The CIA World Factbook Every edition, 1990 to 2024 Oceania
Telecommunication systems Samoa, in 35 editions.
The entry for Samoa published Telecommunication systems in 35 editions of 36, from 1990 to 2024. The text changed in 25 editions. Each is shown as published. Telecommunication systems in every entry.
- editions changed the text
- 25
- 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 2023Entry published as “Western Samoa”.
Published as “Telecommunications”
- 7,500 telephones;
- 70,000 radio receivers;
- stations--1 AM, no FM, no TV;
- 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT station
7,500 telephones; 70,000 radio receivers; stations--1 AM, no FM, no TV; 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT station
Entry published as “Western Samoa”.
Published as “Telecommunications”
- 7,500 telephones;
- 70,000 radios;
- stations--1 AM, no FM, no TV;
- 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT station
7,500 telephones; 70,000 radio receivers; radios; stations--1 AM, no FM, no TV; 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT station
The same text in 1992 and 1993.
Entry published as “Western Samoa”.
Published as “Telecommunications”
- 7,500 telephones;
- 70,000 radios;
- broadcast stations - 1 AM, no FM, no TV;
- 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT ground station
7,500 telephones; 70,000 radios; stations--1 broadcast stations - 1 AM, no FM, no TV; 1
Pacific Ocean INTELSAT ground station
Entry published as “Western Samoa”.
Published as “Telecommunications”
- 7,500 telephones;
- 70,000 radios;
- broadcast stations - 1 AM, no FM, no TV;
- 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT ground station
7,500 telephones; 70,000 radios; broadcast stations - 1 AM, no FM, no
TV; 1
Entry published as “Western Samoa”.
Published as “Telephone system”
7,500 telephones
- local:
- NA
- intercity:
- NA
- international:
- 1 INTELSAT (Pacific Ocean) earth station
7,500 telephones; 70,000 radios; broadcast stations - 1 AM, no FM, no telephonesTV; local: NA
intercity: NA
international: 1 Pacific Ocean INTELSAT ground (Pacific Ocean) earth station
The same text in 1996 and 1997.
Entry published as “Western Samoa”.
Published as “Telephone system”
- domestic:
- NA
- international:
- satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
7,500 telephones domestic: NA
local: NA
intercity:
international: satellite earth station - 1 INTELSAT Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) earth station
Published as “Telephone system”
- domestic:
- NA
- international:
- satellite earth station-1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
domestic: NA
international: satellite earth station - 1 station-1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
Published as “Telephone system”
- domestic:
- NA
- international:
- satellite earth station--1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
domestic: NA
international: satellite earth station-1 station--1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
Published as “Telephone system”
- domestic:
- NA
- international:
- satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
domestic: NA
international: satellite earth station--1 station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
Published as “Telephone system”
- general assessment:
- adequate domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
general assessment: adequate domestic: NA
The same text in 2002 and 2003.
Published as “Telephone system”
- general assessment:
- adequate
- domestic:
- NA
- international:
- satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
general assessment: adequate
domestic: NA
international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
The same text in 4 editions, 2004 to 2007.
Published as “Telephone system”
- general assessment:
- adequate
- domestic:
- NA
- international:
- country code - 685; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
general assessment: adequate
domestic: NA
international: country code - 685; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
Published as “Telephone system”
- general assessment:
- adequate
- domestic:
- combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 50 telephones per 100 persons
- international:
- country code - 685; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
general assessment: adequate
domestic: NA combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 50 telephones per 100 persons
international: country code - 685; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
Published as “Telephone system”
- general assessment:
- adequate
- domestic:
- combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 70 telephones per 100 persons; coverage extended to roughly 95 percent of the country
- international:
- country code - 685; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
general assessment:
adequate
domestic:
combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 50 70 telephones per 100 persons persons; coverage extended to roughly 95 percent of the country
international:
country code - 685; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
The same text in 2010 and 2011.
