Telecommunications in

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

include newspapers, radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet. In addition to the government-owned newspaper and national

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

network, there is an active, independent

press Press may refer to: Media * Publisher * News media * Printing press, commonly called "the press" * Press TV, an Iranian television network Newspapers United States * ''The Press'', a former name of ''The Press-Enterprise'', Riverside, California ...

(six weekly newspapers). Foreign publications are sold without restriction in Botswana. Two privately owned radio stations began operations in 1999. Botswana's first national television station, the government-owned

Botswana Television Botswana Television (also known as BTV and Botswana TV) is the national broadcaster in Botswana. Botswana's first national television service started in 2000 following a 1997 government decision. The station delivers thirteen hours of local and i ...

(BTV), was launched in July 2000. It began broadcasting with three hours of programming on weekdays and five on weekends, offering news in

Setswana Tswana, also known by its native name Setswana, is a Bantu language indigenous to Southern Africa and spoken by about 8.2 million people. It is closely related to the Northern Sotho and Southern Sotho languages, as well as the Kgalaga ...

and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

, entertainment, and

sport Sport is a physical activity or game, often Competition, competitive and organization, organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The numbe ...

s, with plans to produce 60% of its programming locally. The

cellular phone A mobile phone or cell phone is a portable telephone that allows users to make and receive calls over a radio frequency link while moving within a designated telephone service area, unlike fixed-location phones ( landline phones). This radi ...

providers

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

and MTN cover most of the country.

Radio stations

* 2 state-owned national radio stations; 3 privately owned radio stations broadcast locally (2007); * AM 8, FM 13, shortwave 4 (2001).

Television stations

One state-owned and one privately owned; privately owned satellite TV subscription service is available (2007). Television sets in use: * 101,713 (2001); * 98,568 (2003). *173,327 (2006) *297,233 (2008) *297,971 (2011) *365,650 (2014).

Telephones

Main lines in use: * 160,500 lines, 134th in the world (2012);"Botswana"
''World Fact Book'', U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 7 January 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2014. * 136,900 (2006). Mobile cellular in use: * 3.1 million lines, 129th in the world (2012); Telephone system * ''general assessment'': Botswana is participating in regional development efforts; expanding fully digital system with fiber-optic cables linking the major population centers in the east as well as a system of open-wire lines, microwave radio relays links, and radiotelephone communication stations (2011); * ''domestic'': fixed-line teledensity has declined in recent years and now stands at roughly 7 telephones per 100 persons; mobile-cellular teledensity now pushing 140 telephones per 100 persons (2011); * ''international'': country code - 267; international calls are made via satellite, using international direct dialing; 2 international exchanges; digital microwave radio relay links to Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (2011).

ISDB-T

Features: * Supports ISDB-T broadcast (13 segments). * MPEG-2/ MPEG-4 AVC/ H.264 HD/ SD video. * DiVX Compatible with 480i / 480p / 720p / 1080i/ 1080p video formats. Auto and manually scan all available TV and radio channels. * Aspect ratio 16:9 and 4:3. * 1000 channels memory. * Parental control. * Teletext / Bit map subtitle. * Compliant with ETSI. * Supported 7 days EPG function. * VBI Teletext support 6 MHz software setting Auto / Manual program search. * Multi language supported.

Internet

Internet top-level domain: .bw

Internet users The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a network of networks that consists of private, publ ...

: * 241,272 users, 148th in the world; 11.5% of the population, 166th in the world (2012);Calculated using penetration rate and population data fro
"Countries and Areas Ranked by Population: 2012"
, Population data, International Programs, U.S. Census Bureau, retrieved 26 June 2013"Percentage of Individuals using the Internet 2000-2012"
International Telecommunications Union (Geneva), June 2013, retrieved 22 June 2013 * 120,000 users, 154th in the world (2009); * 80,000 users (2007).

Internet broadband In telecommunications, broadband or high speed is the wide-bandwidth data transmission that exploits signals at a wide spread of frequencies or several different simultaneous frequencies, and is used in fast Internet access. The transmission me ...

: * 16,407 fixed broadband subscriptions, 134th in the world; 0.8% of the population, 143rd in the world;"Fixed (wired)-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012"
Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE,

International Telecommunication Union The International Telecommunication Union (ITU)In the other common languages of the ITU: * * is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information ...

. Retrieved on 29 June 2013. * 348,124 wireless broadband subscriptions, 102nd in the world; 16.6% of the population, 76th in the world."Active mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012"
Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE,

. Retrieved on 29 June 2013.

Internet hosts A network host is a computer or other device connected to a computer network. A host may work as a server offering information resources, services, and applications to users or other hosts on the network. Hosts are assigned at least one network a ...

: * 1,806 hosts (2012); * 6,374 hosts (2008). Internet IPv4 addresses: 100,096 addresses allocated, less than 0.05% of the world total, 47.7 addresses per 1000 people (2012). Internet Service Providers: * 11 ISPs (2001); * 2 ISPs (1999).

ADSL Asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) is a type of digital subscriber line (DSL) technology, a data communications technology that enables faster data transmission over Copper wire, copper telephone lines than a conventional voiceband modem ...

has been introduced in the following areas:

Gaborone Gaborone ( , , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Botswana, largest city of Botswana, with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its metropolitan area is home to 534, ...

, Tlkokweng, Mogoditsane, Phakalane, Francistown, Lobatse, Palapye, Maun, Kasane, Selibe-Phikwe, Letlhakane, Jwaneng, and Orapa.

References

External links

Botswana Communications Regulatory Authority
(BOCRA). {{DEFAULTSORT:Telecommunications In Botswana