Communications in Tunisia
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Telephones - main lines in use: 654,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 50,000 (1998)
Telephone system:
above the African average and continuing to be upgraded; key centers are Sfax, Sousse, Bizerte, and Tunis; Internet access available
domestic:
trunk facilities consist of open-wire lines, coaxial cable, and microwave radio relay
international:
5 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Algeria and Libya; participant in Medarabtel; two international gateway digital switches
Radio broadcast stations: AM 7, FM 20, shortwave 2 (1998)
Radios: 2.06 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 26 (plus 76 repeaters) (1995)
Televisions: 920,000 (1997)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000)
Internet users: 400,000 (2002)
Country code (Top level domain): TN
Tunisia is hosting phase 2 of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) in November 2005. The initiative was taken by the Tunisian government in 1998 and is organised by ITU under the patronage of the UNESCO. Phase 1 of the WSIS took place in Geneva in 2003. 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. The Tunisian government considers the ICT as an important tool to boots the country’s economy and to adapt the education system to the opportunities brought by the IT as a tool. E-learning, e-medicine and e-commerce are areas of strong interest where the Government is seeking international partnership and investments. During these last 15 years, several important efforts were made to invest in ICT and Internet. Physical infrastructures were modernised. Though, beyond the high priority the government is giving to the ICT, Tunisia had been slower than expected compared to the developing countries in Middle East and North Africa. Recently in July 2004 the World Bank approved a $13 million loan to the Tunisian government to support the government effort in accelerating its ICT reforms.
- See also : Tunisia