Communications in the Dominican Republic
Encyclopedia
The Dominican Republic
has extensive mobile phone and land-line services. INDOTEL, Instituto Dominicano De Telecomunicaciones, regulates and supervises the development of the country telecommunications market. The Dominican Republic has Cable Internet
, ADSL, WIMAX
, EV-DO and UMTS/HSDPA in most parts of the country. Projects to extend Wi-Fi
(wireless internet) hots spots have been undertaken in Santo Domingo
. Numerous television channels are available. Tricom, S.A
, Wind Telecom and Claro Codetel provide television services digitally, with channels from around Latin America
and elsewhere in the world.
Telephone
s - main lines in use:
1,009,906 (2010)
Mobile phone
s:
8,892,783 (2010)
Mobile teledensity:
91.3% (2010)
VoIP Lines:
72,894 (2009)
Telephone system:
domestic:
very efficient system based on island-wide microwave radio relay network and fiber optics lines that cover many of the main cities
international:
connected to the ARCOS
(America's Region Caribbean Optical-ring System); 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite earth station - 1; Intelsat
(Atlantic Ocean
)
Radio
broadcast
stations:
AM 143, FM 247, shortwave 14 (2008)
Radios:
1.44 million (1997)
Television
broadcast stations:
46 (2008)
Televisions:
770,000 (1997)
Internet Service Provider
s (ISPs):
8 [Claro(ADSL and wireless), Tricom(WIMAX, ADSL, and Cable), Aster (CABLE), VIVA (wireless), France Telecom (wireless), Onemax (WIMAX), Wind Telecom (WIMAX)] (2008)
Internet Accounts:
622,931 (2010)
Internet Users:
3,851,278 (2010)
Pay TV Subscribers:
249,010 (2010)
Country code
: DO
and Orange
(FR) on the telecommunications market. Broadband Internet access is growing, with over 622,931 Internet accounts globally and 3,851,278 Internet users as of December, 2010 according to INDOTEL(DR Telecommunications Institute). Broadband DSL represents about 56% of the total Internet subscribers. There is access to regular ADSL, G.SHDSL, and services only on metropolitan areas, costs are high and service is decent. Cable Internet is offered by a couple of cable companies at lower costs than ADSL but the service is very deficient and unreliable. WiFi is becoming more common. It is available in some universities. Most hotels also offer wi-fi internet. The implementation of the Wimax
and HSPA
technology by some of the Cellphone service providers are resulting in the rapid investment by other providers in the market to match the new and faster platform of services. Mobile broadband user have seen their percentage grow from 14% in 2007 all the way to 39% in 2010, and will continue to grow as more and more users are opting for this type of technology in a country where Home Broadband speeds are more expensive and slower.
Also the ongoing installation of a Fiber-Optic network structure in the National District and the City of Santiago (second largest in the country) will force other competitors into upgrading theirs to be able to compete in the markets they now lead.
DOP: Dominican Peso
, USD: United States Dollar
in the Dominican Republic are provided by a variety of companies. These companies offer both English and Spanish language television, plus a range of channels in other languages, high definition
channels, Pay-per-view
movies and events, sports packages, premium movies channels and adult channels such as HBO
, Playboy TV
, Cinecanal
, MLB Extra Innings
, etc. Also, the channels are from not only the Dominican Republic, but also the United States and Europe. In the Dominican Republic television spectrum there are 46 in VHF and UHF channels free-to-air
channels. The free of charge channels programming consists mainly of locally produced entertainment shows, news, and comedy shows; and foreign sit-comes, soap operas, movies, cartoons, and sports programs.
The main service provider in the Dominican Republic is Tricom. Aster is concentrated in Santo Domingo, but is expanding its service throughout the Dominican Republic. There are also new companies using new technologies that are expanding quickly such as Claro TV (IPTV
and Satellite TV), Wind Telecom(MMDS) and SKY
(Satellite TV).
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
has extensive mobile phone and land-line services. INDOTEL, Instituto Dominicano De Telecomunicaciones, regulates and supervises the development of the country telecommunications market. The Dominican Republic has Cable Internet
Cable internet
In telecommunications, cable Internet access, often shortened to cable Internet or simply cable, is a form of broadband Internet access that uses the cable television infrastructure. Like digital subscriber line and fiber to the premises services, cable Internet access provides network edge...
, ADSL, WIMAX
WiMAX
WiMAX is a communication technology for wirelessly delivering high-speed Internet service to large geographical areas. The 2005 WiMAX revision provided bit rates up to 40 Mbit/s with the 2011 update up to 1 Gbit/s for fixed stations...
, EV-DO and UMTS/HSDPA in most parts of the country. Projects to extend Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
(wireless internet) hots spots have been undertaken in Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo, known officially as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic. Its metropolitan population was 2,084,852 in 2003, and estimated at 3,294,385 in 2010. The city is located on the Caribbean Sea, at the mouth of the Ozama River...
