View source for Telecommunications in Niger

{{Short description|none}} <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]] -->
{{Update|date=September 2022}}
'''Telecommunications in Niger''' include radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet.

==Radio and television==

'''[[Radio broadcasting|Radio stations]]:'''
* state-run TV station; 3 private TV stations provide a mix of local and foreign programming (2007);<ref name=CIAWFB-Niger-2014>[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/niger/ "Communications: Niger"], ''World Factbook'', U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 28 January 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2014.</ref>
* 5 AM, 6 FM, and 4 shortwave stations (2001).<ref name=cia2009 /> 			

'''[[Receiver (radio)|Radios]]:'''{{update after|2014|2|10}}
* 680,000 (1997);<ref name=cia2009 /> 
* 500,000 (1992).<ref name="Decalo1997">{{Cite book
|last=Decalo
|first=Samuel
|title=Historical Dictionary of the Niger (3rd ed.)
|publisher=Scarecrow Press (Rowman & Littlefield)
|year=1997
|isbn=0-8108-3136-8
|url=https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780810870901
}}</ref>{{rp|231}}

'''[[Television broadcasting|Television stations]]:''' state-run TV station; 3 private TV stations provide a mix of local and foreign programming (2007).<ref name=CIAWFB-Niger-2014/>

'''[[Television set]]s:'''{{update after|2014|2|10}}
* 125,000 (1997);<ref name=cia2009 /> 
* &nbsp;&nbsp;37,000 (1992).<ref name="Decalo1997" />

Because literacy levels in the country are low, radio is a key source for news and information.<ref name=BBC-NigerProfile-2013/>

[[Radio France Internationale]] (RFI) is available in the capital, [[Niamey]], and in the [[Maradi Region|Maradi]] and [[Zinder Region|Zinder]] regions. The [[BBC World Service]] broadcasts in the capital (100.4 FM).<ref name=BBC-NigerProfile-2013/>

===Press freedom and control===
The state controls much of the nation's broadcasting, though private radio stations have proliferated. The media regulatory body, the National Observatory on Communication, and the Independent Nigerien Media Observatory for Ethics, a voluntary media watchdog organization, help to maintain the media environment in Niger. The government maintains a 200 million CFA (~US$400,000) press support fund, established by law and available to all media, to encourage support for education, information, entertainment, and promoting democracy.<ref name=BBC-NigerProfile-2013>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13943665 "Niger profile: Media"], ''BBC News'', 24 January 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2014.</ref>

Press freedom "improved considerably" after [[Mamadou Tandja]] was ousted as president in 2010. Media offences were decriminalised shortly afterwards.<ref name=BBC-NigerProfile-2013/> With the passage of the 2010 law protecting journalists from prosecution related to their work and [[Mahamadou Issoufou|President Issoufou's]] November 2011 endorsement of the [[Declaration of Table Mountain]] statement on press freedom in Africa (the first head of state to sign the statement),<ref>[http://www.wan-ifra.org/articles/2011/11/29/president-of-niger-mahamadou-issoufou-to-sign-declaration-of-table-mountain "President of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou, to sign Declaration of Table Mountain"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181012020119/http://www.wan-ifra.org/articles/2011/11/29/president-of-niger-mahamadou-issoufou-to-sign-declaration-of-table-mountain |date=2018-10-12 }}, Andrew Heslop,  World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA), 29 November 2011. Retrieved 9 February 2014.</ref> the country continues its efforts to improve press freedom. The Declaration of Table Mountain calls for the repeal of criminal [[defamation]] and "[[insult]]" laws and for moving [[freedom of the press|press freedom]] higher on the African agenda.<ref name=USDOS-CRHRP-Niger-2012/>

==Telephones==
{{See also |Telephone numbers in Niger}}

'''[[Calling code]]''': +227<ref name=CIAWFB-Niger-2014/>

'''[[List of international call prefixes|International call prefix]]:''' 00<ref>[http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-t/opb/sp/T-SP-E.164C-2011-PDF-E.pdf ''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.</ref>

