Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 5.95 (2020 est.)
Telephones Mobile Cellular
Total subscriptions: 3,819,019 (2020)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 162.4 (2020 est.)
Telephone System
General assessment: due to effective regulatory reform and active competition, Botswana’s telecom market is one of the most liberalized in the region; strategy to drive nationwide ICT penetration is slowed; one of the highest mobile penetration rates in Africa; operators developing 3G and LTE; Internet use rising due to lower prices; government has embraced digitalization, e-government and identity programs that require citizens to provide detailed personal information; previously dependent on satellites for international connectivity, country’s new submarine cable landings improved competition and tripled international Internet capacity; importer of broadcast equipment from Hong Kong and China (2020)
Broadcast Media
2 TV stations - 1 state-owned and 1 privately owned; privately owned satellite TV subscription service is available; 2 state-owned national radio stations;Â 4 privately owned radio stations broadcast locally (2019)