Editing Telecommunications in Cameroon

{{Short description|none}} <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]] -->
'''Telecommunications in Cameroon''' include radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet.

== History ==
During German rule, It was set up in the [[Kamerun|protectorate of Kamerun]] the first telegraph line, the first telephone line, and the first wireless telegraph. However, the country remained undeveloped in telecommunications. During First World War, Germans followed a [[Scorched earth|scorched-earth policy]] that meant the destruction of communication lines, included telephone and telegraph.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Scheele|first=Isabell|date=2014-06-15|title=La Première Guerre mondiale au Cameroun : une guerre des archives ?|url=http://journals.openedition.org/ceg/2154|journal=Cahiers d'Études Germaniques|language=fr|volume=66|issue=66|pages=229–242|doi=10.4000/ceg.2154|issn=0751-4239|doi-access=free}}</ref>

In [[British Cameroon]], from 1916 to 1950s, communications in the country relied on flag post runners that had been described as "human telephone lines". Paths followed by the runners served as a base of the development of telegraph lines in the territory. For instance, the line from Buea-Kumba to [[Ossidinge]] used the same paths that the mail runners. In the mid-1930s, the wiring of British Cameroon received more support.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Quevedo|first=Javier Márquez|date=2010|title=Telecommunications and Colonial Rivalry: European Telegraph Cables to the Canary Islands and Northwest Africa, 1883-1914|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/20762431|journal=Historical Social Research / Historische Sozialforschung|volume=35|issue=1 (131)|pages=108–124|jstor=20762431|issn=0172-6404}}</ref>

==Radio and television==

* [[Radio broadcasting|Radio stations]]:
** state-owned [[Cameroon Radio Television]] (CRTV); one private radio broadcaster; about 70 privately owned, unlicensed radio stations operating, but subject to closure at any time; foreign news services are required to partner with a state-owned national station (2007);<ref name=CIAWFB-Cameroon-2014/>
** 2 AM, 9 FM, and 3 shortwave stations (2001).
* [[Television broadcasting|Television stations]]:
** state-owned Cameroon Radio Television (CRTV), 2 private TV broadcasters (2007);<ref name=CIAWFB-Cameroon-2014/>
** one station (2001).

[[BBC World Service]] radio is available via local relays (98.4 FM in [[Yaounde]], the capital).<ref name=BBCNews-CameroonProfile-2012>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13146033 "Cameroon profile: Media"], ''BBC News'', 14 August 2012. Retrieved 8 February 2014.</ref>

The government maintains tight control over broadcast media. State-owned [[Cameroon Radio Television]] (CRTV), operates both a TV and a radio network. It was the only officially recognized and fully licensed broadcaster until August 2007 when the government issued licenses to two private TV and one private radio broadcasters.<ref name=CIAWFB-Cameroon-2014/>

Approximately 375 privately owned radio stations were operating in 2012, three-fourths of them in [[Yaounde]] and [[Douala]]. The government requires nonprofit rural radio stations to submit applications to broadcast, but they were exempt from licensing fees. Commercial radio and television broadcasters must submit a licensing application and pay an application fee and thereafter pay a high annual licensing fee. Several rural community radio stations function with foreign funding. The government prohibits these stations from discussing politics.<ref name=USDOS-CRHRP-Cameroon-2012/>

In spite of the government's tight control, [[Reporters Without Borders]] reported in its 2011 field survey that "[i]t is clear from the diversity of the media and the outspoken reporting style that press freedom is a reality".<ref name=BBCNews-CameroonProfile-2012/>

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

* [[Calling code]]: +237<ref name=CIAWFB-Cameroon-2014>[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/cameroon/ "Communications: Cameroon"], ''World Factbook'', U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 28 January 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2014.</ref>
* [[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:
** 737,400 lines in use, 88th in the world (2012);<ref name=CIAWFB-Cameroon-2014/>
** 130,700 lines in use (2006).
* Mobile cellular:
** 13.1 million lines, 64th in the world (2012);<ref name=CIAWFB-Cameroon-2014/>
** &nbsp;&nbsp;4.5 million lines (2007).
* Telephone system: system includes cable, [[microwave radio relay]], and [[tropospheric scatter]]; Camtel, the monopoly provider of fixed-line service, provides connections for only about 3 per 100 persons; equipment is old and outdated, and connections with many parts of the country are unreliable; mobile-cellular usage, in part a reflection of the poor condition and general inadequacy of the fixed-line network, has increased sharply, reaching a subscribership base of 50 per 100 persons (2011).<ref name=CIAWFB-Cameroon-2014/>
* [[List of international submarine communications cables|Communications cables]]: [[SAT-3/WASC|South Atlantic 3/West Africa Submarine Cable]] (SAT-3/WASC) fiber-optic cable system provides connectivity to Europe and Asia (2011);<ref name=CIAWFB-Cameroon-2014/> [[ACE (cable system)|Africa Coast to Europe]] (ACE), cable system connecting countries along the west coast of Africa to each other and to [[Portugal]] and [[France]], is planned.<ref>[http://www.ace-submarinecable.com/ace/default/EN/all/ace_en/ "ACE: Africa Coast to Europe"], Orange SA. Retrieved 8 February 2014.</ref>
* [[Communications satellite|Satellite earth stations]]: 2 [[Intelsat]] ([[Atlantic Ocean]]) (2011).<ref name=CIAWFB-Cameroon-2014/>