'''Main lines:'''
* 100,500 lines in use, 145th in the world (2012);<ref name=CIAWFB-Niger-2014/>
* &nbsp;&nbsp;24,000 lines in use, 186th in the world (2005).<ref name=cia2009>[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/niger/ "Communications: Niger"], ''World Factbook'', U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 10 February 2009. Retrieved 18 February 2009.</ref>

'''Mobile cellular:'''
* 5.4 million lines, 107th in the world (2012);<ref name=CIAWFB-Niger-2014/>
* 900,000 lines, 139th in the world (2007).<ref name=cia2009/>

'''Telephone system:'''
inadequate; small system of wire, [[radio telephone]] communications, and [[microwave radio relay]] links concentrated in the southwestern area of Niger; domestic satellite system with 3 earth stations and 1 planned; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity remains only about 30 per 100 persons despite a rapidly increasing cellular subscribership base (2010); United Nations estimates placed telephone subscribers at 0.2 per hundred in 2000, rising to 2.5 per hundred in 2006.<ref name=unpocket2007>[http://data.un.org/CountryProfile.aspx?crname=Niger Niger country profile]. World Statistics Pocketbook, United Nations Statistics Division, 2007.</ref>

'''[[Communications satellite|Satellite earth stations]]:''' 2 [[Intelsat]] (1 [[Atlantic Ocean]] and 1 [[Indian Ocean]]) (2010).<ref name=CIAWFB-Niger-2014/>

'''[[List of international submarine communications cables|Communications cables]]:''' [[ACE (cable system)|Africa Coast to Europe]] (ACE) via land links between Niger and the Atlantic coast.<ref>[http://www.ace-submarinecable.com/ace/default/EN/all/ace_en/the_project.htm "Overview"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306222434/https://www.ace-submarinecable.com/ace/default/EN/all/ace_en/the_project.htm |date=2016-03-06 }}, ACE: Africa Coast to Europe, Orange SA. Retrieved 9 February 2014.</ref>

==Internet==

'''[[Top-level domain]]:''' [[.ne]], controlled by the [[parastatal]] telecom company, [[Niger Telecoms]].<ref name=cia2009 />{{Update inline|date=September 2022|?=yes}}

'''[[List of countries by number of Internet users|Internet users]]:'''
* 230,084 users, 150th in the world; 1.4% of the population, 205th in the world (2012).<ref name=NIUCalc>Calculated using penetration rate and population data from [https://www.census.gov/population/international/data/idb/rank.php "Countries and Areas Ranked by Population: 2012"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329060848/https://www.census.gov/population/international/data/idb/rank.php |date=2017-03-29 }}, Population data, International Programs,  U.S. Census Bureau, retrieved 26 June 2013</ref><ref name=ITU-IndividualsUsingTheInternet>[http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/statistics/2013/Individuals_Internet_2000-2012.xls "Percentage of Individuals using the Internet 2000–2012"], International Telecommunication Union (Geneva), June 2013, retrieved 22 June 2013</ref> 
* 115,900 users, 155th in the world (2009);<ref name=CIAWFB-Niger-2014/>
* &nbsp;&nbsp;40,000 users, 173rd in the world (2006).<ref name=cia2009 />

'''[[List of countries by number of broadband Internet subscriptions|Fixed broadband]]:''' 3,596 subscriptions, 166th in the world; less than 0.05% of the population, 185th in the world (2012).<ref name=NIUCalc/><ref name="FixedBroadbandITUDynamic2012">[http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ICTEYE/Reporting/DynamicReportWizard.aspx "Fixed (wired)-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726064920/http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ICTEYE/Reporting/DynamicReportWizard.aspx |date=2019-07-26 }}, Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE, [[International Telecommunication Union]]. Retrieved on 29 June 2013.</ref>

