Telecommunications in Bhutan
Telecommunications in Bhutan includes telephones, radio, television, and the Internet.
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.