Telecommunications in Guinea

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

The people of Guinea are among the poorest in West Africa[1] and this reality is reflected in the development of the country's telecommunications environment. Radio is the most important source of information for the public in Guinea, and the only one to reach the entire country.

There is a single government-owned radio network, a growing number of private radio stations, and one government TV station. The fixed telephone system is inadequate, with just 18,000 lines to serve the country's 10.5 million inhabitants in 2012. The mobile cellular system is growing rapidly and had an estimated 4.8 million lines in 2012. Internet usage is very low, reaching just 1.5% of the population in 2012.

Radio and television

Radio remains the most important source of information for the public,[2] and the only one to reach the entire country.[1] The government licensed the country's first private broadcasters in 2006.[1]

State censorship

The government maintains marginal control over broadcast media,[3] the media laws promulgated following the 2010 democratic transition have not been implemented,[1] and there are reports of state censorship through journalist harassment and station closures. For example:[2]

Telephones

Internet

Internet censorship and surveillance

There are no government restrictions on access to the Internet or credible reports that the government monitors e-mail or Internet chat rooms without judicial oversight.[2]

The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and of the press, but the government, nevertheless, restricts these freedoms. Libel against the head of state, slander, and false reporting are subject to heavy fines. Some journalists accuse government officials of attempting to influence the tone of their reporting with inappropriate pressure and bribes. Some journalists hire bodyguards, and many practice self-censorship. Although the constitution and law provide for the inviolability of the home and legal searches require judicial search warrants, police reportedly ignore legal procedures in the pursuit of criminal suspects or when it serves their personal interests.[2]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "", BBC News, 14 March 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Guinea", Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State, 3 April 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Communications: Guinea", World Factbook, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 28 January 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  4. 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.
  5. "ACE: Africa Coast to Europe", Orange SA. Retrieved 4 February 2014.
  6. 1 2 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
  7. "Percentage of Individuals using the Internet 2000-2012", International Telecommunications Union (Geneva), June 2013, retrieved 22 June 2013
  8. "Fixed (wired)-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012", Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE, International Telecommunication Union. Retrieved on 29 June 2013.
  9. "Active mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012", Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE, International Telecommunication Union. Retrieved on 29 June 2013.
  10. Select Formats, Country IP Blocks. Accessed on 2 April 2012. Note: Site is said to be updated daily.
  11. Population, The World Factbook, United States Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on 2 April 2012. Note: Data are mostly for 1 July 2012.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 3/30/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.