Editing Telecommunications in Uruguay

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{{More citations needed section|date=January 2018}}
{{Uruguay main topics}}
'''Telecommunications in Uruguay''' includes radio, television, telephones, and the Internet.

== Radio and television ==
{{See also |List of radio stations in Uruguay |Television in Uruguay}}

[[Uruguay]] has a mixture of privately owned and state-run broadcast media; more than 100 commercial radio stations and about 20 TV channels. [[Cable TV]] is readily available. Uruguay adopted the hybrid [[ISDB-T International|Japanese/Brazilian HDTV standard]] (ISDB-T) in December 2010.{{citation needed |date=January 2014}}

* [[ITU prefix|International call sign prefixes for radio and television stations]]: CV, CW, and CX{{citation needed |date=January 2014}}

== Telephones ==
{{See also |Telephone numbers in Uruguay}}

* Land lines: 1,165,673 lines in use, equivalent to 0.33 lines per capita (December 2019).<ref name="URSEC2014">{{cite web|author=URSEC|first=|date=December 2019|title=Datos Estadisticos (Spanish)|url=https://www.gub.uy/unidad-reguladora-servicios-comunicaciones/sites/unidad-reguladora-servicios-comunicaciones/files/2020-05/InformeTelecom%20dic%202019.pdf|access-date=April 27, 2021}}</ref>
* Mobile cellular lines: 5,667,631 lines in use, equivalent to 1.64 lines per capita (December 2019).<ref name="URSEC2014"/>
* Domestic system: fully digitalized, most modern facilities concentrated in [[Montevideo]]; nationwide microwave radio relay network.
* Country [[calling code]]: 598. 
* [[List of international submarine communications cables|Submarine cable systems]]: [[UNISUR]] submarine cable system provides direct connectivity to [[Brazil]] and [[Argentina]].<ref>''Field listing: Telephone system.'' (n.d.) Retrieved from [https://web.archive.org/web/20100327064007/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/print_2124.html]</ref>
* [[Communications satellite|Satellite earth stations]]: Two, [[Intelsat]] ([[Atlantic Ocean]]).{{citation needed |date=January 2014}}

== Internet ==
* [[List of countries by number of Internet users|Internet users]]: 2.7- million (2020).<ref>Kemp, Simon (18 February 2020). "[https://web.archive.org/web/20210725001633/https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2020-uruguay Digital 2020: Uruguay]". DataReportal – Global Digital Insights. Archived from [https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2020-uruguay the original] on 24 July 2021. Retrieved 24 July 2021.</ref>
* [[List of countries by number of Internet hosts|Internet hosts]]: 1.036 million (2012).<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20201128202920/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2184rank.html "Internet hosts"]. ''CIA World Factbook''. U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from [https://web.archive.org/web/20070613003750/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2184rank.html the original] on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2021.</ref>
* Average connection speed (Q4 2016): 8.2&nbsp;Mbit/s (world average=7.0&nbsp;Mbit/s)<ref>[https://www.akamai.com/us/en/multimedia/documents/state-of-the-internet/q4-2016-state-of-the-internet-connectivity-infographic.pdf State of the Internet Connectivity Infographic]</ref>
* [[Top-level domain]]: [[.uy]]

In [[Uruguay]], one can access the Internet mainly by using:
* [[FTTH]] services, provided by the state-owned company ([[ANTEL]]), which covers most of Montevideo; and the rest of the 19 departments' most important cities. 
* [[ADSL]] services, provided by the state-owned company ([[ANTEL]]).
* [[LTE (telecommunication)|LTE 4G service]] with high speed connections, about 20&nbsp;Mbit/s, offered by all the mobile phone companies.
* [[3G|3G mobile Internet]], offered by all the mobile phone companies.
* [[Wireless ISP]]s, which have a tendency to be more expensive because of high taxation and radio spectrum license costs.
* [[WiMax]] launched by Dedicado in 2012.
* [[WiFi]] access provided at shopping malls, bus lines and most of commercial business.

