Telecommunications in Chad include radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet.

Radio and television

Radio stations Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio signal, audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a lan ...

: * state-owned radio network,

Radiodiffusion Nationale Tchadienne Radiodiffusion Nationale Tchadienne (; "Chadian National Radio"; RNT) is the state-operated national radio broadcaster of Chad. RNT was able to reach the entire country through transmitters located at N'Djamena, Sarh, Moundou, and Abéché as of ...

(RNT), operates national and regional stations; about 10 private radio stations; some stations rebroadcast programs from international broadcasters (2007);"Communications: Chad"
''World Factbook'', U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 28 January 2014. Retrieved 9 February 2014. * 2 AM, 4 FM, and 5 shortwave stations (2001)."Communications: Chad"
''World Factbook'', U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 19 June 2007. Retrieved 9 February 2014 via the Internet Archive.

Radios 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 connected to ...

: 1.7 million (1997).

Television stations A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth's s ...

: * 1 state-owned TV station, Tele Tchad (2007); * 1 station (2001).

Television set A television set or television receiver (more commonly called TV, TV set, television, telly, or tele) is an electronic device for viewing and hearing television broadcasts, or as a computer monitor. It combines a tuner, display, and loudspeake ...

s: 10,000 (1997). Radio is the most important medium of mass communication. State-run

operates national and regional radio stations. Around a dozen private radio stations are on the air, despite high licensing fees, some run by religious or other non-profit groups. The

BBC World Service The BBC World Service is a British Public broadcasting, public service broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC. It is the world's largest external broadcaster in terms of reception area, language selection and audience reach. It broadcas ...

(FM 90.6) and

Radio France Internationale Radio France Internationale, usually referred to as RFI, is the State media, state-owned international radio news network of France. With 59.5 million listeners in 2022, it is one of the most-listened-to international radio stations in the world ...

(RFI) broadcast in the capital,

N'Djamena N'Djamena ( ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Chad, largest city of Chad. It is also a Provinces of Chad, special statute region, divided into 10 districts or ''arrondissements'', similar to the city of Paris. Originally calle ...

. The only television station, Tele Tchad, is state-owned."Chad profile: Media"
''BBC News'', 14 August 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2014. State control of many broadcasting outlets allows few dissenting views. Journalists are harassed and attacked. On rare occasions journalists are warned in writing by the High Council for Communication to produce more "responsible" journalism or face fines. Some journalists and publishers practice

self-censorship Self-censorship is the act of censoring or classifying one's own discourse, typically out of fear or deference to the perceived preferences, sensibilities, or infallibility of others, and often without overt external pressure. Self-censorship is c ...

. On 10 October 2012, the High Council on Communications issued a formal warning to La Voix du Paysan, claiming that the station's live broadcast on 30 September incited the public to "insurrection against the government." The station had broadcast a sermon by a bishop who criticized the government for allegedly failing to use oil wealth to benefit the region.

Telephones

Calling code Telephone country codes are telephone number prefixes for reaching subscribers in foreign countries or areas by international direct dialing (IDD). Country codes are defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in ITU-T standard ...

: +235

International call prefix International direct dialing (IDD) or international subscriber dialling (ISD) is placing an International call, international telephone call, dialed directly by a telephone subscriber, rather than by a switchboard operator, telephone operator. Sub ...

: 00 Main lines: * 29,900 lines in use, 176th in the world (2012); * 13,000 lines in use, 201st in the world (2004). Mobile cellular: * 4.2 million lines, 119th in the world (2012); * 210,000 lines, 155th in the world (2005). Telephone system: inadequate system of

radiotelephone A radiotelephone (or radiophone), abbreviated RT, is a radio communication system for conducting a conversation; radiotelephony means telephony by radio. It is in contrast to ''radiotelegraphy'', which is radio transmission of telegrams (messag ...

communication stations with high costs and low telephone density; fixed-line connections for less than 1 per 100 persons coupled with mobile-cellular subscribership base of only about 35 per 100 persons (2011). Satellite earth stations: 1

Intelsat Intelsat S.A. (formerly Intel-Sat, Intelsat) is a Luxembourgish-American multinational satellite services provider with corporate headquarters in Luxembourg and administrative headquarters in Tysons, Virginia, United States. Originally formed ...

(

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

) (2011).

Internet

Top-level domain A top-level domain (TLD) is one of the domain name, domains at the highest level in the hierarchical Domain Name System of the Internet after the root domain. The top-level domain names are installed in the DNS root zone, root zone of the nam ...

: .td

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 ...

: * 230,489 users, 149th in the world; 2.1% of the population, 200th 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 Telecommunication Union (Geneva), June 2013, retrieved 22 June 2013 * 168,100 users, 145th in the world (2009); * 35,000 users, 167th in the world (2005). Fixed broadband: 18,000 subscriptions, 132nd in the world; 0.2% of the population, 161st in the world (2012)."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.

Wireless broadband Wireless broadband is a telecommunications technology that provides high-speed wireless Internet access or computer networking access over a wide area. The term encompasses both fixed and mobile broadband. The term broadband Originally the wo ...

: Unknown (2012)."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 ...

: * 6 hosts, 229th in the world (2012); * 9 hosts, 217th in the world (2006).

IPv4 Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) is the first version of the Internet Protocol (IP) as a standalone specification. It is one of the core protocols of standards-based internetworking methods in the Internet and other packet-switched networks. ...

: 4,096 addresses allocated, less than 0.05% of the world total, 0.4 addresses per 1000 people (2012).

Internet censorship and surveillance

There are no government restrictions on access to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitors

e-mail Electronic mail (usually shortened to email; alternatively hyphenated e-mail) is a method of transmitting and receiving Digital media, digital messages using electronics, electronic devices over a computer network. It was conceived in the ...

or Internet

chat rooms The term chat room, or chatroom (and sometimes group chat; abbreviated as GC), is primarily used to describe any form of synchronous conferencing, occasionally even asynchronous conferencing. The term can thus mean any technology, ranging from ...

."Chad"
''Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012'', Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State, 26 March 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2014. However, in September 2023 the government has banned Starlink on the country's territory. Illegal use, sale or purchase is punishable by imprisonment or penalty from 100 000 000 to 200 000 000 francs CFA (around 152 000 - €304 000 ).https://tchadinfos.com/tchad-larcep-declare-illegale-la-detention-et-la-commercialisation-des-terminaux-starlink/ The constitution provides for

freedom of opinion Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recognise ...

, expression, and

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 ...

, but the government does not always respect these rights. Private individuals are generally free to criticize the government without reprisal, but reporters and publishers risk harassment from authorities when publishing critical articles. The 2010 media law abolished prison sentences for defamation and insult, but prohibits "inciting racial, ethnic, or religious hatred," which is punishable by one to two years in prison and a fine of one to three million CFA francs ($2,000 to $6,000).

References

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External links