The CIA World Factbook Every edition, 1990 to 2024 Africa
Telecommunication systems Lesotho, in 35 editions.
The entry for Lesotho published Telecommunication systems in 35 editions of 36, from 1990 to 2024. The text changed in 28 editions. Each is shown as published. Telecommunication systems in every entry.
- editions changed the text
- 28
- the first edition with it
- 1990
- the latest edition with it
- 2024
Published as “Telecommunications” (1990 to 1994), “Telephone system” (1995 to 2019) and “Telecommunication systems” (2020 to 2024).
field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe edition shownChoose an edition on the strip beside the text, or step through them with the arrows. Mark changes compares it with the edition before: the marks are ours, words added and words removed.
2024 edition
Same as 2023Published as “Telecommunications”
- modest system consisting of a few land lines, a small radio relay system, and minor radiocommunication stations;
- 5,920 telephones;
- stations--2 AM, 2 FM, 1 TV;
- 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
modest system consisting of a few land lines, a small radio relay system, and minor radiocommunication stations; 5,920 telephones; stations--2 AM, 2 FM, 1 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
Published as “Telecommunications”
- rudimentary system consisting of a few land lines, a small radio relay system, and minor radiocommunication stations;
- 5,920 telephones;
- stations--2 AM, 2 FM, 1 TV;
- 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
modest rudimentary system consisting of a few land lines, a small radio relay system, and minor radiocommunication stations; 5,920 telephones; stations--2 AM, 2 FM, 1 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
The same text in 1992 and 1993.
Published as “Telecommunications”
- rudimentary system consisting of a few landlines, a small microwave system, and minor radio communications stations;
- 5,920 telephones;
- broadcast stations - 3 AM, 2 FM, 1 TV;
- 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
rudimentary system consisting of a few land lines, landlines, a small radio relay microwave system,
and minor radiocommunication radio communications stations; 5,920 telephones; stations--2 broadcast
stations - 3 AM, 2 FM, 1 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
Published as “Telecommunications”
- rudimentary system consisting of a few landlines, a small microwave system, and minor radio communications stations;
- 5,920 telephones;
- broadcast stations - 3 AM, 2 FM, 1 TV;
- 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station
rudimentary system consisting of a few landlines, a small microwave system,
system, and minor radio communications stations; 5,920 telephones; broadcast
broadcast stations - 3 AM, 2 FM, 1 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth
station
Published as “Telephone system”
5,920 telephones; rudimentary system
- local:
- NA
- intercity:
- consists of a few land lines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radio communication system
- international:
- 1 INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth station
5,920 telephones; rudimentary system consisting
local: NA
intercity: consists of a few landlines, land lines, a small microwave radio relay
system, and a minor radio communications stations; 5,920 telephones; communication systembroadcast stations - 3 AM, 2 FM, 1 TV; international: 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT (Atlantic Ocean) earth
Published as “Telephone system”
rudimentary system
- domestic:
- consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system
- international:
- satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
5,920 telephones; rudimentary systemlocal: NA domestic: consists of a few
intercity:land lines, landlines, a small microwave radio relay
system, and a minor radio radiotelephone communication system
international: satellite earth station - 1 INTELSAT Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) earth station
Published as “Telephone system”
rudimentary system
- domestic:
- consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system
- international :
- satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
rudimentary system
domestic: consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay
system, and a minor radiotelephone communication systeminternational: international : satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Published as “Telephone system”
rudimentary system
- domestic:
- consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system
- international:
- satellite earth station-1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
rudimentary system
domestic: consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay
system, and a minor radiotelephone communication systeminternational : international: satellite earth station - 1 station-1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Published as “Telephone system”
rudimentary system
- domestic:
- consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system
- international:
- satellite earth station--1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
rudimentary system
domestic: consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay
system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system
international: satellite earth station-1 station--1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Published as “Telephone system”
rudimentary system
- domestic:
- consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system
- international:
- satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
rudimentary system
domestic: consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay
international: satellite earth station--1 station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Published as “Telephone system”
- general assessment:
- rudimentary system domestic: consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
general assessment: rudimentary system
The same text in 2002 and 2003.