. Numerous television channels are available. Tricom, S.A
Tricom, S.A
- Background :In 1988, Zona Franca de San Isidro spawned San Isidro Teleport, which was later renamed Tricom. In 1990, the company had reached an agreement with the Dominican Republic to provide communications services nationwide....
, Wind Telecom and Claro Codetel provide television services digitally, with channels from around Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
and elsewhere in the world.
Telephone
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:
1,009,906 (2010)
Mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s:
8,892,783 (2010)
Mobile teledensity:
91.3% (2010)
VoIP Lines:
72,894 (2009)
Telephone system:
domestic:
very efficient system based on island-wide microwave radio relay network and fiber optics lines that cover many of the main cities
international:
connected to the ARCOS
Arcos
-Portugal:* Arcos , a civil parish in the municipality of Anadia* Arcos , a civil parish in the municipality of Braga* Arcos , a civil parish in the municipality of Estremoz...
(America's Region Caribbean Optical-ring System); 1 coaxial submarine cable; satellite 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 143, FM 247, shortwave 14 (2008)
Radios:
1.44 million (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:
46 (2008)
Televisions:
770,000 (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):
8 [Claro(ADSL and wireless), Tricom(WIMAX, ADSL, and Cable), Aster (CABLE), VIVA (wireless), France Telecom (wireless), Onemax (WIMAX), Wind Telecom (WIMAX)] (2008)
Internet Accounts:
622,931 (2010)
Internet Users:
3,851,278 (2010)
Pay TV Subscribers:
249,010 (2010)
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...
: DO
Broadband Internet access
The Dominican Republic is considered one of the countries with the most advanced telecommunications infrastructures in Latin America, with over 8.9 million cell phones connected (on just about 10 million populants, with 3.5 million of them on extreme poverty conditions) and large companies like CodetelCODETEL
Claro is the largest telecommunications company in the Dominican Republic and provides local, long-distance, and wireless voice services, as well as Internet and IPTV services, to approximately four million customers.-Background:Previously known as CODETEL , the name change was announced February...
and Orange
Orange SA
Orange is the brand used by France Télécom for its mobile network operator and Internet service provider subsidiaries. It is the fifth largest telecom operator in the world, with 210 million customers . The brand was created in 1994 for Hutchison Telecom's UK mobile phone network, which was...
(FR) on the telecommunications market. Broadband Internet access is growing, with over 622,931 Internet accounts globally and 3,851,278 Internet users as of December, 2010 according to INDOTEL(DR Telecommunications Institute). Broadband DSL represents about 56% of the total Internet subscribers. There is access to regular ADSL, G.SHDSL, and services only on metropolitan areas, costs are high and service is decent. Cable Internet is offered by a couple of cable companies at lower costs than ADSL but the service is very deficient and unreliable. WiFi is becoming more common. It is available in some universities. Most hotels also offer wi-fi internet. The implementation of the Wimax
WiMAX
WiMAX is a communication technology for wirelessly delivering high-speed Internet service to large geographical areas. The 2005 WiMAX revision provided bit rates up to 40 Mbit/s with the 2011 update up to 1 Gbit/s for fixed stations...
and HSPA
High Speed Packet Access
High Speed Packet Access is an amalgamation of two mobile telephony protocols, High Speed Downlink Packet Access and High Speed Uplink Packet Access , that extends and improves the performance of existing WCDMA protocols...
technology by some of the Cellphone service providers are resulting in the rapid investment by other providers in the market to match the new and faster platform of services. Mobile broadband user have seen their percentage grow from 14% in 2007 all the way to 39% in 2010, and will continue to grow as more and more users are opting for this type of technology in a country where Home Broadband speeds are more expensive and slower.
Also the ongoing installation of a Fiber-Optic network structure in the National District and the City of Santiago (second largest in the country) will force other competitors into upgrading theirs to be able to compete in the markets they now lead.
