Communications in Zimbabwe
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- All journalists are prevented from reporting from within the country by the Zanu-PF elite. (2002)
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Telephone system
The phone system was once one of the best in Africa, but now suffers from poor maintenance; more than 100,000 outstanding requests for connection despite an equally large number of installed but unused main lines.
Main lines in use: 212,000 (in addition there are about 20,000 fixed telephones in wireless local loop connections) (1997)
Domestic: consists of microwave radio relay links, open-wire lines, radiotelephone communication stations, fixed wireless local loop installations, and a substantial mobile cellular network; Internet connection is available in Harare and planned for all major towns and for some of the smaller ones
International: Satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat; two international digital gateway exchanges (in Harare and Gweru)
Mobile cellular: 111,000 (2001), 70,000 (1999)
Radio
Radio broadcast stations: AM 7, FM 4 (plus 17 repeater stations), shortwave 1. Acts as the primary communiction for largely rural population. All stations are stringently controlled by the government run ZBC (2002)
Radios: 1.14 million (1997)
Television
Television broadcast stations: only one state-controlled propaganda station ZBC, as government has shut down and refuses to issue licenses to domestic independent broadcasters such as JoyTV(2002)
Televisions: 370,000 (1997)
Internet
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 6 (2000), 10 (1999)
In June 2004 Mugabe asked ISPs to monitor all email traffic passing through their systems for "anti-national activities". ISPs protest that this is an impossible task. [1] (http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1230096,00.html)
Country code (Top level domain): ZW