Short facts about communications in South Africa

Telephones - main lines in use:

5.075 million (1999)

Telephones - mobile cellular:

over 2,000,000 (1999)

Telephone system:

general assessment:  the system is the best developed and most modern in Africa domestic:  consists of carrier-equipped open-wire lines, coaxial cables, microwave radio relay links, fiber-optic cable, radiotelephone communication stations, and wireless local loops; key centers are Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, and Pretoria international:  2 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 2 Atlantic Ocean)

Radio broadcast stations:

AM 14, FM 347 (plus 243 repeaters), shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios:

13.75 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations:

556 (plus 144 network repeaters) (1997)

Televisions:

5.2 million (1997)

Internet country code:

.za

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):

44 (2000)

Internet users:

1.82 million (2000)

Source: World Factbook