Pricing information (Not including taxes) as of October 2011
| Download Speeds | Claro República Dominicana | Tricom, S.A Tricom, S.A - Background :In 1988, Zona Franca de San Isidro spawned San Isidro Teleport, which was later renamed Tricom. In 1990, the company had reached an agreement with the Dominican Republic to provide communications services nationwide.... |
Wind Telecom |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Mbit/s | $ 695 DOP (18.28 USD) | $ 699 DOP (18.89 USD) | $ 690 DOP (18.64 USD) |
| 1.5 Mbit/s | $ 995 DOP (26.89 USD) | $ 995 DOP (26.89 USD) | $ 990 DOP (26.75 USD) |
| 2 Mbit/s | $ 1,295 DOP (35 USD) | $ 1,295 DOP (35 USD) | $ 1,290 DOP (34.86 USD) |
| 3 Mbit/s | $ 1,795 DOP (48.51 USD) | $ 1,795 DOP (48.51 USD) | $ 1,790 DOP (48.37 USD) |
| 4 Mbit/s | $ 2,200 DOP (59.45 USD) | $ 2,200 DOP (59.45 USD) | N/A |
| 5 Mbit/s | N/A | $ 2,850 DOP (77.02 USD) | N/A |
| 6 Mbit/s | $ 2,850 DOP (77.02 USD) | N/A | N/A |
| 8 Mbit/s | $ 3,350 DOP (90.54 USD) | N/A | N/A |
| 10 Mbit/s | $ 4,950 DOP (133.78 USD) | N/A | $ 2,690 DOP (72.70 USD) |
| 15Mbit/s | $ 6,950 DOP (187.83 USD) | N/A | N/A |
| 20 Mbit/s | $ 9,950 DOP (268.91 USD) | N/A | N/A |
| 30 Mbit/s | 13,450 DOP (363.51 USD) | N/A | N/A |
| 40 Mbit/s | $ 16,950 (458.10 USD) | N/A | N/A |
| 50 Mbit/s | $ 18,995 (513.37 USD) | N/A | N/A |
DOP: Dominican Peso
Dominican peso
The Dominican peso, also called peso oro is the currency of the Dominican Republic. Its symbol is "$", with "RD$" used when distinction from other pesos is required; its ISO 4217 code is "DOP". Each peso is divided into 100 centavos , for which the ¢ symbol is used...
, USD: United States Dollar
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
Mobile Broadband
- 100MB = Up to 14.4 Mbit/s Downstream for 505 DOP (13.64 USD)
- 500MB = Up to 14.4 Mbit/s Downstream for 889 DOP (24.02 USD)
- 3GB = Up to 14.4 Mbit/s Downstream for 1,273 DOP (34.40 USD)
- 5GB = Up to 14.4 Mbit/s Downstream for 1,785 DOP (48.24 USD)
- 10GB = Up to 14.4 Mbit/s Downstream for 2,553 DOP (69.00 USD)
Television Services
The cable televisionCable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
in the Dominican Republic are provided by a variety of companies. These companies offer both English and Spanish language television, plus a range of channels in other languages, high definition
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
channels, Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view
Pay-per-view provides a service by which a television audience can purchase events to view via private telecast. The broadcaster shows the event at the same time to everyone ordering it...
movies and events, sports packages, premium movies channels and adult channels such as HBO
HBO Latin America Group
HBO Latin America Group is a company which owns several cable networks in the region of Latin America. It is owned by Time Warner.In Latin America, the channels owned by Time Warner are broadcast by two different subsidiaries, Turner Broadcasting System Latin America and HBO Latin...
, Playboy TV
Playboy TV
Playboy TV is a premium monthly subscription television channel. Since its launch in 1982 in partnership with Cablevision which eventually sold their share back to Playboy, Playboy TV has become a leading entertainment channel for adult entertainment...
, Cinecanal
Cinecanal
right|180px|Cinecanal logo used in HD VersionCinecanal is a Latin American panregional cable television network launched in 1 April 1993. It is owned by a group of Hollywood studios and Latin American cable companies. The studio owners include Paramount, 20th Century Fox and NBC Universal. MGM was...
, MLB Extra Innings
MLB Extra Innings
MLB Extra Innings is an Out-of-Market Sports Package distributed in North America by satellite provider DirecTV since 1996 and by most cable providers since 2001. The package allows its subscribers to see up to 80 out-of-market Major League Baseball games a week using local over the air stations...
, etc. Also, the channels are from not only the Dominican Republic, but also the United States and Europe. In the Dominican Republic television spectrum there are 46 in VHF and UHF channels free-to-air
Free-to-air
Free-to-air describes television and radio services broadcast in clear form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscription or one-off fee...
channels. The free of charge channels programming consists mainly of locally produced entertainment shows, news, and comedy shows; and foreign sit-comes, soap operas, movies, cartoons, and sports programs.
The main service provider in the Dominican Republic is Tricom. Aster is concentrated in Santo Domingo, but is expanding its service throughout the Dominican Republic. There are also new companies using new technologies that are expanding quickly such as Claro TV (IPTV
IPTV
Internet Protocol television is a system through which television services are delivered using the Internet protocol suite over a packet-switched network such as the Internet, instead of being delivered through traditional terrestrial, satellite signal, and cable television formats.IPTV services...
and Satellite TV), Wind Telecom(MMDS) and SKY
SKY México
SKY México is a company that operates a subscription television service in the Mexico, Central America, Dominican Republic area. It produces TV content, and owns several TV channels...
(Satellite TV).