Telecommunications in Cyprus

Telecommunications in Cyprus includes radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet in the Republic of Cyprus.

The Cyprus Telecommunication Authority, the state-owned telecommunications company, manages most telecommunications and Internet connections on the island. However, following the recent liberalization of the telecommunications sector, a few private telecommunications companies have emerged.

Radio and television

The Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation (CyBC) (Greek ΡΙΚ) is the main broadcaster in Cyprus, although there are also privately owned radio and TV stations. A TV channel from the Greek state broadcaster, ERT, is available. The British Forces Broadcasting Service also operates radio and TV stations, although the TV signal is now confined to the Sovereign Base Areas or encrypted for copyright reasons.

• Radio stations: A mixture of state and privately run radio services; the public broadcaster operates 4 radio stations; in addition a number of private radio stations are available; in areas under illegal occupation by the Turkish army, there are 4 public radio stations as well as privately owned radio broadcast stations (2007).^[1]
• Radios: 310,000 (1997).

• Television stations: A mixture of state and privately run TV services; the public broadcaster operates 2 TV channels; 6 private TV broadcasters, satellite and cable TV services including telecasts from Greece and Turkey are available; in areas under illegal occupation by the Turkish army, there are 2 public TV stations, and privately owned TV broadcast stations (2007).^[1]
• Television sets: 248,000 (1997).
• Public TV stations:
  • ΡΙΚ1, CyBC 1st channel, island-wide coverage.
  • ΡΙΚ2, CyBC 2nd channel, island-wide coverage.
  • ANT1, private, island-wide coverage.
  • CNC PLUS TV, private, island-wide coverage.
  • MEGA Channel, private, island-wide coverage.
  • SIGMA TV, private, island-wide coverage.
  • FRED TV, private, Nicosia local coverage.
  • VOX TV, private, Larnaca local coverage.
  • Extra TV, private, Limassol local coverage.
  • Paphos TV, private, Paphos local coverage.
  • Omega, private - Paphos local coverage.
• Subscriber TV: The first subscription channels in Cyprus were LTV and Alpha, offered by Multichoice since the mid-90s.
• Some major subscription TV platforms today are:
  • AthenaSAT, offering approximately 15 channels via satellite.
  • Cablenet, offering services over their cable network with their triple-play package with over 30 channels.
  • CytaVision, offering approximately 30 channels via an ADSL IPTV platform, and LTV and Alpha.
  • NOVA Cyprus, with approximately 35 themed channels via satellite.
  • PrimeTel, offers more than 30 digital TV channels using ADSL IPTV, as well as LTV and Nova packages.

Telephones

Old telephone boxes in the Troodos Mountains.

• Calling code: +357 for the Republic of Cyprus and +90 for the areas under illegal occupation by the Turkish army which use the Turkish numbering plan.^[1]
• International call prefix: 00^[2]
• Domestic: excellent system in both the area under Republic of Cyprus government control and the area of the Republic of Cyprus under illegal occupation by the Turkish army; open wire, fibre-optic cable, and microwave radio relay.^[1]
• International:
  • Tropospheric scatter;^[1]
  • Communications cables: a number of submarine cables, including the SEA-ME-WE 3, combine to provide connectivity to Western Europe, the Middle East, and Asia;^[1]
  • Satellite earth stations: 8 as follows: 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean), 2 Eutelsat, 2 Intersputnik, and 1 Arabsat.^[1]
• Main lines: 373,200 lines in use, 108th in the world (2012).^[1]
• Companies that offer land-based telecommunication services:
  • Cyta
  • Cablenet
  • ΜΤΝ
  • Omega Telecom
  • PrimeTel
• Mobile cellular: 1.1 million lines, 155th in the world (2012).^[1]
• Companies that offer mobile cellular services:
  • CytaMobile-Vodafone, a subsidiary of Cyta.
  • MTN Cyprus, formerly Areeba Cyprus prior to September 1, 2007.
  • PrimeTel Mobile

Internet

ADSL is the most widespread broadband technology in Cyprus, is s available in most urban and sub-urban areas, with multiple providers offering packages that range from 512 kbit/s to 32 Mbit/s. Cable broadband is also available in some urban locations (Nicosia, Larnaca and Limassol) with speeds up to 100 Mbit/s. An ISP comparison website exists at the Cyprus Broadband portal.^[3] Many wireless networks are appearing in Cyprus, some with no minimum contract/pay as you go^[4] and others with a fixed contract.

• Top-level domains: .cy^[1] for Cyprus and .nc.tr for Northern Cyprus.
• Internet users: 694,223 users, 126th in the world; 61.0% of the population, 63rd in the world (2012).^[5][6]
• Fixed broadband: 218,783 subscriptions, 82nd in the world; 19.2% of population, 51st in the world (2012).^[5][7]
• Wireless broadband: 384,270 subscriptions, 98th in the world; 33.8% of the population, 47th in the world (2012).^[8]
• Internet hosts: 252,013 hosts, 67th in the world (2012).^[1]
• IPv4: 1.1 million addresses allocated, less than 0.05% of the world total, 999 addresses per 1000 people (2012).^[9][10]
• Internet Service Providers: 11 ISPs (2006).
• Internet providers in Cyprus:
  • Cytanet
  • Cablenet
  • Logosnet
  • Netway
  • PrimeTel
  • OTEnet Telecom
  • ThunderWorx

Internet censorship and surveillance

There are no government restrictions on access to the Internet or reports that the government monitored e-mail or Internet chat rooms without appropriate legal authority. Individuals and groups engage in the peaceful expression of views via the Internet, including e‑mail.^[11]

The law provides for freedom of speech and press, and the government generally respects these rights in practice. An independent press, an effective judiciary, and a functioning democratic political system combine to ensure freedom of speech and of the press. The law prohibits arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence, and the government generally respects these prohibitions in practice.^[11]

Northern Cyprus

Northern Cyprus is under illegal occupation by the Turkish army. It is the so-called "Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus" (TRNC). It is a self declared state^[12] that comprises the northern portion of the island of Cyprus. Recognised only by Turkey,^[13] Northern Cyprus is considered by the international community as occupied territory of the Republic of Cyprus.^[14][15] A buffer zone, the Green Line, under the control of the United Nations stretches between Northern Cyprus and the rest of the island and divides Nicosia, the island's largest city and capital of both states.

