to ...

Internet censorship and surveillance

* Listed as Under Surveillance by

Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...

(RWB) in 2008, 2009, not in 2010, and again from 2011 to the present.''Internet Enemies''
, Reporters Without Borders (Paris), 12 March 2012 Eritrea has not set up a widespread automatic Internet filtering system, but it does not hesitate to order blocking of several diaspora websites critical of the regime. Access to these sites is blocked by two of the Internet service providers, Erson and Ewan, as are pornographic websitesand

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

Self-censorship Self-censorship is the act of censoring or classifying one's own discourse. This is done out of fear of, or deference to, the sensibilities or preferences (actual or perceived) of others and without overt pressure from any specific party or insti ...

is said to be widespread."Countries under surveillance: Eritrea"
, Reporters Without Borders, March 2011

References

External links

GSM World page on Eritrea
{{DEFAULTSORT:Telecommunications In Eritrea