'''[[List of countries by number of broadband Internet subscriptions|Wireless broadband]]:''' Unknown (2012).<ref name="MobleBroadbandITUDynamic2012">[http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ICTEYE/Reporting/DynamicReportWizard.aspx "Active mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726064920/http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ICTEYE/Reporting/DynamicReportWizard.aspx |date=2019-07-26 }}, Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE, [[International Telecommunication Union]]. Retrieved on 29 June 2013.</ref>

'''[[List of countries by number of Internet hosts|Internet hosts]]:''' 
* 454 hosts, 185th in the world (2012);<ref name=CIAWFB-Niger-2014/>
* 216 hosts, 176th in the world (2008).<ref name=cia2009 />

'''[[List of countries by IPv4 address allocation|IPv4]]:''' 20,480 addresses allocated, less than 0.05% of the world total, 1.2 addresses per 1000 people (2012).<ref>[http://www.countryipblocks.net/country-blocks/select-formats/ Select Formats] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090513033601/http://www.countryipblocks.net/country-blocks/select-formats/ |date=2009-05-13 }}, Country IP Blocks. Accessed on 2 April 2012. Note: Site is said to be updated daily.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070613003851/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2119.html Population], [[The World Factbook]], [[United States]] [[Central Intelligence Agency]]. Accessed on 2 April 2012. Note: Data are mostly for 1 July 2012.</ref>

The [[United Nations]] estimated that there were only 0.3 Internet users per 100 Nigeriens in 2006, up from less than 0.1 per 100 in 2000.<ref name=unpocket2007 /> As a point of reference, the [[Millennium Development Goal]] for least developed countries by 2015 is 8.2 Internet users per 100 population.<ref>[http://mdgs.un.org/unsd/mdg/SeriesDetail.aspx?srid=605&crid=562 "Indicator 8.16, Internet users per 100 inhabitants: Niger"], Millennium Development Goals Indicators, United Nations Statistical Division. Retrieved 18 February 2009.</ref>

===Internet censorship and surveillance===

There are no government restrictions on access to the Internet or reports that the government monitors [[e-mail]] or Internet [[chat rooms]]. Although individuals and groups can engage in the peaceful expression of views via the Internet, few residents have access to it.<ref name=USDOS-CRHRP-Niger-2012>[https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?year=2012&dlid=204151 "Niger"], ''Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012'', Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State, 22 March 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2014.</ref>

The constitution and law provide for [[freedom of speech]] and [[freedom of the press|press]], and the government generally respects these rights in practice. The constitution and law generally prohibit arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence, and the government generally respects these prohibitions.<ref name=USDOS-CRHRP-Niger-2012/>

==See also==

* [[Niger Telecoms]], the state-owned telecommunications company
** [[SONITEL|Société Nigérienne des Télécommunications]] (SONITEL), its predecessor
* [[Office of Radio and Television of Niger]], state broadcast authority
* [[Media of Niger]]
* [[Economy of Niger]]
* [[List of terrestrial fibre optic cable projects in Africa]]

==References==

* {{CIA World Factbook}}
* {{US DOS |year=2012}}
{{Reflist |30em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.stat-niger.org/Annuaire/transp.htm Transports et télécoms (Statistical series)] {{in lang|fr}}, Institut National de la Statistique, Niger.
* [https://ssrn.com/abstract=1093374 Does Digital Divide or Provide? The Impact of Cell Phones on Grain Markets in Niger], Jenny C. Aker, Center for Global Development, Tufts University, 1 October 2008.
* [http://www.afrik.com/article4115.html Le paysage médiatique nigérien] (The Nigerian media landscape) {{in lang|fr}}, Djilali Benamrane, Afrik.com, 6 March 2002. [https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.afrik.com%2Farticle4115.html&sandbox=1 English translation].
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061001152453/http://pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PNACN916.pdf Niger Information and Communications Technology Assessment], Yaovi Atohoun, Eileen Reynolds, Karl Stanzick, United States Education for Development and Democracy Initiative, 3 May 2001.

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{{Africa in topic|Telecommunications in}}
{{Telecommunications}}
{{Internet censorship by country}}
{{Economy of Niger}}
{{Niger topics}}

[[Category:Telecommunications in Niger| ]]