Published as “Telephone system”
- general assessment:
- adequate
- domestic:
- combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 85 telephones per 100 persons; coverage extended to roughly 95 percent of the country
- international:
- country code - 685; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
general assessment:
adequate
domestic:
combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 70 85 telephones per 100 persons; coverage extended to roughly 95 percent of the country
international:
country code - 685; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
Published as “Telephone system”
- general assessment:
- adequate
- domestic:
- combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 100 telephones per 100 persons
- international:
- country code - 685; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
general assessment:
adequate
domestic:
combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 85 100 telephones per 100 persons; coverage extended to roughly 95 percent of the country persons
international:
country code - 685; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
The same text in 2013 and 2014.
Published as “Telephone system”
- general assessment:
- adequate
- domestic:
- combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 100 telephones per 100 persons
- international:
- country code - 685; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2007)
general assessment:
adequate
domestic:
combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 100 telephones per 100 persons
international:
country code - 685; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2007)
Published as “Telephone system”
- general assessment:
- adequate
- domestic:
- combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 100 telephones per 100 persons
- international:
- country code - 685; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2007)
general assessment:
domestic:
international:
Published as “Telephone system”
- general assessment:
- adequate
- domestic:
- combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 60 telephones per 100 persons
- international:
- country code - 685; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2015)
general assessment: adequate
domestic: combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 100 60 telephones per 100 persons
international: country code - 685; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2007) (2015)
Published as “Telephone system”
- general assessment:
- most households have at least one mobile phone;
- all businesses in the greater Apia area have access to broadband and Wi-Fi, which is reasonably reliable and fast, but relatively expensive;
- in rural Upolu and on Savaii Island there is limited availability of high speed Internet and Wi-Fi;
- Samoa recently completed the installation of a National Broadband Highway that will provide fiber optic data services and 4G LTE cellular data speeds to the entire country;
- 4G LTE data speeds are operative and commercially available to limited areas;
- 3G Internet accessibility from cellular devices is currently available nationwide (2017)
- domestic:
- combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 70 telephones per 100 persons (2016)
- international:
- country code - 685; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2015)
Rewritten: too little of the 2016 text remains to mark the changes.
general assessment: most households have at least one mobile phone; all businesses in the greater Apia area have access to broadband and Wi-Fi, which is reasonably reliable and fast, but relatively expensive; in rural Upolu and on Savaii Island there is limited availability of high speed Internet and Wi-Fi; Samoa recently completed the installation of a National Broadband Highway that will provide fiber optic data services and 4G LTE cellular data speeds to the entire country; 4G LTE data speeds are operative and commercially available to limited areas; 3G Internet accessibility from cellular devices is currently available nationwide (2017)
domestic: combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 70 telephones per 100 persons (2016)
international: country code - 685; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2015)
Published as “Telephone system”
- general assessment:
- most households have at least one mobile phone;
- all businesses in the greater Apia area have access to broadband and Wi-Fi, which is reasonably reliable and fast, but relatively expensive;
- in rural Upolu and on Savaii Island there is limited availability of high-speed Internet and Wi-Fi;
- Samoa recently completed the installation of a National Broadband Highway that will provide fiber optic data services and 4G LTE cellular data speeds to the entire country;
- 4G LTE data speeds are operative and commercially available to limited areas;
- 4G Internet accessibility from cellular devices is currently available nationwide (2017)
- domestic:
- combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 70 telephones per 100 persons (2016)
- international:
- country code - 685; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2015)
