Editing Telecommunications in Gabon

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'''Telecommunications in Gabon''' include radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet.

==Radio and television==

'''[[Radio broadcasting|Radio stations]]:'''
* state owns and operates 2 radio stations; a private radio station; transmissions of at least 2 international broadcasters are accessible (2007);<ref name=CIAWFB-Gabon-2014>[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/gabon/ "Communications: Gabon"], ''World Factbook'', U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 28 January 2014.</ref>
* 6 AM, 7 FM, and 4 shortwave stations (2001).<ref name=CIAWFB-Gabon-2008>[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/gabon/ "Communications: Gabon"], ''World Factbook'', U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 4 December 2008. Retrieved 11 February 2014 via the Internet Archive.</ref>

'''[[Receiver (radio)|Radios]]:'''
208,000 (1997).{{update after|2014|2|11}}

'''[[Television broadcasting|Television stations]]:'''
* state owns and operates 2 TV stations; a private TV station; satellite service subscriptions are available (2007);<ref name=CIAWFB-Gabon-2014/>
* 4 stations plus 4 low-power repeaters (2001).<ref name=CIAWFB-Gabon-2008/>

'''[[Television set]]s:'''
63,000 (1997).{{update after|2014|2|11}}

There are two main broadcasters in Gabon.  The state broadcaster, [[Radio Télévision Gabonaise|Radiodiffusion Télévision Gabonaise]] (RTG), operates two main networks - a national network in French and a provincial network in French and vernacular languages.  There is also a special programme on RTG's FM frequencies.<ref name=WRTH-2005>[[World Radio TV Handbook]] (WRTH), 2005.</ref><ref name=BBCNews-GabonProfile-2012>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13376336 "Gabon profile"], ''BBC News'', 7 March 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2014.</ref>

Perhaps the most important station in Gabon and one that many shortwave radio listeners are familiar with is the privately owned [[Afrique Numero Un]] (Africa Number One) which operates on FM in the capital, [[Libreville]], area and also broadcasts via [[Shortwave radio|shortwave]].  Afrique Numero Un also has relay stations in mostly French-speaking African countries.<ref>[http://www.africa1.com "Radio Africa 1"], website. Retrieved 10 February 2014.</ref><ref name=WRTH-2005/><ref name=BBCNews-GabonProfile-2012/>

[[Radio France Internationale]] (RFI) has relay stations throughout Gabon. Other privately owned stations also operate in Gabon, though concentrated mostly in the [[Libreville]] area.<ref name=WRTH-2005/><ref name=BBCNews-GabonProfile-2012/>

Like many former French colonies, Gabon uses the [[SECAM]]-K television standard. Two television channels, 4 and 8, are found in the [[Libreville]] area. All other channels and repeaters relay channel 4.<ref name=WRTH-2005/>

The constitution and law provide for [[freedom of speech]] and [[freedom of the press|press]], and the government generally respects these rights, although the government has suspended newspapers and television stations for disrupting [[Public-order crime|public order]] or [[libel]].<ref name=USDOS-CRHRP-Gabon-2012/>

==Telephones==
{{See also |Telephone numbers in Gabon}}
'''[[Calling code]]:'''  +241<ref name=CIAWFB-Gabon-2014/>

'''[[List of international call prefixes|International call prefix]]:''' 00<ref>[http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-t/opb/sp/T-SP-E.164C-2011-PDF-E.pdf ''Dialing Procedures (International Prefix, National (Trunk) Prefix and National (Significant) Number) (in Accordance with ITY-T Recommendation E.164 (11/2010))''], Annex to ITU Operational Bulletin No. 994-15.XII.2011, International Telecommunication Union (ITU, Geneva), 15 December 2011. Retrieved 2 January 2014.</ref>

'''Main lines:'''
* 17,000 lines in use, 194th in the world (2012);<ref name=CIAWFB-Gabon-2014/>
* 26,500 lines in use, 182nd in the world (2007);<ref name=CIAWFB-Gabon-2008/> 
* 39,100 lines in use, 169th in the world (2005).<ref name=CIAWFB-Gabon-2007>[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/gabon/ "Communications: Gabon"], ''World Factbook'', U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 19 June 2007. Retrieved 11 February 2014 via the Internet Archive.</ref>

