Telecommunications in Western Sahara include radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet. Morocco claims the Western Sahara territory and administers Moroccan law through Moroccan institutions in the estimated 85 percent of the territory it controls. The Polisario Front, Popular Front for the Liberation of Saguia el Hamra and Rio de Oro (Polisario), an organization that has sought independence for the former Spanish territory since 1973, disputes Morocco’s claim to sovereignty over the territory. Because of this long running dispute, many traditional telecommunication statistics are not reported separately for the Western Sahara.

Radio and television

* Radio broadcasting, Radio stations: ** Morocco's state broadcaster, Société Nationale de Radiodiffusion et de Télévision (SNRT, formerly RTM) operates a radio service from Laayoune (2008);"Communications: Western Sahara"
''World Factbook'', U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 10 January 2014. Retrieved 2 February 2014. ** Polisario-backed medium wave (AM) and shortwave radio stations are on the air (2008); ** Unofficial amateur radio stations occasionally operate from Polisario territory. This is classified as the DXCC entity "Western Sahara". Operators use callsigns with the prefix "S0"; an informal identifier that has not been issued by the International Telecommunication Union. * Receiver (radio), Radios: 56,000 (1997). * Television broadcasting, Television stations: Morocco's state broadcaster, SNRT, operates a TV service that is relayed in the territory (2008). The Polisario-owned territory operates a minor television service known by the name of RASD TV. * Television sets: 6,000 (1997).

Telephones

* Calling code: +212 * List of international call prefixes, International call prefix: 00 * Main lines: about 2,000 lines in use (1999 estimate). * Mobile cellular: Unknown. * Telephone system: sparse and limited system; tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite (2008). * Satellite earth stations: 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco (2008).

Internet

* Top-level domain: none, as a disputed territory no country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is assigned, however, .eh is reserved for this purpose, and will be assigned if the competing claimants reach an agreement. * List of countries by number of Internet users, Internet users: unknown (2012)."Percentage of Individuals using the Internet 2000-2012"
International Telecommunication Union (Geneva), June 2013, retrieved 22 June 2013 * List of countries by number of broadband Internet subscriptions, Fixed broadband: unknown (2012)."Fixed (wired)-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012"
Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE, International Telecommunication Union. Retrieved on 29 June 2013. * List of countries by number of broadband Internet subscriptions, Wireless broadband: unknown (2012)."Active mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012"
Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE, International Telecommunication Union. Retrieved on 29 June 2013. * List of countries by number of Internet hosts, Internet hosts: no hosts explicitly associated with Western Sahara (2012). * IPv4: no addresses allocated (2012).Select Formats
, Country IP Blocks. Accessed on 2 April 2012. Note: Site is said to be updated daily. * Internet Service Providers (ISPs): NA

Internet censorship and surveillance

There is no indication that Internet access in the territory differs from that in internationally recognized Morocco, which was generally open."Western Sahara"
''Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012'', Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State, 17 April 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2014. Morocco was listed as engaged in selective Internet filtering in the social, conflict/security, and Internet tools areas and as little or no evidence of filtering in the political area by the OpenNet Initiative (ONI) in August 2009."ONI Country Profile: Morocco"
OpenNet Initiative, 6 August 2009 Freedom House listed Morocco's "Internet Freedom Status" as "Partly Free" in its 2013 ''Freedom on the Net'' report."Morocco country report"
''Freedom on the Net 2013'', Freedom House. Retrieved 19 October 2013. Morocco considers the part of the territory that it administers to be an integral component of the kingdom with the same laws and structures regarding civil liberties, political rights, political, and economic rights. Moroccan law prohibits citizens from criticizing Islam or the institution of the monarchy or to oppose the government’s official position regarding territorial integrity and Western Sahara. Saharan media outlets and bloggers practice self-censorship on these issues, and there are no reports of government action against them for what they write. Human rights and Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Sahrawi bloggers affiliated with leftist political groups assume that authorities closely monitor their activities and feel the need to hide their identities.

References

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External links