International telephone calls to Northern Cyprus are routed via a Turkish dialing code (+90 392) as Northern Cyprus has neither its own country code nor official ITU prefix. Similarly, there is no Internet top-level domain for Northern Cyprus, which is instead under the Turkish second-level domain .nc.tr. Amateur radio operators sometimes use callsigns beginning with "1B", but these have no standing for awards or other operating credit.

See also

• Cyprus Amateur Radio Society
• Cyprus Internet Exchange (CyIX)
• Cyprus Safer Internet Helpline
• Cyprus Safer Internet Hotline

References

•  This article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook document "2013 edition".
•  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Department of State.

External links

• Cyprus Telecommunication Authority (CYTA), website.

Telecommunications History Beacon Broadcasting Communications satellite Computer network Drums Electrical telegraph Fax Heliographs Hydraulic telegraph Internet Mass media Mobile phone Optical telecommunication Optical telegraphy Photophone Prepaid mobile phone Radio Radiotelephone Satellite communications Smoke signals Telecommunications history Telegraphy Telephone The Telephone Cases Television Timeline of communication technology Undersea telegraph line Videoconferencing Videophone Videotelephony Pioneers Edwin Howard Armstrong John Logie Baird Alexander Graham Bell Tim Berners-Lee Jagadish Chandra Bose Vint Cerf Claude Chappe Lee de Forest Philo Farnsworth Reginald Fessenden Elisha Gray Guglielmo Marconi Alexander Stepanovich Popov Johann Philipp Reis Nikola Tesla Camille Papin Tissot Alfred Vail Charles Wheatstone Vladimir K. Zworykin Transmission media Coaxial cable Free-space optical Optical fiber Radio waves Telephone lines Terrestrial microwave Molecules Network topology and switching Links Nodes Terminal node Network switching (circuit packet) Telephone exchange Multiplexing Space-division Frequency-division Time-division Polarization-division Orbital angular-momentum Code-division Networks ARPANET BITNET Computer Ethernet FidoNet Internet ISDN LAN Mobile NGN Public Switched Telephone Radio Telecommunications equipment Television Telex WAN Wireless World Wide Web By continent Telecommunications in Africa Sovereign states Algeria Angola Benin Botswana Burkina Faso Burundi Cameroon Cape Verde Central African Republic Chad Comoros Democratic Republic of the Congo Republic of the Congo Djibouti Egypt Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Ethiopia Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) Kenya Lesotho Liberia Libya Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauritania Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Namibia Niger Nigeria Rwanda São Tomé and Príncipe Senegal Seychelles Sierra Leone Somalia South Africa South Sudan Sudan Swaziland Tanzania Togo Tunisia Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe States with limited recognition Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Somaliland Dependencies and other territories Canary Islands / Ceuta / Melilla / Plazas de soberanía (Spain) Madeira (Portugal) Mayotte / Réunion (France) Saint Helena / Ascension Island / Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom) Western Sahara Telecommunications in Asia Sovereign states Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Burma (Myanmar) Cambodia China Cyprus East Timor (Timor-Leste) Egypt Georgia India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Japan Jordan Kazakhstan North Korea South Korea Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanon Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Nepal Oman Pakistan Philippines Qatar Russia Saudi Arabia Singapore Sri Lanka Syria Tajikistan Thailand Turkey Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen States with limited recognition Abkhazia Nagorno-Karabakh Northern Cyprus Palestine South Ossetia Taiwan Dependencies and other territories British Indian Ocean Territory Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Hong Kong Macau Telecommunications in Europe Sovereign states Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Georgia Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kazakhstan Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Malta Moldova Monaco Montenegro Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia San Marino Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom States with limited recognition Abkhazia Kosovo Nagorno-Karabakh Northern Cyprus South Ossetia Transnistria Dependencies and other territories Åland Faroe Islands Gibraltar Guernsey Jersey Isle of Man Svalbard Other entities European Union Telecommunications in North America Sovereign states Antigua and Barbuda Bahamas Barbados Belize Canada Costa Rica Cuba Dominica Dominican Republic El Salvador Grenada Guatemala Haiti Honduras Jamaica Mexico Nicaragua Panama Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Trinidad and Tobago United States Dependencies and other territories Anguilla Aruba Bermuda Bonaire British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Curaçao Greenland Guadeloupe Martinique Montserrat Navassa Island Puerto Rico Saint Barthélemy Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saba Sint Eustatius Sint Maarten Turks and Caicos Islands United States Virgin Islands Telecommunications in Oceania Sovereign states Australia East Timor Fiji Kiribati Marshall Islands Federated States of Micronesia Nauru New Zealand Palau Papua New Guinea Samoa Solomon Islands Tonga Tuvalu Vanuatu Associated states of New Zealand Cook Islands Niue Dependencies and other territories American Samoa Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Easter Island French Polynesia Guam Hawaii New Caledonia Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Pitcairn Islands Tokelau Wallis and Futuna Telecommunications in South America Sovereign states Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador Guyana Paraguay Peru Suriname Uruguay Venezuela Dependencies and other territories Falkland Islands French Guiana South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Telecommunications Telecommunication Mass surveillance