View source for Telecommunications in the Gambia

{{Short description|none}} <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]] -->
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}}
'''Telecommunications in the Gambia''' includes radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet.

==Radio and television==
[[File:Radio syd1.jpg|thumb|[[Radio Syd]] near [[Banjul]]]]
{{See also |Gambia Radio & Television Service |Radio Gambia}}

* [[Radio broadcasting|Radio]]: The state-owned Gambia Radio and Television Service has two AM stations (Bonto, Basse) and three FM stations (Bonto, Serrekunda, Banjul).  There are also seven private FM stations in Serrekunda, Banjul, and Basse.<ref name="WRTH 2010">{{cite book|title=World Radio and Television Handbook|date=2010|publisher=WRTH Publications, Ltd.|location=Oxford, UK}}</ref>  There are nine community FM radio stations.Transmissions of multiple international broadcasters are available, some via shortwave radio (2007).<ref name=CIAWFB-Gambia-2013>[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/gambia-the/ "Communications: The Gambia"], ''World Factbook'', U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 4 December 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2014.</ref>
* [[Receiver (radio)|Radio sets]]: 196,000 (1997).{{update after|2014|1|5}}
* [[Television broadcasting|Television]]: The Gambia Radio and Television Service operates a single-channel TV service with the main transmitter at Banjul and numerous relay stations.<ref name="WRTH 2010" /> Transmissions of multiple international broadcasters are available; cable and satellite TV subscription services are obtainable in some parts of the country (2007).<ref name=CIAWFB-Gambia-2013/> Today, there are five more radio stations in the Gambia.
* [[Television set]]s: 4,000 (1997).{{update after|2014|1|5}}

==Telephones==
{{See also |Telephone numbers in the Gambia}}

* [[Calling code]]: +220<ref name=CIAWFB-Gambia-2013/>
* [[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: 64,200 lines in use, 159th in the world (2012).<ref name=CIAWFB-Gambia-2013/>
* Mobile cellular:  1.5 million lines, 151st in the world (2012).<ref name=CIAWFB-Gambia-2013/>
* Teledensity: ~80 per 100 persons, combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular (2011).<ref name=CIAWFB-Gambia-2013/>
* Domestic: 
** Adequate [[microwave radio relay]] and open-wire network (2011).<ref name=CIAWFB-Gambia-2013/> 
** State-owned [[Gamtel|Gambia Telecommunications Company]] (Gamtel) partially privatized in 2007.<ref name=CIAWFB-Gambia-2013/> 
* International: 
** [[Microwave radio relay]]: Links to [[Senegal]] and [[Guinea-Bissau]] (2011).<ref name=CIAWFB-Gambia-2013/>
** [[Communications satellite|Satellite earth station]]: 1 [[Intelsat]] ([[Atlantic Ocean]]) (2011).<ref name=CIAWFB-Gambia-2013/>
** [[List of international submarine communications cables|Communications cables]]: [[ACE (cable system)|Africa Coast to Europe]] (ACE) [[fiber-optic]] [[Submarine communications cable|submarine cable]] (2011).<ref name=CIAWFB-Gambia-2013/>

==Internet==

* [[Top-level domain]]: [[.gm]]<ref name=CIAWFB-Gambia-2013/>
* [[List of countries by number of Internet users|Internet users]]: 229,122 users, 151st in the world; 12.4% of the population, 165th 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>
* [[List of countries by number of broadband Internet subscriptions|Fixed broadband]]: 497 subscriptions, 188th in the world; less than 0.05% of the population, 178th 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=26 July 2019 }}, 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]]: 22,435 subscriptions, 131st in the world; 1.2% of the population, 132nd in the world (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=26 July 2019 }}, Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE, [[International Telecommunication Union]]. Retrieved on 29 June 2013.</ref>
* [[List of countries by number of Internet hosts|Internet hosts]]: 656 hosts, 179th in the world (2012).<ref name=CIAWFB-Gambia-2013/>
* [[IPv4]]: 21,504 addresses allocated, less than 0.05% of the world total, 11.7 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>

===Internet censorship and surveillance===

The Gambia is not individually classified by the [[OpenNet Initiative]] (ONI), but is classified as engaged in selective Internet filtering based on the limited descriptions in the ONI 2009 profile for the sub-Saharan Africa region.<ref name=ONIRO-SubSaharan>[http://opennet.net/research/regions/ssafrica "ONI Regional Overview: Sub-Saharan Africa"], OpenNet Initiative, September 2009</ref>

