Communications in Madagascar

Template:Short description Communications in Madagascar include newspapers, radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, cinema, and the Internet.

Widespread poverty and illiteracy severely limit the penetration of television, print media, and the Internet, making radio by far the most important communications medium in the country.<ref>"Madagascar", Freedom of the Press, Freedom House, 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2014.</ref>

Newspapers

• L'Express de Madagascar, privately-owned daily.<ref name=BBC-CountryProfile-Madagascar-2012/>
• Midi Madagasikara, privately-owned daily.<ref name=BBC-CountryProfile-Madagascar-2012/>
• Madagascar Tribune, privately-owned daily.<ref name=BBC-CountryProfile-Madagascar-2012/>
• La Gazette de la Grande Ile, privately-owned daily.<ref name=BBC-CountryProfile-Madagascar-2012/>
• Lakroa (Cross), Catholic weekly.<ref name=BBC-CountryProfile-Madagascar-2012/>

Press freedom

While the constitution provides for freedom of the press, the ability of the press to criticize the regime is severely limited. In particular the absence of a communications code protecting press freedoms allows authorities to prosecute journalists under libel law and the criminal code whenever the content of their reporting offends the facto regime.<ref name=USDOS-CRHRP-Madagascar-2012/>

In November 2012 the de facto minister of communications stated that assertions harming the "general interest" were banned from public media. Gendarmes interrogated the editor-in-chief of Le Courrier de Madagascar for several hours in April 2012 after he ran a story entitled, "Governance--the Brothel Takes Hold at High Levels." Investigative journalists are often targets of threats and harassment from authorities. In May 2012 police stopped a journalist from La Verite, a pro-regime newspaper, on his way to cover an event in Antananarivo. Police reportedly beat him and broke his arm. All journalists released on bail remained subject to rearrest at any time.<ref name=USDOS-CRHRP-Madagascar-2012/>

Radio and television

• Radio stations: State-owned Radio Nationale Malagasy (RNM) has an extensive national network reach; privately owned radio broadcasters in cities and major towns; state-run radio dominates in rural areas; relays of 2 international broadcasters are available in the capital, Antananarivo (2007).<ref name=CIAWFB-Madagascar-2014>"Madagascar", World Factbook, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 7 January 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2014.</ref>
  • Malagasy National Radio (RNM), state-owned.<ref name=BBC-CountryProfile-Madagascar-2012/>
  • Radio Don Bosco, Catholic.<ref name=BBC-CountryProfile-Madagascar-2012/>
  • Radio Lazan' Iarivo (RLI) (Glory of Iarivo), private.<ref name=BBC-CountryProfile-Madagascar-2012/>
  • Radio Antsiva, private.<ref name=BBC-CountryProfile-Madagascar-2012/>
• Radios: 3.05 million (1997).Template:Update after
• Television stations: Television Malagasy (TVM) has an extensive national network reach; privately owned TV broadcasters in cities and major towns; relays of 2 international broadcasters are available in Antananarivo (2007).<ref name=CIAWFB-Madagascar-2014/>
  • Television Malagasy (TVM), state-owned.<ref name=BBC-CountryProfile-Madagascar-2012/>
  • Radio-Television Analamanga (RTA), privately-owned.<ref name=BBC-CountryProfile-Madagascar-2012/>
  • Madagascar TV (MATV), privately-owned.<ref name=BBC-CountryProfile-Madagascar-2012/>
• Television sets: 325,000 (1997).Template:Update after

Former president, Marc Ravalomanana, and current leader Andry Rajoelina own broadcasting outlets.<ref name=BBC-CountryProfile-Madagascar-2012>"Madagascar profile", BBC News, 20 June 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2014.</ref>

Media restrictions

Although the law provides for freedom of speech, authorities severely restrict freedom of speech by intimidating opponents and resorting to imprisonment or violence when threats fail to dissuade critics. The de facto minister of communications targeted those who expressed dissent, sending official warning letters to news outlets whose coverage displeased the regime. From 2010 through 2012 an estimated 80 radio and television station licenses withdrawn and the stations ordered suspend broadcasting immediately. By the end of 2012 they had not been authorized to reopen. In September 2012 the editor of the national television station was suspended, reportedly for having opposition politicians on the air. Authorities also suspend journalists who continue to broadcast despite government warnings. To maintain access to sources and remain safe, journalists widely practiced self-censorship.<ref name=USDOS-CRHRP-Madagascar-2012/>

On 2 May 2012, authorities imprisoned the editors of the private radio station Free FM, Lalatiana Rakotondrazafy and Fidel Razara Pierre, for a two-day investigation following a libel suit brought by Mamy Ravatomanga, a well-known backer of the de facto regime. Following a series of public rallies that same month marking the first anniversary of Free FM and calling for greater press freedom, the radio's editors were charged with provoking outrage against the regime, destruction of public goods, mounting opposition to security forces, and holding a public demonstration without authorization. On 22 July 2012, authorities closed the radio station, and the two journalists and another colleague went into hiding. By the end of 2012 Free FM remained closed. But after a deal consented with the two journalists and the regime, initiated by Mamy Ravatomanga, Lalatiana Rakotondrazafy is free and become the allied of the Rajoelina's regime.<ref name=USDOS-CRHRP-Madagascar-2012/>

Shortwave relay stations

In 2013, the government of Madagascar and Malagasy Global Business S.A. signed an agreement to operate the Madagascar relay station in Talata-Volonondry. Among its customers are Radio Netherlands Worldwide, NHK World-Japan, BBC World Service, Deutsche Welle, Vatican Radio, Adventist World Radio and Free Press Unlimited.