==Internet==

* [[Top-level domain]]: [[.cm]]<ref name=CIAWFB-Cameroon-2014/>
* [[List of countries by number of Internet users|Internet users]]:
** 1.1 million users, 113th in the world; 5.7% of the population, 184th in the world (2012).<ref name=NIUCalc>Calculated using penetration rate and population data from [https://www.census.gov/population/international/data/idb/rank.php "Countries and Areas Ranked by Population: 2012"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329060848/https://www.census.gov/population/international/data/idb/rank.php |date=2017-03-29 }}, Population data, International Programs,  U.S. Census Bureau, retrieved 26 June 2013</ref><ref name=ITU-IndividualsUsingTheInternet>[http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/statistics/2013/Individuals_Internet_2000-2012.xls "Percentage of Individuals using the Internet 2000-2012"], International Telecommunication Union (Geneva), June 2013, retrieved 22 June 2013</ref>
** 985,565 users (2011);
** 749,600 users, 106th in the world (2009).<ref name=CIAWFB-Cameroon-2014/>
* [[List of countries by number of broadband Internet subscriptions|Fixed broadband]]: 1,006 subscriptions, 180th in the world; less than 0.05% of the population, 190th in the world (2012).<ref name=NIUCalc/><ref name="FixedBroadbandITUDynamic2012">[http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ICTEYE/Reporting/DynamicReportWizard.aspx "Fixed (wired)-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012"], Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE, [[International Telecommunication Union]]. Retrieved on 29 June 2013.</ref>
* [[List of countries by number of broadband Internet subscriptions|Wireless broadband]]: Unknown (2012).<ref name="MobleBroadbandITUDynamic2012">[http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ICTEYE/Reporting/DynamicReportWizard.aspx "Active mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012"], Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE, [[International Telecommunication Union]]. Retrieved on 29 June 2013.</ref>
* [[List of countries by number of Internet hosts|Internet hosts]]:
** 10,207 hosts, 134th in the world (2012);<ref name=CIAWFB-Cameroon-2014/>
** &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;69 hosts (2008).
* [[List of countries by IPv4 address allocation|IPv4]]: 137,728 addresses allocated, less than 0.05% of the world total, 6.8 addresses per 1000 people (2012).<ref>[http://www.countryipblocks.net/country-blocks/select-formats/ Select Formats] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090513033601/http://www.countryipblocks.net/country-blocks/select-formats/ |date=2009-05-13 }}, Country IP Blocks. Accessed on 2 April 2012. Note: Site is said to be updated daily.</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070613003851/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2119.html 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 provider]]s (ISPs): 
** Creolink Communications<ref>[http://www.creolink.com/ "Creolink Communications"], website. Retrieved 8 February 2014.</ref>

A number of projects are underway that will improve Internet access, telecommunications, and [[Information and communications technology]] (ICT) in general:<ref>[http://world2013.itu.int/exhibitors/cameroon-pavilion/ "Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, Cameroon"], Telecom World, International Telecommunication Union, 19–22 November 2013. Retrieved 8 February 2014.</ref>
* Implementation of the e-post project, connecting 234 post offices throughout the country;
* Extension of the national optical fiber network, installation of the initial 3,200&nbsp;km of fiber is complete and studies for the installation of an additional 3,400&nbsp;km are underway;
* Construction of multipurpose community telecentres, some 115 telecentres are operating with an additional 205 under construction;
* Construction of metropolitan optical loops, the urban optical loop of [[Douala]] is complete and construction of the [[Yaounde]] loop is underway;
* Construction of submarine cable landing points;
* Establishment of [[public key infrastructure]] (PKI);
* Construction of a regional technology park to support the development of ICTs.

===Internet censorship and surveillance===

There are no government restrictions on access to the Internet or reports that the government monitors [[e-mail]] or Internet [[chat rooms]].<ref name=USDOS-CRHRP-Cameroon-2012>[https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?year=2012&dlid=204097 "Cameroon"], ''Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012'', Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State, 22 March 2013. Retrieved 8 February 2014.</ref>

Although the law provides for [[freedom of speech]] and [[freedom of the press|press]], it also criminalizes media offenses, and the government restricts freedoms of speech and press. Government officials threaten, harass, arrest, and deny equal treatment to individuals or organizations that criticize government policies or express views at odds with government policy. Individuals who criticize the government publicly or privately sometimes face reprisals. Press freedom is constrained by strict [[libel]] laws that suppress criticism. These laws authorize the government, at its discretion and the request of the plaintiff, to criminalize a civil libel suit or to initiate a criminal libel suit in cases of alleged libel against the president and other high government officials. Such crimes are punishable by prison terms and heavy fines.<ref name=USDOS-CRHRP-Cameroon-2012/>

Although the constitution and law prohibit arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence, these rights are subject to restriction for the "higher interests of the state", and there are credible reports that police and gendarmes harass citizens, conduct searches without warrants, and open or seize mail with impunity.<ref name=USDOS-CRHRP-Cameroon-2012/>

==See also==

* [[Cameroon Radio Television]], government-controlled national broadcaster.
* [[Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation]]
* [[List of terrestrial fibre optic cable projects in Africa]]
* [[Media of Cameroon]]
* [[Cameroon]]

==References==

* {{CIA World Factbook}}
* {{US DOS |year=2012}}
{{reflist |30em}}

==External links==
* [https://netcom.cm/login.jsp Antic.cm], top-level domain registry for Cameroon (.cm).
* [http://www.minpostel.gov.cm/ Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, Cameroon] (MINPOSTEL) {{in lang|fr}}. [https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.minpostel.gov.cm&sandbox=1 English translation].

{{Clear}}
{{Africa topic|Telecommunications in}}
{{Telecommunications}}
{{Internet censorship by country}}
{{Economy of Cameroon}}
{{Cameroon topics}}

[[Category:Telecommunications in Cameroon| ]]