Published as “Telephone system”
- general assessment:
- rudimentary system
- domestic:
- consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system;
- a cellular mobile telephone system is growing
- international:
- satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
general assessment: rudimentary system
domestic: consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system; a cellular mobile telephone system is growing
international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Published as “Telephone system”
- general assessment:
- rudimentary system
- domestic:
- consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system;
- a cellular mobile telephone system is growing
- international:
- country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
general assessment: rudimentary system
domestic: consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system; a cellular mobile telephone system is growing
international: country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
The same text in 2005 and 2006.
Published as “Telephone system”
- general assessment:
- rudimentary system
- domestic:
- consists of a modest but growing number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system;
- a cellular mobile telephone system is growing
- international:
- country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
general assessment: rudimentary system
domestic: consists of a few modest but growing number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system; a cellular mobile telephone system is growing
international: country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Published as “Telephone system”
- general assessment:
- rudimentary system consisting of a modest but growing number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a small radiotelephone communication system;
- mobile-cellular telephone system is expanding
- domestic:
- privatized in 2001, Telecom Lesotho tasked with providing an additional 50,000 fixed-line connections within five years, a target not met;
- mobile-cellular service is expanding with a subscribership approaching 15 per 100 persons;
- rural services are scant
- international:
- country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
general assessment: rudimentary system
domestic: consistsminor small radiotelephone communication system; a cellular mobile mobile-cellular telephone system is growing expanding
domestic: privatized in 2001, Telecom Lesotho tasked with providing an additional 50,000 fixed-line connections within five years, a target not met; mobile-cellular service is expanding with a subscribership approaching 15 per 100 persons; rural services are scant
international: country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Published as “Telephone system”
- general assessment:
- rudimentary system consisting of a modest but growing number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a small radiotelephone communication system;
- mobile-cellular telephone system is expanding
- domestic:
- privatized in 2001, Telecom Lesotho tasked with providing an additional 50,000 fixed-line connections within five years, a target not met;
- mobile-cellular service is expanding with a subscribership approaching 25 per 100 persons;
- rural services are scant
- international:
- country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2007)
general assessment: rudimentary system consisting of a modest but growing number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a small radiotelephone communication system; mobile-cellular telephone system is expanding
domestic: privatized in 2001, Telecom Lesotho tasked with providing an additional 50,000 fixed-line connections within five years, a target not met; mobile-cellular service is expanding with a subscribership approaching 15 25 per 100 persons; rural services are scant
international: country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2007)
Published as “Telephone system”
- general assessment:
- rudimentary system consisting of a modest but growing number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a small radiotelephone communication system;
- mobile-cellular telephone system is expanding
- domestic:
- privatized in 2001, Telecom Lesotho tasked with providing an additional 50,000 fixed-line connections within five years, a target not met;
- mobile-cellular service is expanding with a subscribership exceeding 25 per 100 persons;
- rural services are scant
- international:
- country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2008)
general assessment:
rudimentary system consisting of a modest but growing number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a small radiotelephone communication system; mobile-cellular telephone system is expanding
domestic:
privatized in 2001, Telecom Lesotho tasked with providing an additional 50,000 fixed-line connections within five years, a target not met; mobile-cellular service is expanding with a subscribership approaching exceeding 25 per 100 persons; rural services are scant
international:
country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2007) (2008)
The same text in 2010 and 2011.
Published as “Telephone system”
- general assessment:
- rudimentary system consisting of a modest number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a small radiotelephone communication system;
- mobile-cellular telephone system is expanding
- domestic:
- privatized in 2001, Telecom Lesotho was tasked with providing an additional 50,000 fixed-line connections within five years, a target not met;
- mobile-cellular service dominates the market and is expanding with a subscribership exceeding 30 per 100 persons in 2009;
- rural services are scant
- international:
- country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2009)
general assessment:
rudimentary system consisting of a modest but growing number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a small radiotelephone communication system; mobile-cellular telephone system is expanding
domestic:
privatized in 2001, Telecom Lesotho was tasked with providing an additional 50,000 fixed-line connections within five years, a target not met; mobile-cellular service dominates the market and is expanding with a subscribership exceeding 25 30 per 100 persons; persons in 2009; rural services are scant
international:
country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2008) (2009)
Published as “Telephone system”
- general assessment:
- rudimentary system consisting of a modest number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a small radiotelephone communication system;
- mobile-cellular telephone system is expanding
- domestic:
- privatized in 2001, Telecom Lesotho was tasked with providing an additional 50,000 fixed-line connections within five years, a target not met;
- mobile-cellular service dominates the market and is expanding with a subscribership roughly 65 per 100 persons in 2011;
- rural services are scant
- international:
- country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
general assessment:
rudimentary system consisting of a modest number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a small radiotelephone communication system; mobile-cellular telephone system is expanding
domestic:
privatized in 2001, Telecom Lesotho was tasked with providing an additional 50,000 fixed-line connections within five years, a target not met; mobile-cellular service dominates the market and is expanding with a subscribership exceeding 30 roughly 65 per 100 persons in 2009; 2011; rural services are scant
international:
country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2009)
The same text in 2013 and 2014.
