Panama - Media

The Instituto Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (INTEL) operates Panama's telephone and telegraph systems. In 1997 there were more than 396,000 mainline telephones, primarily in the Panama City area. The same year, there were about 17,000 cellular phones in use. Telegraph cables link Panama to the US, to Central and South America, and to Europe.

As of 1998 there were 101 AM and 134 FM radio stations and 38 television stations. In 2000 there were 300 radios and 194 television sets for every 1,000 people. The same year, there were six Internet service providers serving 45,000 subscribers.

There were six major daily newspapers in 2002. With their estimated circulations, they are as follows:

	CIRCULATION
El Siglo	42,000
Crítica Libre	40,000
La Prensa	38,000
La Estrella de Panamá	20,000
El Panama America	25,000
Hoy	12,000

The constitution provides for freedom of speech and the press, and the government is said to respect these rights in practice.