===Fiber to the home===

In November 2010, [[ANTEL]] announced that it would start rolling out [[Fiber to the home]] (FTTH) in the second half of 2011.<ref>[http://www.antel.com.uy/antel/institucional/sala-de-prensa/eventos/eventos-2010/importantes-anuncios-al-presentar-la-nueva-estrategia-de-la-empresa Antel FTTH Announcement] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20101229024951/http://www.antel.com.uy/antel/institucional/sala-de-prensa/eventos/eventos-2010/importantes-anuncios-al-presentar-la-nueva-estrategia-de-la-empresa |date=2010-12-29 }} {{in lang|es}}</ref> As of September 2017, 49% of the homes with Internet access do so via FTTH.<ref>[https://www.presidencia.gub.uy/comunicacion/comunicacionnoticias/antel-tolosa-somos-uruguay-internet-fibra-optica-cable-submarino-hogares Uruguay se posiciona entre los 10 primeros países con más hogares conectados a Internet por fibra óptica] {{in lang|es}}</ref>

As of January 2019 Antel offers the following fiber to the home plans:<ref name="Antel website"/>

* Hogar Básico: up to 60&nbsp;Mbit/s down and 10&nbsp;Mbit/s up for 1105 UYU (US$34). After 350&nbsp;GB of monthly data consumption speed reduced to 3&nbsp;Mbit/s down and 512&nbsp;kbit/s up. 
* Hogar Plus: up to 120&nbsp;Mbit/s down and 12&nbsp;Mbit/s up for 1,470 UYU (US$45). After 500&nbsp;GB of monthly data consumption speed reduced to 6&nbsp;Mbit/s down and 1&nbsp;Mbit/s up. 
* Hogar Premium: up to 240&nbsp;Mbit/s down and 24&nbsp;Mbit/s up for 2,100 UYU (US$65). After 700&nbsp;GB of monthly data consumption speed reduced to 12&nbsp;Mbit/s down and 1&nbsp;Mbit/s up. 
* Entretenimiento Plus: up to 300&nbsp;Mbit/s down and 30&nbsp;Mbit/s up for 2,500 UYU (US$77). After 1,000&nbsp;GB of monthly data consumption speed reduced to 12&nbsp;Mbit/s down and 1&nbsp;Mbit/s up.

All home consumer plans provide a dynamic IP address only.

There are also business plans available with no monthly data consumption limit that provide fixed IP addresses.

===ADSL===
[[ANTEL]] is the only ISP to provide ADSL service since it enjoys a monopoly in the basic telephony area. Other ISP use other technologies, such as radio, to get to customers.

The following are the plans marketed to home users by Antel as of May 2018. All plans require having a corresponding voice phone service with Antel. All prices include VAT.<ref name="Antel website">[https://tienda.antel.com.uy/categoria/internet Antel website]</ref>

'''Consumer data plans'''

* Internet Básico: 3,072&nbsp;kbit/s down and 512&nbsp;kbit/s up for 955 UYU (US$31) a month. After 350&nbsp;Gb of data consumption speed reduced to 2,048&nbsp;kbit/s down and 512&nbsp;kbit/s up.
* Internet Plus: 5,120&nbsp;kbit/s down and 512&nbsp;kbit/s up for 1,265 UYU (US$41) a month. After 500&nbsp;Gb of data consumption speed reduced to 2,048&nbsp;kbit/s down and 512&nbsp;kbit/s up. 
* Internet Premium: 10,240&nbsp;kbit/s down and 512&nbsp;kbit/s up for 1,700 UYU (US$55) a month. After 700&nbsp;Gb of data consumption speed reduced to 8,192&nbsp;kbit/s down and 512&nbsp;kbit/s up.

All consumer plans provide a dynamic IP address.

===Fixed wireless===
Most of Uruguay's landmass is too far away from cities to have wired Internet access. For customers in these rural and low density suburban areas, [[Wireless Internet service provider|fixed wireless ISPs]] provide a service. Wireless Internet service has also provided city Internet users with some degree of choice in a country where private companies have not been allowed to offer wired alternatives (e.g. cable TV Internet, fiber to the home) to the state-operated ADSL service.{{citation needed |date=January 2014}}

[[Dedicado]] is a local wireless ISP. It appeared before or about at the same time as Anteldata (about in 1999), but since ADSL was not available at the same time on every neighborhood, Dedicado had the majority of the permanent Internet connections.
As of November 2007, ADSL is available in every neighborhood in Montevideo, and in most other cities, and Dedicado lost a big market share, both because being more expensive and giving bad service to their users. They started a big advertising campaign, but didn't pay attention to the technical details related to their number of users, so their quality of service decreased.{{citation needed|date=April 2013}} As of 2012, their quality of service issues appear to be on the mend, but their pricing issues continue especially in the rural market where they have no credible competition and have steadily increased prices. Dedicado originally operated Ericsson fixed wireless equipment and later transitioned to Motorola Canopy and Cambium technology. In 2005, they started deploying [[WiMAX]] services. However, as of May 2010, the service is not offered nor advertised yet. There are other wireless ISPs, but Dedicado is the main one.{{citation needed |date=January 2014}}