Published as “Telephone system”
- general assessment:
- rudimentary system consisting of a modest number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a small radiotelephone communication system;
- mobile-cellular telephone system is expanding
- domestic:
- privatized in 2001, Telecom Lesotho was tasked with providing an additional 50,000 fixed-line connections within five years, a target not met;
- mobile-cellular service dominates the market and is expanding with a subscribership roughly 65 per 100 persons in 2011;
- rural services are scant
- international:
- country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2011)
general assessment:
rudimentary system consisting of a modest number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a small radiotelephone communication system; mobile-cellular telephone system is expanding
domestic:
privatized in 2001, Telecom Lesotho was tasked with providing an additional 50,000 fixed-line connections within five years, a target not met; mobile-cellular service dominates the market and is expanding with a subscribership roughly 65 per 100 persons in 2011; rural services are scant
international:
country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2011)
Published as “Telephone system”
- general assessment:
- rudimentary system consisting of a modest number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a small radiotelephone communication system;
- mobile-cellular telephone system is expanding
- domestic:
- privatized in 2001, Telecom Lesotho was tasked with providing an additional 50,000 fixed-line connections within five years, a target not met;
- mobile-cellular service dominates the market and is expanding with a subscribership roughly 65 per 100 persons in 2011;
- rural services are scant
- international:
- country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2011)
general assessment:
domestic:
international:
Published as “Telephone system”
- general assessment:
- rudimentary system consisting of a modest number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a small radiotelephone communication system;
- mobile-cellular telephone system is expanding
- domestic:
- privatized in 2001, Telecom Lesotho was tasked with providing an additional 50,000 fixed-line connections within five years, a target not met;
- mobile-cellular service dominates the market and is expanding with a subscribership now over 110 per 100 persons
- international:
- country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2015)
general assessment: rudimentary system consisting of a modest number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a small radiotelephone communication system; mobile-cellular telephone system is expanding
domestic: privatized in 2001, Telecom Lesotho was tasked with providing an additional 50,000 fixed-line connections within five years, a target not met; mobile-cellular service dominates the market and is expanding with a subscribership roughly 65 now over 110 per 100 persons in 2011; rural services are scant
international: country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2011) (2015)
Published as “Telephone system”
- general assessment:
- rudimentary system consisting of a modest number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a small radiotelephone communication system;
- mobile-cellular telephone system is expanding
- domestic:
- Econet Telecom Lesotho provides telecom services;
- fixed-line density is low;
- mobile-cellular service dominates the market with a subscribership now over 115 per 100 persons
- international:
- country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2016)
general assessment: rudimentary system consisting of a modest number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a small radiotelephone communication system; mobile-cellular telephone system is expanding
domestic: privatized in 2001, Econet Telecom Lesotho was tasked with providing an additional 50,000 provides telecom services; fixed-line connections within five years, a target not met; density is low; mobile-cellular service dominates the market and is expanding with a subscribership now over 110 115 per 100 persons
international: country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2015) (2016)
Published as “Telephone system”
- general assessment:
- rudimentary system consisting of a modest number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a small radiotelephone communication system;
