Telecommunications in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Telecommunications in the Democratic Republic of the Congo include radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet.

Radio and television

• Radio stations:
  • Two state-owned radio stations are supplemented by more than 100 private radio stations; transmissions of at least 2 international broadcasters are available (2007);^[1]
  • 27 stations (2005);
  • 13 stations: 3 AM, 11 FM, and 2 shortwave (2001);
  • 16 stations: 3 AM, 12 FM, and 1 shortwave (1999).
• Radios: 18.0 million (1997).
• Television stations:
  • One state-owned TV broadcast station with near national coverage; more than a dozen privately owned TV stations with two having near national coverage (2007);^[1]
  • 23 stations (2005);
  •   4 stations (2001);
  • 20 stations (1999).
• Television sets: 6.5 million (1997).

Radio is the dominant medium; a handful of stations, including state-run Radio-Télévision Nationale Congolaise (RTNC), broadcast across the country. The United Nations Mission (MONUSCO) and a Swiss-based NGO, Fondation Hirondelle, operate one of country's leading stations, Radio Okapi. The network employs mostly-Congolese staff and aims to bridge political divisions. Radio France Internationale (RFI), which is widely available on FM, is the most popular news station. The BBC broadcasts on FM in Kinshasa (92.7), Lubumbashi (92.0), Kisangani (92.0), Goma (93.3) and Bukavu (102.2).^[2]

Telephones

• Calling code: +243^[1]
• International call prefix: 00^[3]
• Main lines:
  • 58,200 lines in use, 161st in the world (2012);^[1]
  • 20,000 lines in use (2000);
  • 36,000 lines in use (1995).
• Mobile cellular:
  • 19.5 million lines, 52nd in the world (2012);^[1]
  • 2.6 million lines (2005);
  • 15,000 lines (2000);
  • 10,000 lines (1995).
• Telephone system: barely adequate wire and microwave radio relay service in and between urban areas; domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations; inadequate fixed line infrastructure, state-owned operator providing less than 1 fixed-line connection per 1000 persons; given the inadequate fixed-line infrastructure, the use of mobile-cellular services has surged and mobile teledensity is roughly 20 per 100 persons (2011).^[1]
• Satellite earth stations: 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2011).^[1]

Internet

• Top-level domain: .cd^[1] (formerly .zr).
• Internet users:
  • 1.2 million users, 110th in the world; 1.7% of the population, 202nd in the world (2012);^[4][5]
  • 290,000 users, 132nd in the world (2008);^[1]
  •   50,000 users (2002).
• Internet hosts: 2,515 hosts, 159th in the world (2012).^[1]
• IPv4: 21,248 addresses allocated, less than 0.05% of the world total, 0.3 addresses per 1000 people (2012).^[6][7]
• Internet Service Providers: 188 ISPs (2005); 1 ISP (1999).

Internet cables

• List of terrestrial fibre optic cable projects in Africa
• African Coast to Europe (ACE), a fibre optic submarine communications cable linking countries along the west coast of Africa with France.
• West Africa Cable System (WACS), a fibre optic submarine communications cable linking countries along the west coast of Africa with the United Kingdom.

See also

• Radio-Télévision Nationale Congolaise (RTNC), the state-run national broadcaster.
• Internet freedom in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• Media of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

References

•  This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook document "2014 edition".

1. "Communications: Democratic Republic of the Congo", World Factbook, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 7 January 2014. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
2. "Country profile: Democratic Republic of the Congo", BBC News, 22 February 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
3. Dialing Procedures (International Prefix, National (Trunk) Prefix and National (Significant) Number) (in Accordance with ITY-T Recommendation E.164 (11/2010)), Annex to ITU Operational Bulletin No. 994-15.XII.2011, International Telecommunication Union (ITU, Geneva), 15 December 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
4. Calculated using penetration rate and population data from "Countries and Areas Ranked by Population: 2012", Population data, International Programs, U.S. Census Bureau, retrieved 26 June 2013
5. "Percentage of Individuals using the Internet 2000-2012", International Telecommunications Union (Geneva), June 2013, retrieved 22 June 2013
6. Select Formats, Country IP Blocks. Accessed on 2 April 2012. Note: Site is said to be updated daily.
7. Population, The World Factbook, United States Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on 2 April 2012. Note: Data are mostly for 1 July 2012.

External links

• NIC.cd, domain name registrar for the .cd domain.