Communications in Swaziland
Encyclopedia
Telephone
s - main lines in use:
38,500 (2001), 20,000 (1996)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
250,000 (2007), 0 (1996)
Telephone system:
general assessment: a somewhat modern but not an advanced system
domestic:
system consists of carrier-equipped, open-wire lines and low-capacity, microwave radio relay
international:
satellite
earth station - 1 Intelsat
(Atlantic Ocean
)
Radio
broadcast
stations:
AM 3, FM 2 plus 4 repeaters, shortwave 3 (2001), AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios:
155,000 (1997)
Television
broadcast stations:
5 plus 7 relay stations (2001), 2 (plus seven repeaters) (1997)
Televisions:
21,000 (1997)
Internet Service Provider
s (ISPs):
5 (2002), 2 (1999)
Country code
(Top level domain): SZ
market. The state-owned posts and telecommunications operator, SPTC also acts as the industry regulator and
gains in the country’s sole mobile network, in partnership with South Africa’s MTN. The planned unbundling
and eventual privatization of the incumbent and the introduction of more competition would enable the market to
live up to its relative GDP strength.
Despite the lack of competition, mobile market penetration equals more than 60% is well above the African average.
More than 90% of all telephones in the country are mobile phones.
Swazi MTN has entered the Internet sector with basic mobile data services in an attempt to generate
additional revenues in an environment of rapidly declining average revenue per user, and the
company is preparing for the introduction of third generation mobile broadband services.
The Internet sector is open to competition with limited licensed ISPs, prices have remained high and market penetration
relatively low. Broadband services are still very limited and expensive. Development of the sector has been hampered
by the limited fixed-line infrastructure and a lack of competition in the access and backbone network,
although the country has a relatively well-developed fibre optic backbone.However, being landlocked, Swaziland
depends on neighboring countries for international fibre bandwidth which has led to high prices.
Improvements can be expected when several new submarine fibre optic cables reach the region in 2010 and 2011.
Telephone
The telephone , colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that transmits and receives sounds, usually the human voice. Telephones are a point-to-point communication system whose most basic function is to allow two people separated by large distances to talk to each other...
s - main lines in use:
38,500 (2001), 20,000 (1996)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
250,000 (2007), 0 (1996)
Telephone system:
general assessment: a somewhat modern but not an advanced system
domestic:
system consists of carrier-equipped, open-wire lines and low-capacity, microwave radio relay
international:
satellite
Satellite
In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
earth station - 1 Intelsat
Intelsat
Intelsat, Ltd. is a communications satellite services provider.Originally formed as International Telecommunications Satellite Organization , it was—from 1964 to 2001—an intergovernmental consortium owning and managing a constellation of communications satellites providing international broadcast...
(Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
)
Radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
broadcast
Broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio and video content to a dispersed audience via any audio visual medium. Receiving parties may include the general public or a relatively large subset of thereof...
stations:
AM 3, FM 2 plus 4 repeaters, shortwave 3 (2001), AM 3, FM 4, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios:
155,000 (1997)
Television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
broadcast stations:
5 plus 7 relay stations (2001), 2 (plus seven repeaters) (1997)
Televisions:
21,000 (1997)
Internet Service Provider
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
s (ISPs):
5 (2002), 2 (1999)
Country code
Country code
Country codes are short alphabetic or numeric geographical codes developed to represent countries and dependent areas, for use in data processing and communications. Several different systems have been developed to do this. The best known of these is ISO 3166-1...
(Top level domain): SZ
Executive summary
Swaziland may be one of the last countries in the world with an almost complete monopoly of its telecommunicationsmarket. The state-owned posts and telecommunications operator, SPTC also acts as the industry regulator and
gains in the country’s sole mobile network, in partnership with South Africa’s MTN. The planned unbundling
and eventual privatization of the incumbent and the introduction of more competition would enable the market to
live up to its relative GDP strength.
Despite the lack of competition, mobile market penetration equals more than 60% is well above the African average.
More than 90% of all telephones in the country are mobile phones.
Swazi MTN has entered the Internet sector with basic mobile data services in an attempt to generate
additional revenues in an environment of rapidly declining average revenue per user, and the
company is preparing for the introduction of third generation mobile broadband services.
The Internet sector is open to competition with limited licensed ISPs, prices have remained high and market penetration
relatively low. Broadband services are still very limited and expensive. Development of the sector has been hampered
by the limited fixed-line infrastructure and a lack of competition in the access and backbone network,
although the country has a relatively well-developed fibre optic backbone.However, being landlocked, Swaziland
depends on neighboring countries for international fibre bandwidth which has led to high prices.
Improvements can be expected when several new submarine fibre optic cables reach the region in 2010 and 2011.