general assessment: most households have at least one mobile phone; all businesses in the greater Apia area have access to broadband and Wi-Fi, which is reasonably reliable and fast, but relatively expensive; in rural Upolu and on Savaii Island there is limited availability of high speed high-speed Internet and Wi-Fi; Samoa recently completed the installation of a National Broadband Highway that will provide fiber optic data services and 4G LTE cellular data speeds to the entire country; 4G LTE data speeds are operative and commercially available to limited areas; 3G 4G Internet accessibility from cellular devices is currently available nationwide (2017)
domestic: combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 70 telephones per 100 persons (2016)
international: country code - 685; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2015)
Published as “Telephone system”
- general assessment:
- most households have at least one mobile phone;
- all businesses in the greater Apia area have access to broadband and Wi-Fi, which is reasonably reliable and fast;
- in rural Upolu and on Savaii Island there is now readily available high-speed Internet and Wi-Fi;
- due to the establishment of a regulatory infrastructure, liberalization and competition of the mobile market the telecom market has increased coverage and reduced cost;
- 4G LTE services accessible to about 95% of residents (2018)
- domestic:
- fixed-line 4 per 100 and mobile-cellular teledensity 62 telephones per 100 persons (2018)
- international:
- country code - 685;
- landing points for the Tui-Samo, Manatua, SAS, and Southern Cross NEXT submarine cables providing connectivity to Samoa, Fiji, Wallis & Futuna, Cook Islands, Niue, French Polynesia, American Samoa, Australia, New Zealand, Kiribati, Los Angeles (US), and Tokelau;
- satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2019)
general assessment: most households have at least one mobile phone; all businesses in the greater Apia area have access to broadband and Wi-Fi, which is reasonably reliable and fast, but relatively expensive; fast; in rural Upolu and on Savaii Island there is limited availability of now readily available high-speed Internet and Wi-Fi; Samoa recently completed due to the installation establishment of a National Broadband Highway that will provide fiber optic data services regulatory infrastructure, liberalization and 4G LTE cellular data speeds to competition of the entire country; mobile market the telecom market has increased coverage and reduced cost; 4G LTE data speeds are operative and commercially available services accessible to limited areas; 4G Internet accessibility from cellular devices is currently available nationwide (2017) about 95% of residents (2018)
domestic: combined fixed-line 4 per 100 and mobile-cellular teledensity roughly 70 62 telephones per 100 persons (2016) (2018)
international: country code - 685; landing points for the Tui-Samo, Manatua, SAS, and Southern Cross NEXT submarine cables providing connectivity to Samoa, Fiji, Wallis & Futuna, Cook Islands, Niue, French Polynesia, American Samoa, Australia, New Zealand, Kiribati, Los Angeles (US), and Tokelau; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2015) (2019)
- general assessment:
- most households have at least one mobile phone;
- all businesses in the greater Apia area have access to broadband and Wi-Fi, which is reasonably reliable and fast;
- in rural Upolu and on Savaii Island there is now readily available high-speed Internet and Wi-Fi;
- due to the establishment of a regulatory infrastructure, liberalization and competition of the mobile market the telecom market has increased coverage and reduced cost;
- 4G LTE services accessible to about 95% of residents;
- working to increase speed, reliability and connectivity (2020)
- domestic:
- fixed-line 4 per 100 and mobile-cellular teledensity 64 telephones per 100 persons (2019)
- international:
- country code - 685;
- landing points for the Tui-Samo, Manatua, SAS, and Southern Cross NEXT submarine cables providing connectivity to Samoa, Fiji, Wallis & Futuna, Cook Islands, Niue, French Polynesia, American Samoa, Australia, New Zealand, Kiribati, Los Angeles (US), and Tokelau;
- satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific 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: most households have at least one mobile phone; all businesses in the greater Apia area have access to broadband and Wi-Fi, which is reasonably reliable and fast; in rural Upolu and on Savaii Island there is now readily available high-speed Internet and Wi-Fi; due to the establishment of a regulatory infrastructure, liberalization and competition of the mobile market the telecom market has increased coverage and reduced cost; 4G LTE services accessible to about 95% of residents (2018) residents; working to increase speed, reliability and connectivity (2020)
domestic: fixed-line 4 per 100 and mobile-cellular teledensity 62 64 telephones per 100 persons (2018) (2019)
international: country code - 685; landing points for the Tui-Samo, Manatua, SAS, and Southern Cross NEXT submarine cables providing connectivity to Samoa, Fiji, Wallis & Futuna, Cook Islands, Niue, French Polynesia, American Samoa, Australia, New Zealand, Kiribati, Los Angeles (US), and Tokelau; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific 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:
