Telecommunications in Bolivia

Telecommunications in Bolivia includes radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet.

Radio and television
See also: List of radio stations in South America § Bolivia, and List of television stations in Latin America § Bolivia
  • Radio broadcast stations: AM 171, FM 73, shortwave 77 (1999).[1]
  • Television broadcast stations: 48 (1997).[1]
  • Bolivia has a large number of radio and TV stations broadcasting with private media outlets dominating.[1] There has been a recent, rapid growth of state-owned media, including a network of community radios.[2] State-owned and private radio and TV stations generally operate freely, although both pro-government and anti-government groups have attacked media outlets in response to their reporting (2010).[1]

Telephones
See also: Telephone numbers in Bolivia
  • International calling code: 591.[1]
  • Fixed lines: 880,600 lines in use, 80th in the world (2012).[1]
  • Mobile cellular: 9.494 million telephones, 82nd in the world (2012).[1]
  • Satellite earth stations: 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2011).[1]

The Bolivian National Telecommunications Company was privatized in 1995 but re-nationalized in 2007; the primary trunk system is being expanded and employs digital microwave radio relay; some areas are served by fiber-optic cable; system operations, reliability, and coverage have steadily improved. Most telephones are concentrated in La Paz, Santa Cruz, and other capital cities; mobile-cellular telephone use expanding rapidly and, in 2011, teledensity reached about 80 per 100 persons.[1]

Internet

Internet censorship and surveillance

There are no government restrictions on access to the Internet. The Bolivian constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and press. Although the government generally respects these rights, in at least two cases in 2012, the government used the anti-racism law to restrict both rights.[8] Some senior government officials also verbally harassed members of the press corps. Bolivian law prohibits arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence and the government generally respects these prohibitions, but there have been allegations that the government does not always respect the law. Defamation remains a criminal offence.

  • Concerns were raised over a 2010 anti-discrimination law. Its "far-reaching and vague" language could be used to curb and punish legitimate journalism, warned the Committee to Protect Journalists.[2]
  • On 21 October 2012, Vice President Garcia Linera stated that the government records the names of people who insult President Morales on social media sites.[8]
  • On 23 October 2012, the Constitutional Court struck down the libel law that allowed for detention of one month to four years for a person found guilty of insulting, defaming, or slandering public officials.[8]
  • On 2016, after the Constitutional Referendum, the government considered the win of the option of NO a "dirty game" but it avoid endangering his government decided to cancel a bill to restrict social networks when insulting President Evo Morales and his acts of corruption (like the Gabriela Zapata's case). But a law is going to be launched in April or May 2016.
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See also

References
  1. "Communications: Bolivia", World Factbook, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 21 April 2015.
  2. "Bolivia country profile: Media", BBC News', 2 August 2012.
  3. "Internet hosts", CIA World Factbook, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 2012, accessed 17 June 2013
  4. "Percentage of Individuals using the Internet 2000-2012", International Telecommunications Union (Geneva), June 2013, retrieved 22 June 2013
  5. Statistics, International Telecommunication Union official website.
  6. Akamai Technologies. "Akamai's State Of The Internet" (pdf). Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  7. "Allocation of IP addresses by Country", Country IP Blocks. Accessed on 2 April 2012. Note: Site is said to be updated daily.
  8. "Bolivia", Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State, 20 March 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
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