- fixed-line teledensity is low;
- mobile-cellular telephone system is expanding;
- commerical services with LTE technology (2017)
- domestic:
- mobile-cellular service dominates the market with a subscribership now over 122 per 100 persons; fixed-line is 1 per 100 subscriptions (2017)
- international:
- country code - 266;
- satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean);
- although expensive, given the need for access prices due to the fact that the country is landlocked, the internet has improved with the several submarine fibre optic cables which land on African east and west coasts (2016)
general assessment: rudimentary system consisting of a modest number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a small radiotelephone communication system; fixed-line teledensity is low; mobile-cellular telephone system is expanding expanding; commerical services with LTE technology (2017)
domestic: Econet Telecom Lesotho provides telecom services; fixed-line density is low; mobile-cellular service dominates the market with a subscribership now over 115 122 per 100 persons persons; fixed-line is 1 per 100 subscriptions (2017)
international: country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) Ocean); although expensive, given the need for access prices due to the fact that the country is landlocked, the internet has improved with the several submarine fibre optic cables which land on African east and west coasts (2016)
Published as “Telephone system”
- general assessment:
- rudimentary system consisting of a modest number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a small radiotelephone communication system;
- fixed-line teledensity is low;
- mobile-cellular telephone system is expanding;
- commercial services with LTE technology (2018)
- domestic:
- mobile-cellular service dominates the market with a subscribership now over 122 per 100 persons; fixed-line is 1 per 100 subscriptions (2018)
- international:
- country code - 266;
- satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean);
- Internet accessibility has improved with several submarine fibre optic cables that land on African east and west coasts, but the country's land locked position makes access prices expensive (2019)
general assessment: rudimentary system consisting of a modest number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a small radiotelephone communication system; fixed-line teledensity is low; mobile-cellular telephone system is expanding; commerical commercial services with LTE technology (2017) (2018)
domestic: mobile-cellular service dominates the market with a subscribership now over 122 per 100 persons; fixed-line is 1 per 100 subscriptions (2017) (2018)
international: country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); although expensive, given the need for access prices due to the fact that the country is landlocked, the internet Internet accessibility has improved with the several submarine fibre optic cables which that land on African east and west coasts (2016) coasts, but the country's land locked position makes access prices expensive (2019)
- general assessment:
- mobile penetration remains below regional average;
- introduction of mobile broadband in the country & LTE technology, with 5G trials in early 2019;
- fixed-line teledensity is low;
- mobile-cellular telephone system is growth sector;
- regulator considering improving SIM card registration (2020)
- domestic:
- fixed-line is 1 per 100 subscriptions;
- mobile-cellular service dominates the market with a subscribership now over 114 per 100 persons;
- rudimentary system consisting of a modest number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a small radiotelephone communication system (2019)
- international:
- country code - 266;
- Internet accessibility has improved with several submarine fiber optic cables that land on African east and west coasts, but the country's land locked position makes access prices expensive;
- satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2019)
note: the COVID-19 outbreak is negatively impacting telecommunications production and supply chains globally; consumer spending on telecom devices and services has also slowed due to the pandemic's effect on economies worldwide; overall progress towards improvements in all facets of the telecom industry - mobile, fixed-line, broadband, submarine cable and satellite - has moderated
Rewritten: too little of the 2019 text remains to mark the changes.
