Telecommunications in Panama

Telecommunications in Panama includes radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet.

## Radio and television

[edit]

See also: List of radio stations in Panama, List of television stations in Panama, and List of Panamanian network television schedules

* Radio stations: More than 100 commercial radio stations (2007).[1]
* Radios: 815,000 (1997).[needs update]
* Television stations: Multiple privately owned TV networks and a government-owned educational TV station; multi-channel cable and satellite TV subscription services are available (2007).[1]
* Televisions: 720,000 (2006).[citation needed]

The media of Panama has been highly influenced by that of the United States, since the construction of the Panama Canal. Radio broadcasting in Panama began in 1922, and television broadcasting in 1956.[citation needed]

Panama's official broadcaster is the National Television of Panama, which was founded in 1961. NTP started Panama's first color television service in 1972. A famous military broadcast network, the Southern Command Network (SCN), broadcast in Panama until the United States withdrew from the canal in 1999.[citation needed]

The broadcast media were under strict control during the regime of the dictators that ruled Panama from 1968 to 1989, including Manuel Noriega.[citation needed]

## Telephones

[edit]

See also: Telephone numbers in Panama

Telephone services were state run by the INTEL (Instituto Nacional de TELecomunicaciones, National Telecommunications Institute, not to be confused with Intel Corporation) until 1997, when a 49% stake was sold to Cable & Wireless plc, rebranding as Cable & Wireless. In 2003, the government began allowing other companies to offer telephone services.[2][3] In 2010, this stake was transferred to Cable & Wireless Communications. In 2019, Liberty Global's subsidiary Liberty Latin America, took over Cable & Wireless Communications' stake in the company, rebranding as +Movil, which was formerly Cable & Wireless' brand for mobile services in the country.[4][5]

* Calling code: +507[1]
* International call prefix: 00[6]
* Land lines: 640,000 lines in use, 90th in the world (2012).[1]
* Mobile cellular: 6.8 million lines, 96th in the world (2012).[1]
* Domestic: Facilities well developed; mobile-cellular telephone subscribership has increased rapidly;[1] point-to-point and point-to-multi-point microwave, fiber-optic and coaxial cable link rural areas;[citation needed] Internet service is available.
* International: Facilities well developed (2011).[1]
* Communications cables: landing point for the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1), the MAYA-1, and PAN-AM submarine cable systems that together provide links to the US and parts of the Caribbean, Central America, and South America (2011).[1]
* Satellite earth stations: 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2011).[1]
* Connected to the Central American Microwave System (2011).[1]

## Internet

[edit]

* Country code (Top level domain): .pa[1]
* Internet users: 1.6 million users (2012), 102nd in the world; 45.2% of the population, 96th in the world.[7][8]
* Fixed broadband: 288,280 subscriptions, 80th in the world; 8.2% of the population, 91st in the world (2012).[7][9]
* Wireless broadband: 526,893 subscriptions, 91st in the world; 15.0% of the population, 81st in the world (2012).[10]
* Internet hosts: 11,022 hosts, 132nd in the world (2012).[1]
* IPv4: 1.6 million addresses allocated, less than 0.05% of the world total, 448 addresses per 1000 people (2012).[11][12]
* Internet Service Providers: 11 ISPs (2005).[needs update]

### Internet censorship and surveillance

[edit]

There are no government restrictions on access to the Internet, but there have been anecdotal reports that the government monitors private e-mails. In a few cases, law enforcement monitoring of suspects’ computers led to arrests for sex crimes.[13]

The constitution provides for freedoms of speech and press, but there have been attempts by the government to impede the media's freedom of expression and silence criticism of public officials. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Inter-American Press Association, the NGO Reporters Without Borders, and other groups criticized government efforts to censor the press. In January 2012 then-president Ricardo Martinelli supported a bill introduced by his party (Cambio Democratico) in the National Assembly to penalize speech that criticized the president and his administration. The bill was withdrawn after debate.[13]

A 2012 poll conducted by the Forum of Journalists concluded that 82 percent of local journalists considered freedom of expression restricted by threats and pressure from President Martinelli's administration. Legal actions brought by officials of the former government remained pending against many journalists. There were nine new judicial actions taken against journalists during 2012, seeking a total of 19.5 million balboas ($19.5 million). At the end of 2012 six cases were pending a decision from the tribunals, and one case was in the investigative stage.[13]