Cinema

Main article: Cinema of Madagascar

Telephones

• Calling code: +261<ref name=CIAWFB-Madagascar-2014/>
• International call prefix: 00<ref>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: 143,700 lines in use, 138th in the world (2012),<ref name=CIAWFB-Madagascar-2014/> provided by Telma (Telecom Malagasy)<ref>TELMA Template:In lang, Safidiko Malagasy (Telcom Malagasy).</ref>
• Mobile cellular: 8.6 million lines, 89th in the world (2012).<ref name=CIAWFB-Madagascar-2014/>
• Teledensity: 40 per 100 persons, combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular (2010).<ref name=CIAWFB-Madagascar-2014/>
• Telephone system: system is above average for the region, Antananarivo's main telephone exchange modernized in the late 1990s, but the rest of the analogue-based telephone system is poorly developed; open-wire lines, coaxial cables, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric scatter links (2010).<ref name=CIAWFB-Madagascar-2014/>
• Communications cables: two; Lower Indian Ocean Network (LION), connecting Madagascar, Réunion, and Mauritius;<ref name=LION>Template:Cite press release</ref> Eastern Africa Submarine Cable System (EASSy) connecting Sudan, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, Comoros, Tanzania, Madagascar, Mozambique, and South Africa.<ref name=eassyabout>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Satellite earth stations: 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) (2010).<ref name=CIAWFB-Madagascar-2014/>

Internet

• Top-level domain: .mg<ref name=CIAWFB-Madagascar-2014/>
• Internet users: 452,185 users, 133rd in the world; 2.1% of the population, 201st in the world (2012).<ref name=NIUCalc>Calculated using penetration rate and population data from "Countries and Areas Ranked by Population: 2012" Template:Webarchive, Population data, International Programs, U.S. Census Bureau, retrieved 26 June 2013</ref><ref name=ITU-IndividualsUsingTheInternet>"Percentage of Individuals using the Internet 2000-2012", International Telecommunication Union (Geneva), June 2013, retrieved 22 June 2013</ref>
• Fixed broadband: 9,242 subscriptions, 150th in the world; less than 0.05% of the population, 187th in the world (2012).<ref name=NIUCalc/><ref name="FixedBroadbandITUDynamic2012">"Fixed (wired)-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012" Template:Webarchive, Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE, International Telecommunication Union. Retrieved on 29 June 2013.</ref>
• Wireless broadband: Unknown (2012).<ref name="MobleBroadbandITUDynamic2012">"Active mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012" Template:Webarchive, Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE, International Telecommunication Union. Retrieved on 29 June 2013.</ref>
• Internet hosts: 38,392 hosts, 127th in the world (2012).<ref name=CIAWFB-Madagascar-2014/>
• IPv4: 62,208 addresses allocated, less than 0.05% of the world total, 2.8 addresses per 1000 people (2012).<ref>Select Formats Template:Webarchive, Country IP Blocks. Accessed on 2 April 2012. Note: Site is said to be updated daily.</ref><ref>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):Template:Citation needed
  • As of 2006:Template:Update after
    • DTS, http://www.dts.mg/
    • Simicro, http://www.simicro.mg/
    • Blueline (Gulfsat), http://www.gulfsat.mg. In 2005 Blueline was the first operator in the Indian Ocean area to launch a Wimax based network for broadband Internet access.

Internet censorship and surveillance

There are generally no restrictions on access to the Internet, or reports that the de facto government monitors e-mail or Internet chat rooms. However, the de facto minister of communication made several statements throughout 2012 about restricting the Internet.<ref name=USDOS-CRHRP-Madagascar-2012>"Madagascar", Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State, 22 March 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2014.</ref>

Political groups, parties, and activists use the Internet extensively to advance their agendas, share news, and criticize other parties. Although there have been allegations of technical sabotage of some Web sites, the Internet is considered among the more reliable sources of information, as many Internet servers were outside the country and cannot be regulated by the regime.<ref name=USDOS-CRHRP-Madagascar-2012/>

The constitution and law provide for freedom of speech and press, but the de facto regime and military actors actively and systematically impeded the exercise of freedoms of expression and of the press. The law prohibits arbitrary Interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence, but homes and workplaces of opposition groups are subject to arbitrary searches without warrants. Regime security personnel also punished family members for alleged offenses committed by individuals.<ref name=USDOS-CRHRP-Madagascar-2012/>

Predator Files

In October 2023, Mediapart newspaper revealed that the Malagasy presidency acquired the Predator spyware in 2021 illegally and used it to spy on several political opponents, including the opposition newspaper, Roland Rasoamaharo, who was subsequently imprisoned. According to two technical investigations, Predator was also used by the Malagasy government during the 2023 elections.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Mediapart1">Template:Cite web</ref>

An investigation by the Central Office for the Fight against Crimes Against Humanity, Genocides and War Crimes (OCLCH) established that the leaders of Nexa and Intellexa exported equipment and software to hack phones to the Malagasy presidency, without any authorization.<ref name="Mediapart1"/>

See also

• Madagascar
• Economy of Madagascar

References

• Template:CIA World Factbook
• Template:US DOS

External links

• NIC.mg, registrar for the .mg domain.
• Listen Madagascar Radio stations