'''Mobile cellular:'''
* 2.9 million lines, 133rd in the world (2012);<ref name=CIAWFB-Gabon-2014/> 
* 1.2 million lines, 129th in the world (2007);<ref name=CIAWFB-Gabon-2008/>
* 649,800 lines, 125th in the world (2005).<ref name=CIAWFB-Gabon-2007/>

'''Telephone system:''' adequate system of [[Electrical cable|cable]], [[microwave radio relay]], [[tropospheric scatter]], [[radiotelephone]] communication stations, and a domestic satellite system with 12 earth stations; a growing mobile-cellular network with multiple providers is making telephone service more widely available with mobile-cellular teledensity exceeding 100 per 100 persons.<ref name=CIAWFB-Gabon-2014/>

'''[[Communications satellite|Satellite earth stations]]:''' 3 [[Intelsat]] ([[Atlantic Ocean]]) (2011).<ref name=CIAWFB-Gabon-2014/>

'''[[List of international submarine communications cables|Communications cables]]:''' [[SAT-3/WASC|South Atlantic 3/West Africa Submarine Cable]] (SAT-3/WASC) fiber-optic cable system provides connectivity to Europe and Asia;<ref name=CIAWFB-Gabon-2014/> [[ACE (cable system)|Africa Coast to Europe]] (ACE), cable system connecting countries along the west coast of Africa to each other and to [[Portugal]] and [[France]].<ref>[http://www.ace-submarinecable.com/ace/default/EN/all/ace_en/ "ACE: Africa Coast to Europe"], Orange SA. Retrieved 8 February 2014.</ref>

==Internet==

'''[[Top-level domain]]:''' [[.ga]]<ref name=CIAWFB-Gabon-2014/>

'''[[List of countries by number of Internet users|Internet users]]:''' 
* 138,584 users, 166th in the world; 8.6% of the population, 175th in the world (2012).<ref name="NIUCalc">Calculated using penetration rate and population data from [https://www.census.gov/population/international/data/idb/rank.php "Countries and Areas Ranked by Population: 2012"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329060848/https://www.census.gov/population/international/data/idb/rank.php |date=2017-03-29 }}, Population data, International Programs,  U.S. Census Bureau, retrieved 26 June 2013</ref><ref name="ITU-IndividualsUsingTheInternet">[http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/statistics/2013/Individuals_Internet_2000-2012.xls "Percentage of Individuals using the Internet 2000-2012"], International Telecommunication Union (Geneva), June 2013, retrieved 22 June 2013</ref> 
* 98,800 users, 160th in the world (2009);<ref name=CIAWFB-Gabon-2014/>
* 67,000 users, 144th in the world (2005).<ref name=CIAWFB-Gabon-2007/>

'''[[List of countries by number of broadband Internet subscriptions|Fixed broadband]]:'''

In 2013, [http://projects.worldbank.org/P158299?lang=en Government signs] with the World Bank to develop the Central African Backbone.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://africtelegraph.com/travaux-cab4-gabon/|title=Au Gabon, la fibre avance! - Africtelegraph - Toute l'actualité africaine|last=Africtelegraph|date=2016-06-20|work=Africtelegraph - Toute l'actualité africaine|access-date=2017-05-05|language=fr-FR}}</ref> Over 1200&nbsp;km of fiber optic is deployed around the country. In 2017, over 20 cities and villages are serviced by this new network operated by Axione (Bouygues French company). 70% of the gabonese population can access mobile broadband services.

5,147 subscriptions, 160th in the world; 0.3% of the population, 154th in the world (2012).<ref name="NIUCalc" /><ref name="FixedBroadbandITUDynamic2012">[http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ICTEYE/Reporting/DynamicReportWizard.aspx "Fixed (wired)-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012"], Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE, [[International Telecommunication Union]]. Retrieved on 29 June 2013.</ref>

'''[[List of countries by number of broadband Internet subscriptions|Wireless broadband]]:'''

Introducing 3G/4G licences in 2014

Unknown (2012).<ref name="MobleBroadbandITUDynamic2012">[http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ICTEYE/Reporting/DynamicReportWizard.aspx "Active mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012"], Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE, [[International Telecommunication Union]]. Retrieved on 29 June 2013.</ref>

