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Telecommunications in Tunisia includes telephones (fixed and mobile), radio, television, and the Internet. The Ministry of Communication Technologies, a cabinet-level governmental agency, is in charge of organizing the sector.

Telephones

  • International calling code: 216 (for calls from outside of Tunisia)
  • International call prefix: 00 (for international calls from within Tunisia)
  • Fixed lines: 1.2 million (2011), 1.3 million (2009), 1.2 million (2005); 654,000 (1997)
  • Mobile cellular: 12.4 million (2011),
  • Radio stations: Several state-owned and private radio networks (2012)
  • Televisions: 920,000 (1997)
  • Households with television: 91.7% (2003)

The government of former President Ben Ali tightly controlled the press and broadcasting. But since the 2011 popular revolt, many journalists have enjoyed new-found freedoms. The number of radio and TV channels and print publications has increased, as has their freedom to report and debate political and social issues. State TV, which had toed the government line, has changed tack, giving airtime to the former opposition. In part due to the lack of a regulatory framework the government's National Office of Broadcasting (ONT) requires broadcasters to pay a licensing fee of 120,000 dinars (approximately $75,000), and while that license is not necessary to broadcast, it confers a certain amount of legitimacy that broadcasters need to draw advertisers. The large fee is difficult for new start-up stations and the new stations feel that the fees provide an unfair advantage for the older more established private groups organized under the previous regime.

Internet

  • Top level domain (TLD): .tn
  • Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 12 (2005)
  • International bandwidth: 62&nbsp;Gbit/s in 2012, 50&nbsp;Gbit/s in 2010, 1.3&nbsp;Gbit/s in 2006
  • Internet users: 4,196,564 (2012), 840,000 (2005); 410,000 (2001)
  • Internet penetration: 39.1% (2011), 36.8% (2010), 17.1% (2007), 9.7% (2005), 2.8% (2000)
  • Fixed (wired) Internet subscriptions: 604,102 (2011); 543,290 (2010); 253,149 (2007); 150,220 (2005); 36,657 (2000)
  • Broadband Internet subscribers: 544,392 or 5.1% (2011), 481,810 or 4.6% (2010), 372,818 or 3.6% (2009), 43,845 or 0.4% (2006)
  • Facebook subscribers: 2,602,640 (2011)

2005 World Summit on the Information Society

The first World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) was held in Geneva in 2003. Tunisia hosted the second World Summit in November 2005. The Tunisian government took the initiative to host the summit in 1998. It was organised by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) under the auspices of UNESCO. A declaration of Principles and Plan of Action were approved in order to bridge the digital gap between developing and developed countries within the World Information Society.

See also

  • Higher School of Communication of Tunis
  • Moez Chakchouk
  • Media of Tunisia
  • Economy of Tunisia

References