In February 2012 indigenous mining protests blocked the Pan American Highway near Vigui in the province of Veraguas and in San Félix District in the province of Chiriquí. The Panamanian National Police (PNP), as well as demonstrators, threatened local and international journalists covering this major demonstration. The government cut off cell phone and Internet services in Veraguas and Chiriqui Provinces from 3–7 February during protests by the Ngöbe–Buglé indigenous group that were repressed by the PNP and the Panamanian National Border Service (SENAFRONT) patrol units. According to the Public Utilities Authority, it received orders from the National Security Council of the Ministry of the Presidency to restrict communications. Users filed multiple lawsuits charging that the action threatened freedom of communication and information.[13]

The law prohibits arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence, and the government generally respects these prohibitions. Nevertheless, there have been complaints that in some cases law-enforcement authorities failed to follow legal requirements and conducted unauthorized searches. The Public Ministry maintains representatives in each PNP division to approve searches, and numerous searches were approved during 2012. The law also sets forth requirements for conducting wiretap surveillance. It denies prosecutors authority to order wiretaps on their own and requires judicial oversight. During the year several citizens claimed to have been wiretapping targets after making statements critical of the government.[13]

## See also

[edit]

* Panama

## References

[edit]

* This article incorporates public domain material from The World Factbook (2024 ed.). CIA. (Archived 2013 edition.)
* This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Department of State.

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Communications: Panama", World Factbook, U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, 4 December 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2014.
2. ^ "Panamá culminó con éxito venta parcial de INTEL".
3. ^ "Panamá pierde B/. 442 millones por privatización del INTEL". 8 January 2001.
4. ^ "Liberty establecerá centro de operaciones en Panamá | la Prensa Panamá". 4 February 2019.
5. ^ "Liberty Latin America se instala en Panamá".
6. ^ 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.
7. ^ a b Calculated using penetration rate and population data from "Countries and Areas Ranked by Population: 2012" Archived 2017-03-29 at the Wayback Machine, Population data, International Programs, U.S. Census Bureau, retrieved 26 June 2013
8. ^ "Percentage of Individuals using the Internet 2000-2012", International Telecommunication Union (Geneva), June 2013, retrieved 22 June 2013
9. ^ "Fixed (wired)-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012", Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE, International Telecommunication Union. Retrieved on 29 June 2013.
10. ^ "Active mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 inhabitants 2012", Dynamic Report, ITU ITC EYE, International Telecommunication Union. Retrieved on 29 June 2013.
11. ^ Select Formats Archived 2009-05-13 at the Wayback Machine, Country IP Blocks. Accessed on 2 April 2012. Note: Site is said to be updated daily.
12. ^ Population, The World Factbook, United States Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed on 2 April 2012. Note: Data are mostly for 1 July 2012.
13. ^ a b c d e "Panama", Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State, 22 March 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2014.

## External links

[edit]

* Autoridad Nacional de los Servicios Pùblicos (ASEP), National public services authority (in Spanish).

Operators

* Cable & Wireless Panama (in Spanish)
* Cable Onda (in Spanish)
* Digicel Panama (in Spanish)
* Ovnicom (in Spanish)
* PaNETma

* v
* t
* e

Panama television channels

Medcom|

* Telemetro 13
* RPC 4
* OyeTV 7

NEX|

* NEX 21
* +23
* NEXtv 33

TVN Media|

* TVN 2
* TVMAX 9

Others|

* FETV 5
* Sertv 11
* Plus 35
* Enlace 30
* Hossana 37
* QEX-TV 27
* ACP 25

Defunct|

* Panavisión/Telecinco 5
* RCM 21
* MixTv 33
* Tele7
* TVO 21
* ShopTv 33
* MallTV

See also: List of television stations in Central America

* v
* t
* e

Panama articles

History|

* to 1821
* 1821–1903
* 1904–1964
* 1964–1977
* 1977–present
* Separation from Colombia
* Reunification of Gran Colombia

Geography|

* Biota
* Cities
* Darién Gap
* Earthquakes
* Islands
* National parks
* Rivers
* Volcanism