[[Telmex]] is another entrant in the Uruguayan fixed wireless space.{{citation needed|date=April 2013}} As of early 2012, they were still a tentative player however, with limited coverage of the country and some technical shortcomings (e.g. no Skype connectivity). {{citation needed |date=January 2014}}

In February 2012, Antel announced a push to provide fixed wireless Internet service to rural customers using their 3G cellular network.<ref>[http://www.elpais.com.uy/120210/pecono-623761/economia/Invertiran-US-16-en-cambiar-Ruralcel/ Antel Rural Internet Announcement] {{in lang|es}}</ref> As of November 2012, the service was being actively offered to customers of the company's Ruralcel fixed wireless telephone service. Customers who sign up get the equipment (a ZTE MF612/MF32 or Huawei B660 3G router) and monthly Internet service for free. While the network and router are capable of supporting multi-Mbit/s service, the free offering is throttled back to 256&nbsp;kb down/64&nbsp;kb upload speeds and capped at 1&nbsp;Gbyte of monthly data transfer (except for a small number of customers grandfathered from a previous service). Once that data limit is reached, the customer has to recharge the service using a prepaid card at a rate of approximately US$10/Gbyte. There is an alternative monthly billing plan that offers 2&nbsp;Mbit/s down and 512&nbsp;Mbit/s up with a 5&nbsp;Gbyte data cap for US$15, plus US$10 for each additional Gbyte (up to 5&nbsp;Gbyte). There is no unlimited data plan, which limits this technology's ability to compete in the non-residential fixed wireless space against vendors like Dedicado.{{citation needed |date=January 2014}}

===Mobile wireless===
[[Claro Americas|Internet access via cell phone networks]] is probably the most vibrant and competitive Internet marketplace in Uruguay. All the Uruguayan cell phone companies (Antel, Claro, Movistar) offer data plans for their smartphone users as well as [[USB modem]]s for personal computers. Ancel/Antel even offers a bundle of cellular Internet access and ADSL, an unusual but potentially attractive combination for home ADSL users who also want to have Internet access on the go. The speeds delivered by all companies within their areas of coverage keep getting faster, and the areas of coverage keep expanding (as of 2012 Ancel probably still has the edge in % of the country's land covered). Vendors are shifting from [[3G]] to [[4G]], starting in the area around Montevideo. From a consumer's standpoint, the only discouraging trend in this market is the adoption of data volume caps by all vendors. As of August 2012, no vendor web-site offered an unlimited mobile Internet data plan (the closest was an "unlimited during nights and weekends" from Claro). This means these offerings are unlikely to cross sell into the fixed wireless Internet market where unlimited data plans tend to be the rule.{{According to whom|date=April 2013}}{{citation needed |date=January 2014}}

===Internet Service Providers===
The main [[Internet Service Providers]] (ISPs) in Uruguay are:{{citation needed |date=January 2014}}

* [[ANTEL]] (http://www.antel.com.uy)
* [[Claro Americas|Claro]] (http://www.claro.com.uy)
* [[Dedicado]] (http://www.dedicado.com.uy)
* [[Movistar]] (http://www.movistar.com.uy)

===Cable Internet===
Despite a fully developed cable network in all mid- and large-size cities, Uruguayan government regulators historically precluded cable companies from providing Internet access through their systems. This made Uruguay and Cuba the only countries in the Americas missing this component of the Internet access ecosystem.<ref>[http://www.elobservador.com.uy/noticia/103433/solo-cuba-y-uruguay-no-ofrecen-internet-por-cable-modem/ Only Cuba and Uruguay don't offer Internet access via cable modem] {{in lang|es}}</ref> In June 2022 however the Uruguayan government reversed this long standing situation opening the market to selected cable providers and effectively ending Antel's monopoly on wired Internet services.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Observador |first=El |title=Antel pierde su monopolio: gobierno habilitó a cables a ofrecer internet |url=https://www.elobservador.com.uy/nota/gobierno-habilito-a-cables-del-interior-a-ofrecer-internet-y-antel-pierde-su-monopolio--2022616135432 |access-date=2022-06-26 |website=El Observador}}</ref> 

=== Internet censorship and surveillance ===

There are no government restrictions on access to or usage of the Internet<ref>[http://www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2013/uruguay-0 "Uruguay"], ''Freedom in the World 2013'', Freedom House, 11 January 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2014.</ref> or credible reports that the government monitors [[e-mail]] or Internet [[chat rooms]] without judicial oversight.<ref name=USDOS-CRHRP-2012-Uruguay>[https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?year=2012&dlid=204484 "Uruguay"], ''Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012'', Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, U.S. Department of State, 21 March 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2014.</ref>