- development of infrastructure is hampered by geography of remote islands, vulnerable to devastating storms;
- telecom sector has been inhibited by lack of international connectivity;
- most households have at least one mobile phone;
- businesses in the capital area have access to broadband and Wi-Fi;
- rural islands have some access to Internet and Wi-Fi;
- liberalized regulatory infrastructure and competition in the mobile market increased coverage and reduced cost;
- access to submarine cables improved Internet data rates and reliability;
- Australian companies countering Chinese companies in the acquisition of Pacific operations;
- importer of broadcasting equipment from USA (2020)
- domestic:
- fixed-line 4 per 100 and mobile-cellular teledensity 64 telephones per 100 persons (2019)
- international:
- country code - 685;
- landing points for the Tui-Samo, Manatua, SAS, and Southern Cross NEXT submarine cables providing connectivity to Samoa, Fiji, Wallis & Futuna, Cook Islands, Niue, French Polynesia, American Samoa, Australia, New Zealand, Kiribati, Los Angeles (US), and Tokelau;
- satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific 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: development of infrastructure is hampered by geography of remote islands, vulnerable to devastating storms; telecom sector has been inhibited by lack of international connectivity; most households have at least one mobile phone; all businesses in the greater Apia capital area have access to broadband and Wi-Fi, which is reasonably reliable and fast; in Wi-Fi; rural Upolu and on Savaii Island there is now readily available high-speed islands have some access to Internet and Wi-Fi; due to the establishment of a liberalized regulatory infrastructure, liberalization infrastructure and competition of in the mobile market the telecom market has increased coverage and reduced cost; 4G LTE services accessible to about 95% of residents; working access to increase speed, reliability submarine cables improved Internet data rates and connectivity reliability; Australian companies countering Chinese companies in the acquisition of Pacific operations; importer of broadcasting equipment from USA (2020)
domestic: fixed-line 4 per 100 and mobile-cellular teledensity 64 telephones per 100 persons (2019)
international: country code - 685; landing points for the Tui-Samo, Manatua, SAS, and Southern Cross NEXT submarine cables providing connectivity to Samoa, Fiji, Wallis & Futuna, Cook Islands, Niue, French Polynesia, American Samoa, Australia, New Zealand, Kiribati, Los Angeles (US), and Tokelau; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific 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:
- Samoa was one of the first Pacific Island countries to establish a regulatory infrastructure and to liberalize its telecom market;
- the advent of competition in the mobile market saw prices fall by around 50% and network coverage increase to more than 90% of the population;
- Samoa also boasts one of the highest rates of mobile phone coverage in the Pacific region;
- the growth of fixed-line internet has been impeded by factors including the high costs for bandwidth, under investment in fixed-line infrastructure;
- Samoa’s telecoms sector has been inhibited by a lack of international connectivity;
- Samoa has had access to the Samoa-America-Samoa (SAS) cable laid in 2009, this cable has insufficient capacity to meet the country’s future bandwidth needs;
- this issue was addressed with two new submarine cables that became available in 2018 and 2019;
- combined with the Samoa National Broadband Highway (SNBH), have improved internet data rates and reliability, and have helped to reduce the high costs previously associated with internet access in Samoa;
- in April 2022, the Samoan government announced its decision to take over control of the Samoa Submarine Cable Company, looking to the cable to generate additional revenue for the state (2022)
- domestic:
- fixed-line roughly 3 per 100 and mobile-cellular teledensity nearly 35 telephones per 100 persons (2020)
- international:
- country code - 685;
- landing points for the Tui-Samo, Manatua, SAS, and Southern Cross NEXT submarine cables providing connectivity to Samoa, Fiji, Wallis & Futuna, Cook Islands, Niue, French Polynesia, American Samoa, Australia, New Zealand, Kiribati, Los Angeles (US), and Tokelau;
- satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific 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: development Samoa was one of the first Pacific Island countries to establish a regulatory infrastructure is hampered by geography of remote islands, vulnerable and to devastating storms; liberalize its telecom market; the advent of competition in the mobile market saw prices fall by around 50% and network coverage increase to more than 90% of the population; Samoa also boasts one of the highest rates of mobile phone coverage in the Pacific region; the growth of fixed-line internet has been impeded by factors including the high costs for bandwidth, under investment in fixed-line infrastructure; Samoa’s telecoms sector has been inhibited by a lack of international connectivity; most households have at least one mobile phone; businesses in the capital area have access to