Politics|

* Administrative divisions
* Constitution
* Elections
* Foreign relations
* Law
* Law enforcement
* National Assembly
* Penal system
* Political parties
* Presidents
* Public Forces
* National Police
* SENAN
* SENAFRONT
* SPI

Economy|

* Agriculture
* Banking
* Balboa (currency)
* Mineral industry
* Panama Canal
* Telecommunications
* Tourism
* Transport

Society|

* Crime
* Demographics
* Education
* Health
* LGBT rights
* Religion
* Water supply and sanitation

Culture|

* Cuisine
* Films
* Flag
* Literature
* Media
* Music
* People
* Public holidays

* Outline
* Index

* Category
* Portal

* v
* t
* e

Telecommunications in the Americas

Sovereign
states|

* Antigua and Barbuda
* Argentina
* Bahamas
* Barbados
* Belize
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Canada
* Chile
* Colombia
* Costa Rica
* Cuba
* Dominica
* Dominican Republic
* Ecuador
* El Salvador
* Grenada
* Guatemala
* Guyana
* Haiti
* Honduras
* Jamaica
* Mexico
* Nicaragua
* Panama
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Saint Kitts and Nevis
* Saint Lucia
* Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
* Suriname
* Trinidad and Tobago
* United States
* Uruguay
* Venezuela

Dependencies
and territories|

* Anguilla
* Aruba
* Bermuda
* Bonaire
* British Virgin Islands
* Cayman Islands
* Curaçao
* Falkland Islands
* French Guiana
* Greenland
* Guadeloupe
* Martinique
* Montserrat
* Puerto Rico
* Saba
* Saint Barthélemy
* Saint Martin
* Saint Pierre and Miquelon
* Sint Eustatius
* Sint Maarten
* South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
* Turks and Caicos Islands
* U.S. Virgin Islands

* North America
* Central America
* Caribbean
*   *   *   * South America

* v
* t
* e

Telecommunications

History|

* Beacon
* Broadcasting
* Cable protection system
* Cable TV
* Communications satellite
* Computer network
* Data compression
* audio
* DCT
* image
* video
* Digital media
* Internet video
* online video platform
* social media
* streaming
* Drums
* Edholm's law
* Electrical telegraph
* Fax
* Heliographs
* Hydraulic telegraph
* Information Age
* Information revolution
* Internet
* Mass media
* Mobile phone
* Smartphone
* Optical telecommunication
* Optical telegraphy
* Pager
* Photophone
* Prepaid mobile phone
* Radio
* Radiotelephone
* Satellite communications
* Semaphore
* Phryctoria
* Semiconductor
* device
* MOSFET
* transistor
* Smoke signals
* Telecommunications history
* Telautograph
* Telegraphy
* Teleprinter (teletype)
* Telephone
* The Telephone Cases
* Television
* digital
* streaming
* Undersea telegraph line
* Videotelephony
* Whistled language
* Wireless revolution

Pioneers|

* Nasir Ahmed
* Edwin Howard Armstrong
* Mohamed M. Atalla
* John Logie Baird
* Paul Baran
* John Bardeen
* Alexander Graham Bell
* Emile Berliner
* Tim Berners-Lee
* Francis Blake (telephone)
* Jagadish Chandra Bose
* Charles Bourseul
* Walter Houser Brattain
* Vint Cerf
* Claude Chappe
* Yogen Dalal
* Daniel Davis Jr.
* Donald Davies
* Amos Dolbear
* Thomas Edison
* Lee de Forest
* Philo Farnsworth
* Reginald Fessenden
* Elisha Gray
* Oliver Heaviside
* Robert Hooke
* Erna Schneider Hoover
* Harold Hopkins
* Gardiner Greene Hubbard
* Internet pioneers
* Bob Kahn
* Dawon Kahng
* Charles K. Kao
* Narinder Singh Kapany
* Hedy Lamarr
* Innocenzo Manzetti
* Guglielmo Marconi
* Robert Metcalfe
* Antonio Meucci
* Samuel Morse
* Jun-ichi Nishizawa
* Charles Grafton Page
* Radia Perlman
* Alexander Stepanovich Popov
* Tivadar Puskás
* Johann Philipp Reis
* Claude Shannon
* Almon Brown Strowger
* Henry Sutton
* Charles Sumner Tainter
* Nikola Tesla
* Camille Tissot
* Alfred Vail
* Thomas A. Watson
* Charles Wheatstone
* Vladimir K. Zworykin

