Telecommunications in Bhutan

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

Telephones

Main lines: 27,900 lines in use, 179th in the world (2012).^[1]
Mobile cellular: 560,000 lines, 165th in the world (2012).^[1]
Telephone system:
- general assessment: Urban towns and district headquarters have telecommunications services (2012);^[1]
- domestic: very low tele-density, domestic service is poor especially in rural areas, mobile cellular service available since 2003 is now widely available (2012);^[1]
- international: international telephone and telegraph service via landline and microwave relay through India (2012);^[1]
- satellite earth station: 1 Intelsat (2012).^[1]
Country codes: Bhutan +975,^[1] Phuentsholing (0)1, Thimphu (0)2, Bumthang (0)3, Paro (0)8.

First radio station, Radio NYAB, privately launched in 1973, is now state-owned (2012).^[1]
Five private radio stations are currently broadcasting (2012).^[1]
Radios: 37,000 (1997).
The Bhutan Broadcasting Service first commenced television transmissions in June 1999, upon legalizing television,^[2] one of the last countries in the world to do so.^[1]
Cable TV service offers dozens of Indian and other international channels (2012).^[1]
Televisions: 11,000 (1999).^{[citation needed]}

Top level domain: .bt^[1]
Internet hosts: 14,590 hosts, 126th in the world (2012).^[1]
IPv4: 23,552 addresses allocated, 32.9 per 1000 people (2012).^[3]^[4]
Internet users: 182,338 users, 155th in the world; 25.4% of the population, 137th in the world (2012).^[5]^[6]
Fixed broadband: 16,015 subscriptions, 135th in the world; 2.2% of population, 124th in the world (2012).^[6]^[7]
Mobile broadband: 17,851 subscriptions, 133rd in the world; 2.5% of population, 122nd in the world (2012).^[6]^[8]
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.

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m "Communications", Bhutan, World Factbook, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 5 December 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
^ "FRONTLINE/WORLD . Bhutan - the Last Place . Index page | PBS".
^ Select Formats Archived 13 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine, Country IP Blocks. Accessed on 2 April 2012. Note: Site is said to be updated daily.
^ Population, The World Factbook, United States Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on 2 April 2012. Note: Data are mostly for 1 July 2012.
^ "Percentage of Individuals using the Internet 2000-2012", International Telecommunication Union (Geneva), June 2013, retrieved 22 June 2013
^ ^a ^b ^c Calculated using penetration rate and population data from "Countries and Areas Ranked by Population: 2012" Archived 29 March 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Population data, International Programs, U.S. Census Bureau, retrieved 26 June 2013
^ "Fixed (wired)-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012", Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE, International Telecommunication Union. Retrieved on 29 June 2013.
^ "Active mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012", Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE, International Telecommunication Union. Retrieved on 29 June 2013.