Uruguayan law provides for [[freedom of speech]] and [[Freedom of the press|press]], and the government generally respects these rights in practice. An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combine to ensure these rights. The law also prohibits arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence, and the government generally respects these prohibitions in practice.<ref name=USDOS-CRHRP-2012-Uruguay/>

In August 2016 the President of URSEC (the Uruguayan government agency equivalent to the FCC in the US) stated that his agency was at the government's beck and call to block the IP address of the servers of Uber to keep its app from operating in Uruguay. If carried out this would constitute the first and only known instance of [[Great Firewall]] style blocked-IP censorship in Uruguay. In the same interview he stated that WhatsApp "transgresses the limits of communications".<ref>[http://elpaistv.com.uy/videos/a-diario/gabriel-lombide-5372 El presidente de la Ursec dijo que el organismo 'está a la orden' de que el gobierno solicite el bloqueo de la aplicación"], El Pais TV. Retrieved 26 August 2016 {{in lang|es}}</ref> In July 2017 the Uruguayan subsecretary of economy stated that the government was considering "blocking the signals" of online gaming sites, which in Internet terms would seem to refer to some kind of IP-based censorship.<ref>[http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/fa-pide-destinar-crecimiento-extra.html FA pide destinar crecimiento extra del PIB a prioridades"], El Pais. Retrieved 23 July 2017 {{in lang|es}}</ref><ref>[http://www.elobservador.com.uy/gobierno-quiere-gravar-las-plataformas-digitales-pero-no-sabe-como-hacerlo-n1100714 Gobierno quiere gravar a las plataformas digitales pero no sabe cómo hacerlo"], El Observador. Retrieved 23 July 2017 {{in lang|es}}</ref>

In April 2018 a Uruguayan court ordered all Uruguayan ISPs to block their users from accessing the content of specific sites broadcasting sports events copyrighted by Fox Sports Latin America. This is a key precedent that differs dramatically from the piracy enforcement in first world countries like the US, which focuses on the takedown of the sites themselves and does not engage in IP-based censorship. A Fox spokesman declared the network would try to use the precedent to get similar rulings in other Latin American countries.<ref>[https://www.elobservador.com.uy/justicia-obliga-proveedores-internet-bloquear-roja-directa-n1209632 Justicia obliga a proveedores de internet a bloquear Roja Directa], El Observador. Retrieved 4 April 2018 {{in lang|es}}</ref>

In November 2016 the Uruguayan Ministry of the Interior initiated legal action against a Facebook and Twitter site ("chorros_uy") that reports criminal activity across Uruguay, alleging that it "raises public alarm".<ref>[http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/interior-denuncio-cuenta-chorros-uy-infundir-temor.html Interior denunció a la cuenta Chorros Uy por 'infundir temor'], El Pais. Retrieved 11 November 2016 {{in lang|es}}</ref> The Interamerican Press Society swiftly criticized the Ministry's attempt to censor the site as "contrary to democracy's norms".<ref>[http://www.elpais.com.uy/informacion/sip-condena-acciones-gobierno-chorrosuy.html SIP condena las acciones legales del gobierno contra la cuenta ChorrosUy], El Pais. Retrieved 11 November 2016 {{in lang|es}}</ref>

As of 2017 a surveillance software suite, called "Guardián", capable of spying internet traffic, email accounts, social networks and telephone calls is being used without proper authorization from the [[Judiciary]].<ref>[http://www.elpais.com.uy/opinion/editorial/control-guardian-editorial.html Control sobre "El Guardián"], El Pais. Retrieved 10 March 2017 {{in lang|es}}</ref>

== References ==
{{CIA World Factbook}}
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.ursec.gub.uy/ URSEC], ''Unidad Reguladora de Servicios de Comunicaciones'' (Regulatory Services Unit for Communications) {{in lang|es}}.
* [https://www.nic.uy/Registrar/ UY NIC], ''Regostro de Dominios UY'' (Registrar of Domains for UY) {{in lang|es}}.
* [https://blogdefabio.com/2016/07/13/coleccion-de-blogs-uruguayos/ A directory of Uruguayan blogs]

{{Americas topic|Telecommunications in}}
{{Telecommunications}}
{{Uruguay topics}}
{{Internet censorship by country}}

[[Category:Telecommunications in Uruguay| ]]
[[Category:Internet censorship by country|Uruguay]]
[[Category:Internet in Uruguay]]