Transmission
media|

* Coaxial cable
* Fiber-optic communication
* optical fiber
* Free-space optical communication
* Molecular communication
* Radio waves
* wireless
* Transmission line
* telecommunication circuit

Network topology
and switching|

* Bandwidth
* Links
* Nodes
* terminal
* Network switching
* circuit
* packet
* Telephone exchange

Multiplexing|

* Space-division
* Frequency-division
* Time-division
* Polarization-division
* Orbital angular-momentum
* Code-division

Concepts|

* Communication protocol
* Computer network
* Data transmission
* Store and forward
* Telecommunications equipment

Types of network|

* Cellular network
* Ethernet
* ISDN
* LAN
* Mobile
* NGN
* Public Switched Telephone
* Radio
* Television
* Telex
* UUCP
* WAN
* Wireless network

Notable networks|

* ARPANET
* BITNET
* CYCLADES
* FidoNet
* Internet
* Internet2
* JANET
* NPL network
* Toasternet
* Usenet

Locations|

* Africa
* Americas
* North
* South
* Antarctica
* Asia
* Europe
* Oceania
* (Global telecommunications regulation bodies)

* Telecommunication portal
* Category
* Outline
* Commons

* v
* t
* e

Internet censorship and surveillance by country

Africa|

* Algeria
* Angola
* Botswana
* Burkina Faso
* Burundi
* Cameroon
* Central African Republic
* Chad
* Congo DR
* Congo RO
* Egypt
* Eritrea
* Ethiopia
* Gambia
* Ghana
* Guinea
* Guinea-Bissau
* Ivory Coast
* Kenya
* Lesotho
* Liberia
* Libya
* Madagascar
* Malawi
* Mauritania
* Morocco (Western Sahara)
* Mozambique
* Namibia
* Niger
* Nigeria
* Rwanda
* Senegal
* Sierra Leone
* Somalia
* South Africa
* Sudan
* Swaziland
* Tanzania
* Togo
* Tunisia
* Zambia
* Zimbabwe

Americas|

* Argentina
* Bahamas
* Barbados
* Belize
* Bolivia
* Brazil
* Canada
* Chile
* Colombia
* Costa Rica
* Cuba
* Dominican Republic
* Ecuador
* El Salvador
* Greenland
* Guatemala
* Guyana
* Haiti
* Honduras
* Jamaica
* Mexico
* Nicaragua
* Panama
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Suriname
* Trinidad and Tobago
* United States
* Puerto Rico
* Uruguay
* Venezuela

Asia|

* Afghanistan
* Bahrain
* Bangladesh
* Bhutan
* Cambodia
* China
* East Timor
* Hong Kong
* India
* Indonesia
* Iran
* Iraq
* Israel
* Japan
* Jordan
* Kuwait
* Kyrgyzstan
* Malaysia
* Mongolia
* Myanmar
* Nepal
* North Korea
* Oman
* Pakistan
* Palestinian territories
* Philippines
* Qatar
* Saudi Arabia
* Singapore
* South Korea
* Sri Lanka
* Syria
* Taiwan
* Tajikistan
* Thailand
* Turkmenistan
* United Arab Emirates
* Uzbekistan
* Vietnam
* Yemen

Europe|

* Albania
* Armenia
* Austria
* Azerbaijan
* Belarus
* Belgium
* Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Bulgaria
* Croatia
* Cyprus
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* Estonia
* Finland
* France
* Germany (YouTube video blocking)
* Georgia
* Greece
* Hungary
* Iceland
* Ireland
* Italy
* Kazakhstan
* Latvia
* Lithuania
* Moldova
* Montenegro
* Netherlands
* North Macedonia
* Poland
* Portugal
* Romania
* Russia
* Serbia
* Slovakia
* Slovenia
* Spain
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Turkey
* Ukraine
* United Kingdom

Oceania|

* Australia
* Fiji
* New Zealand
* Papua New Guinea

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