Editing Telecommunications in Lesotho (section)

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

* [[List of country calling codes|Calling code]] +266<ref name=CIAWFB-Lesotho-2014/>
* [[List of international call prefixes|International call prefix]]: 00<ref>[http://www.itu.int/dms_pub/itu-t/opb/sp/T-SP-E.164C-2011-PDF-E.pdf ''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: 43,100 lines in use, 168th in the world (2012).<ref name=CIAWFB-Lesotho-2014/>
* Mobile cellular: 1.3 million lines, 153rd in the world (2012).<ref name=CIAWFB-Lesotho-2014/>
* Telephone system: Rudimentary system consisting of a modest number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a small radiotelephone communication system; privatized in 2001, Telecom Lesotho was tasked with providing an additional 50,000 fixed-line connections within five years, a target not met; mobile-cellular service dominates the market and is expanding with a subscribership of roughly 65 per 100 persons in 2011; rural services are scant (2011).<ref name=CIAWFB-Lesotho-2014/>
* [[Communications satellite|Satellite earth station]]: 1 [[Intelsat]] ([[Atlantic Ocean]]) (2011).<ref name=CIAWFB-Lesotho-2014/>

===Telecommunications providers===

[[Vodacom|Vodacom Lesotho]] started operating in 1996 with the [[Government of Lesotho]] as a shareholder through its stake in Lesotho Telecommunications Corporation. When the Government of Lesotho began its [[privatisation]] process in 1999, it invited bids for this share in Vodacom Lesotho. In July 2000, Sekha-Metsi Consortium, a group of local business people and public figures, was announced as the successful bidder. Sekha-Metsi now holds a 12% share in Vodacom Lesotho with the remaining share held by Vodacom Group. In 2008 Vodacom Lesotho introduced its new partnership with [[Vodafone]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://ihsmarkit.com/country-industry-forecasting.html|title=Vodafone to Take Controlling 65% Stake in Vodacom|website=ihsmarkit.com|access-date=2020-01-03}}</ref>

[[Telecom Lesotho|Econet Telecom Lesotho]] is part of the [[Econet Wireless]] group and operates as a stand-alone entity with full local board and management control. It is the first [[Africa]]n mobile service operator to use [[ForgetMeNot Africa]]'s eTXT service to enable their customer base to send and receive [[email]] via any mobile capable of a simple [[SMS]].<ref>[http://www.mobileindustryreview.com/2009/10/echonet-telecom-launches-forgetmenots-email-by-sms-service-for-lesotho.html "Econet Telecom launches ForgetMeNot’s email-by-SMS service for Lesotho"], Ewan MacLeod, Mobile Industry Review, 2 October 2009. Retrieved 19 January 2014.</ref><ref>[http://www.developingtelecoms.com/tech/apps-services-devices/60-consumer-apps/2296-econet-telecom-and-forgetmenot-africa-bring-mobile-email-to-lesotho.html "Econet Telecom and ForgetMeNot Africa bring mobile email to Lesotho"], James Barton, Developing Telecoms, 23 October 2009. Retrieved 7 February 2014.</ref>