general assessment: mobile penetration remains below regional average; introduction of mobile broadband in the country & LTE technology, with 5G trials in early 2019; fixed-line teledensity is low; mobile-cellular telephone system is growth sector; regulator considering improving SIM card registration (2020)
domestic: fixed-line is 1 per 100 subscriptions; mobile-cellular service dominates the market with a subscribership now over 114 per 100 persons; rudimentary system consisting of a modest number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a small radiotelephone communication system (2019)
international: country code - 266; Internet accessibility has improved with several submarine fiber optic cables that land on African east and west coasts, but the country's land locked position makes access prices expensive; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2019)
note: the COVID-19 outbreak is negatively impacting telecommunications production and supply chains globally; consumer spending on telecom devices and services has also slowed due to the pandemic's effect on economies worldwide; overall progress towards improvements in all facets of the telecom industry - mobile, fixed-line, broadband, submarine cable and satellite - has moderated
- general assessment:
- small market with few business incentives;
- fixed-line tele-density and mobile penetration remains below regional average;
- introduction of mobile broadband in the country and LTE technology;
- 5G testing among first in region;
- landlocked, Lesotho has access to several submarine cables on African coast through neighboring countries yet Internet is expensive;
- importer of broadcasting equipment and computers from South Africa (2020)
- domestic:
- fixed-line is 1 per 100 subscriptions;
- mobile-cellular service dominates the market with a subscribership now over 114 per 100 persons;
- rudimentary system consisting of a modest number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a small radiotelephone communication system (2019)
- international:
- country code - 266;
- Internet accessibility has improved with several submarine fiber optic cables that land on African east and west coasts, but the country's land locked position makes access prices expensive;
- satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2019)
note: the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced downturn, particularly in mobile device production; many network operators delayed upgrades to infrastructure; progress towards 5G implementation was postponed or slowed in some countries; consumer spending on telecom services and devices was affected by large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home became evident, and received some support from governments
general assessment: small market with few business incentives; fixed-line tele-density and mobile penetration remains below regional average; introduction of mobile broadband in the country & and LTE technology, with technology; 5G trials testing among first in early 2019; fixed-line teledensity is low; mobile-cellular telephone system region; landlocked, Lesotho has access to several submarine cables on African coast through neighboring countries yet Internet is growth sector; regulator considering improving SIM card registration expensive; importer of broadcasting equipment and computers from South Africa (2020)
domestic: fixed-line is 1 per 100 subscriptions; mobile-cellular service dominates the market with a subscribership now over 114 per 100 persons; rudimentary system consisting of a modest number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a small radiotelephone communication system (2019)
international: country code - 266; Internet accessibility has improved with several submarine fiber optic cables that land on African east and west coasts, but the country's land locked position makes access prices expensive; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2019)
note: the COVID-19 outbreak is negatively impacting telecommunications pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced downturn, particularly in mobile device production; many network operators delayed upgrades to infrastructure; progress towards 5G implementation was postponed or slowed in some countries; consumer spending on telecom services and devices was affected by large-scale job losses and services has also slowed due to the pandemic's effect consequent restriction on economies worldwide; overall progress towards improvements in all facets of disposable incomes; the crucial nature of telecom industry - mobile, fixed-line, broadband, submarine cable services as a tool for work and satellite - has moderated school from home became evident, and received some support from governments
- general assessment:
- until late 2020, Lesotho’s telecom regulator maintained a market duopoly which is focused on fixed-line services;
- competition was insufficient to promote effective price reductions for consumers, while the regulator had no mechanisms in place to monitor the telcos to ensure quality of service and fair pricing for consumers;
- the small size of the country’s population provided little incentive for new players to enter the market;
- a positive outcome for consumers was the deployment in early 2021 of a service to monitor traffic and billing;
- this ended the practice whereby the regulator was dependent on telcos submitting data about their performance, billing, and other matters;
- the regulator has also turned its attention to addressing multiple SIM ownership and stem incidences of crimes committed using unregistered SIMs;
- in May 2022, it instructed the country’s MNOs to begin registering SIM cards on their networks from the following month;
- fixed-wireless 5G trials began in early 2019 (2022)
- domestic:
- fixed-line is less than 1 per 100 subscriptions;
- mobile-cellular service subscribership nearly 73 per 100 persons;
- rudimentary system consisting of a modest number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a small radiotelephone communication system (2020)
- international:
- country code - 266;
- Internet accessibility has improved with several submarine fiber optic cables that land on African east and west coasts, but the country's land locked position makes access prices expensive;
- satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2019)
note: the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced a downturn, particularly in mobile device production; progress toward 5G implementation has resumed, as well as upgrades to infrastructure; consumer spending on telecom services has increased due to the surge in demand for capacity and bandwidth; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home is still evident, and the spike in this area has seen growth opportunities for development of new tools and increased services
