Telecommunications in Bhutan

Telephones

• Main lines: 18,000 lines in use, 174th in the world.
• Mobile cellular: 752,000 lines, 169th in the world.
• Telephone system:
• * general assessment: Urban towns and district headquarters have telecommunications services ;
• * domestic: very low tele-density, domestic service is poor especially in rural areas, mobile cellular service available since 2003 is now widely available ;
• * international: international telephone and telegraph service via landline and microwave relay through India ;
• * satellite earth station: 1 Intelsat.
• Country codes: Bhutan +975, Phuentsholing 1, Thimphu 2, Bumthang 3, Paro 8.

  Radio and television

• First radio station, Radio NYAB, privately launched in 1973, is now state-owned.
• Five private radio stations are currently broadcasting.
• Radios: 37,000.
• The Bhutan Broadcasting Service first commenced television transmissions in June 1999, upon legalizing television, one of the last countries in the world to do so.
• Cable TV service offers dozens of Indian and other international channels.
• Televisions: 11,000.

  Internet

• Top level domain:.bt
• Internet hosts: 14,590 hosts, 126th in the world.
• IPv4: 23,552 addresses allocated, 32.9 per 1000 people.
• Internet users: 88% of the population.
• Fixed broadband: 10,000, 183th in the world
• Mobile broadband: 17,851 subscriptions, 133rd in the world; 2.5% of population, 122nd in the world.
• Internet service providers: Bhutan's main and only ISP is Druknet, owned by Bhutan Telecom. It provides a dial-up service, at a reasonable cost.
• Internet cafes: Located in most large towns.