broadband and Wi-Fi; rural islands have some Samoa has had access to Internet and Wi-Fi; liberalized regulatory infrastructure and competition in the mobile market increased coverage and reduced cost; access Samoa-America-Samoa (SAS) cable laid in 2009, this cable has insufficient capacity to meet the country’s future bandwidth needs; this issue was addressed with two new submarine cables that became available in 2018 and 2019; combined with the Samoa National Broadband Highway (SNBH), have improved Internet internet data rates and reliability; Australian companies countering Chinese companies reliability, and have helped to reduce the high costs previously associated with internet access in Samoa; in April 2022, the acquisition of Pacific operations; importer Samoan government announced its decision to take over control of broadcasting equipment from USA (2020) the Samoa Submarine Cable Company, looking to the cable to generate additional revenue for the state (2022)
domestic: fixed-line 4 roughly 3 per 100 and mobile-cellular teledensity 64 nearly 35 telephones per 100 persons (2019) (2020)
international: country code - 685; landing points for the Tui-Samo, Manatua, SAS, and Southern Cross NEXT submarine cables providing connectivity to Samoa, Fiji, Wallis & Futuna, Cook Islands, Niue, French Polynesia, American Samoa, Australia, New Zealand, Kiribati, Los Angeles (US), and Tokelau; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific 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:
- Samoa was one of the first Pacific Island countries to establish a regulatory infrastructure and to liberalize its telecom market;
- the advent of competition in the mobile market saw prices fall by around 50% and network coverage increase to more than 90% of the population;
- Samoa also boasts one of the highest rates of mobile phone coverage in the Pacific region;
- the growth of fixed-line internet has been impeded by factors including the high costs for bandwidth, under investment in fixed-line infrastructure;
- Samoa’s telecoms sector has been inhibited by a lack of international connectivity;
- Samoa has had access to the Samoa-America-Samoa (SAS) cable laid in 2009, this cable has insufficient capacity to meet the country’s future bandwidth needs;
- this issue was addressed with two new submarine cables that became available in 2018 and 2019;
- combined with the Samoa National Broadband Highway (SNBH), have improved internet data rates and reliability, and have helped to reduce the high costs previously associated with internet access in Samoa;
- in April 2022, the Samoan government announced its decision to take over control of the Samoa Submarine Cable Company, looking to the cable to generate additional revenue for the state (2022)
- domestic:
- fixed-line is 3 per 100 and mobile-cellular teledensity 32 telephones per 100 persons (2021)
- international:
- country code - 685;
- landing points for the Tui-Samo, Manatua, SAS, and Southern Cross NEXT submarine cables providing connectivity to Samoa, Fiji, Wallis & Futuna, Cook Islands, Niue, French Polynesia, American Samoa, Australia, New Zealand, Kiribati, Los Angeles (US), and Tokelau;
- satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2019)
general assessment: Samoa was one of the first Pacific Island countries to establish a regulatory infrastructure and to liberalize its telecom market; the advent of competition in the mobile market saw prices fall by around 50% and network coverage increase to more than 90% of the population; Samoa also boasts one of the highest rates of mobile phone coverage in the Pacific region; the growth of fixed-line internet has been impeded by factors including the high costs for bandwidth, under investment in fixed-line infrastructure; Samoa’s telecoms sector has been inhibited by a lack of international connectivity; Samoa has had access to the Samoa-America-Samoa (SAS) cable laid in 2009, this cable has insufficient capacity to meet the country’s future bandwidth needs; this issue was addressed with two new submarine cables that became available in 2018 and 2019; combined with the Samoa National Broadband Highway (SNBH), have improved internet data rates and reliability, and have helped to reduce the high costs previously associated with internet access in Samoa; in April 2022, the Samoan government announced its decision to take over control of the Samoa Submarine Cable Company, looking to the cable to generate additional revenue for the state (2022)
domestic: fixed-line roughly is 3 per 100 and mobile-cellular teledensity nearly 35 32 telephones per 100 persons (2020) (2021)
international: country code - 685; landing points for the Tui-Samo, Manatua, SAS, and Southern Cross NEXT submarine cables providing connectivity to Samoa, Fiji, Wallis & Futuna, Cook Islands, Niue, French Polynesia, American Samoa, Australia, New Zealand, Kiribati, Los Angeles (US), and Tokelau; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific 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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Cite this page
Central Intelligence Agency. “Samoa: Telecommunication systems.” The World Factbook, 1990–2024 editions. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/samoa/telecommunication-systems.