general assessment: small until late 2020, Lesotho’s telecom regulator maintained a market with few business incentives; duopoly which is focused on fixed-line tele-density services; competition was insufficient to promote effective price reductions for consumers, while the regulator had no mechanisms in place to monitor the telcos to ensure quality of service and mobile penetration remains below regional average; introduction fair pricing for consumers; the small size of mobile broadband the country’s population provided little incentive for new players to enter the market; a positive outcome for consumers was the deployment in early 2021 of a service to monitor traffic and billing; this ended the country practice whereby the regulator was dependent on telcos submitting data about their performance, billing, and LTE technology; 5G testing among first in region; landlocked, Lesotho other matters; the regulator has access also turned its attention to several submarine cables on African coast through neighboring countries yet Internet is expensive; importer of broadcasting equipment addressing multiple SIM ownership and computers stem incidences of crimes committed using unregistered SIMs; in May 2022, it instructed the country’s MNOs to begin registering SIM cards on their networks from South Africa (2020) the following month; fixed-wireless 5G trials began in early 2019 (2022)
domestic: fixed-line is less than 1 per 100 subscriptions; mobile-cellular service dominates the market with a subscribership now over 114 nearly 73 per 100 persons; rudimentary system consisting of a modest number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a small radiotelephone communication system (2019) (2020)
international: country code - 266; Internet accessibility has improved with several submarine fiber optic cables that land on African east and west coasts, but the country's land locked position makes access prices expensive; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2019)
note: the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced a downturn, particularly in mobile device production; many network operators delayed upgrades to infrastructure; progress towards toward 5G implementation was postponed or slowed in some countries; has resumed, as well as upgrades to infrastructure; consumer spending on telecom services and devices was affected by large-scale job losses and has increased due to the consequent restriction on disposable incomes; surge in demand for capacity and bandwidth; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home became is still evident, and received some support from governments the spike in this area has seen growth opportunities for development of new tools and increased services
The same text in 2023 and 2024.
- general assessment:
- until late 2020, Lesotho’s telecom regulator maintained a market duopoly which is focused on fixed-line services;
- competition was insufficient to promote effective price reductions for consumers, while the regulator had no mechanisms in place to monitor the telcos to ensure quality of service and fair pricing for consumers;
- the small size of the country’s population provided little incentive for new players to enter the market;
- a positive outcome for consumers was the deployment in early 2021 of a service to monitor traffic and billing;
- this ended the practice whereby the regulator was dependent on telcos submitting data about their performance, billing, and other matters;
- the regulator has also turned its attention to addressing multiple SIM ownership and stemming incidences of crimes committed using unregistered SIMs;
- in May 2022, it instructed the country’s Mobile Network Operators to begin registering SIM cards on their networks from the following month;
- fixed-wireless 5G trials began in early 2019 (2022)
- domestic:
- fixed-line is less than 1 per 100 subscriptions; mobile-cellular service subscribership is 80 per 100 persons (2021)
- international:
- country code - 266;
- Internet accessibility has improved with several submarine fiber optic cables that land on African east and west coasts, but the country's land locked position makes access prices expensive;
- satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2019)
general assessment: until late 2020, Lesotho’s telecom regulator maintained a market duopoly which is focused on fixed-line services; competition was insufficient to promote effective price reductions for consumers, while the regulator had no mechanisms in place to monitor the telcos to ensure quality of service and fair pricing for consumers; the small size of the country’s population provided little incentive for new players to enter the market; a positive outcome for consumers was the deployment in early 2021 of a service to monitor traffic and billing; this ended the practice whereby the regulator was dependent on telcos submitting data about their performance, billing, and other matters; the regulator has also turned its attention to addressing multiple SIM ownership and stem stemming incidences of crimes committed using unregistered SIMs; in May 2022, it instructed the country’s MNOs Mobile Network Operators to begin registering SIM cards on their networks from the following month; fixed-wireless 5G trials began in early 2019 (2022)
domestic: fixed-line is less than 1 per 100 subscriptions; mobile-cellular service subscribership nearly 73 is 80 per 100 persons; rudimentary system consisting of a modest number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a small radiotelephone communication system (2020) persons (2021)
international: country code - 266; Internet accessibility has improved with several submarine fiber optic cables that land on African east and west coasts, but the country's land locked position makes access prices expensive; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2019)
note: the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced a downturn, particularly in mobile device production; progress toward 5G implementation has resumed, as well as upgrades to infrastructure; consumer spending on telecom services has increased due to the surge in demand for capacity and bandwidth; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home is still evident, and the spike in this area has seen growth opportunities for development of new tools and increased services
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Central Intelligence Agency. “Lesotho: Telecommunication systems.” The World Factbook, 1990–2024 editions. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/lesotho/telecommunication-systems.