'''[[List of countries by number of Internet hosts|Internet hosts]]:''' 
* 127 hosts, 205th in the world (2012);<ref name=CIAWFB-Gabon-2014/>
* &nbsp;&nbsp;88 hosts, 192nd in the world (2008).<ref name=CIAWFB-Gabon-2008/>

'''[[List of countries by IPv4 address allocation|IPv4]]:''' 169,472 addresses allocated, less than 0.05% of the world total, 105.4 addresses per 1000 people (2012).<ref>[http://www.countryipblocks.net/country-blocks/select-formats/ Select Formats] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090513033601/http://www.countryipblocks.net/country-blocks/select-formats/ |date=2009-05-13 }}, Country IP Blocks. Accessed on 2 April 2012. Note: Site is said to be updated daily.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070613003851/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2119.html Population], [[The World Factbook]], [[United States]] [[Central Intelligence Agency]]. Accessed on 2 April 2012. Note: Data are mostly for 1 July 2012.</ref>

'''Internet Service Providers (ISPs):'''
Solsi Gabon, TLDC offer a [[WiMax]] network all over [[Libreville]] and [[Port-Gentil]].

=== ICTS IN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AWARDS 2015===
Through his leadership of the Gabonese Republic, President [[Ali Bongo Ondimba]] has led his nation to receive much international recognition for its commitment to progress in the field of ICT in the Central and Francophone Africa region as well as on the African continent.

President Ali Bongo Ondimba has stressed the necessity of establishing infrastructure, access to ICTs, as well as ameliorating broadband connections in both the public and private sectors, especially within households. President Ondimba has affirmed his position on the importance of ICTs in the development of Gabon, stating during the 2011 Broadband Leadership Summit at ITU Telecom World in Geneva that he promised to make high-speed Internet access an irrevocable right for all Gabonese citizens.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.itu.int/en/ict-sdg-award/2015/Pages/gabon.aspx|title=Gabon|website=ITU|language=en-US|access-date=2017-05-05}}</ref>

===Internet censorship and surveillance===

There are no government restrictions on access to the Internet or credible reports the government monitors [[e-mail]] or Internet [[chat rooms]] without appropriate legal authority.<ref name=USDOS-CRHRP-Gabon-2012>[https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?year=2012&dlid=204121 "Gabon"], ''Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012'', Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State, 25 March 2013. Retrieved 11 February 2014.</ref>

The constitution and law provide for [[freedom of speech]] and [[freedom of the press|press]], and the government generally respects these rights. [[Libel]] can be either a criminal offense or a civil matter. Editors and authors of libelous material may be jailed for two to six months and fined 500,000 to five million CFA francs ($1,008 to $10,080). Penalties for libel, disrupting public order, and other offenses also include a one- to three-month publishing suspension for a first offense and a three- to six-month suspension for repeat offenses.<ref name=USDOS-CRHRP-Gabon-2012/>

Although the constitution and law prohibit arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence, the government does not always respect these prohibitions in practice. As part of criminal investigations, police request and easily obtain search warrants from judges, sometimes after the fact. Authorities reportedly monitor private telephone conversations, personal mail, and the movement of citizens.<ref name=USDOS-CRHRP-Gabon-2012/>

== See also ==

* [[Gabon Telecom]], largest telecommunications company in Gabon, jointly owned by the Gabon government (49%) and [[Maroc Telecom]] (51%) since 2007.
* [[List of terrestrial fibre optic cable projects in Africa]]
* [[Media of Gabon]]
* [[Economy of Gabon]]
* [[Gabon]]

==References==

* {{CIA World Factbook}}
* {{US DOS |year=2012}}
{{reflist |30em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.my.ga/en/index.html?lang=en My GA], website of the ''Agence Nationale des Infrastructures Numériques et des Fréquences'' (ANINF, National Agency for Digital Infrastructure and Frequencies), the registrar for the .ga domain.
 
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{{Africa topic|Telecommunications in}}
{{Telecommunications}}
{{Internet censorship by country}}
{{Economy of Gabon}}
{{Gabon topics}}

[[Category:Telecommunications in Gabon| ]]