There are no government restrictions on access to the Internet or reports that the government monitors [[e-mail]] or Internet [[chat rooms]] without appropriate legal authority. Individuals and groups can generally engage in the peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including by e-mail. However, Internet users reported they could not access the Web sites of foreign online newspapers Freedom, The Gambia Echo, Hellogambia, and Jollofnews, which criticized the government.<ref name=USDOS-CRHRP-TheGambia-2012>[https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?year=2012&dlid=204123 "The Gambia"], ''Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012'', U.S. Department of State, 5 April 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2014.</ref>

The constitution and law provide for [[freedom of speech]] and [[Freedom of the press|press]]; however, the government restricted these rights. According to the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, "the environment for independent and opposition media remained hostile, with numerous obstacles to [[freedom of expression]], including administrative hurdles, [[arbitrary arrest and detention]], intimidation and judicial harassment against journalists, and the closure of media outlets, leading to [[self-censorship]]." Individuals who publicly or privately criticized the government or the president risked government reprisal. In March 2011 [[Yahya Jammeh|President Jammeh]] warned independent journalists that he would "not compromise or sacrifice the peace, security, stability, dignity, and the well being of Gambians for the sake of freedom of expression." Accusing some journalists of being the "mouthpiece of opposition parties," he vowed to prosecute any journalist who offended him. The National Intelligence Agency (NIA) was involved in arbitrary closure of media outlets and the extrajudicial detention of journalists.<ref name=USDOS-CRHRP-TheGambia-2012/>

In 2007 a Gambian journalist living in the US was convicted of sedition for an article published online; she was fined US$12,000;<ref>[http://www.freemedia.at/index.php?id=229&tx_ttnews&#91;tt_news&#93;=2750&tx_ttnews&#91;backPid&#93;=188&cHash=f6da271eff "Africa Overview"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180707230638/http://www.freemedia.at/index.php?id=229&tx_ttnews& |date=7 July 2018 }}, International Press Institute</ref> in 2006 the Gambian police ordered all subscribers to an online independent newspaper to report to the police or face arrest.<ref>[http://www.rsf.org/Online-newspaper-hacked-editor.html "Online newspaper hacked, editor smeared and subscribers threatened"] {{Webarchive|url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20090702071010/http://www.rsf.org/Online%2Dnewspaper%2Dhacked%2Deditor.html |date=2009-07-02 }}, Reporters Without Borders, 30 May 2006</ref>

The constitution and law prohibit arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence, but the government does not respect these prohibitions. Observers believe the government monitors citizens engaged in activities that it deems objectionable.<ref name=USDOS-CRHRP-TheGambia-2012/>

In recent years before the 2016 election social media like WhatsApp, Facebook and Skype have been temporarily blocked in The Gambia. Since 30 November 2016, the evening before the presidential election, internet access, mobile communication and phone calls have been completely shut down by all providers, as ordered by the president of The Gambia.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-38157127|title=Gambia blocks internet on election day|date=2016-12-01|work=BBC News|access-date=2018-08-13|language=en-GB}}</ref>

==See also==

* [[Africell]], mobile telecommunications company operating in The Gambia, [[Sierra Leone]], and the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]].
* [[Gamtel]], the Gambia Telecommunications Company.
* [[Qcell]], Qcell Gambia Co. Ltd., the Gambia Telecommunications Company.
* [[Comium]], Comium  Gambia Co. Ltd., Telecommunications Company, is fully owned subsidiary of the Comium Group Luxemburg.
* [[Netpage Ltd.]], Netpage Gambia Co. Ltd., Telecommunications Company.
* [[Quantum Ltd.]], QuantumNet Gambia Co. Ltd., Telecommunications Company.
* [[Vizocom]], a global satellite internet provider with coverage in the African continent

==References==
* {{CIA World Factbook |year=2013}}
* {{US DOS |year=2012}}
{{reflist |32em}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Telecommunications in the Gambia}}

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20081221145456/http://www.doscit.gm/ Department Of State For Communications Information & Information Technology] (DOSCIT).
* [http://www.gamtel.gm/ Gamtel], Gambia Telecommunications Company.
* [http://www.gamcel.gm/ Gamcel] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161002234227/http://gamcel.gm/ |date=2 October 2016 }}, mobile phone company.
* [http://www.grts.gm/ Gambia Radio & Television Services] (GRTS).
* [http://www.africell.gm/ Africell Gambia], mobile phone company.

{{Clear}}
{{Africa in topic|Telecommunications in}}
{{Telecommunications}}
{{Internet censorship by country}}
{{Economy of the Gambia}}

[[Category:Telecommunications in the Gambia| ]]