All telephone, telegraph, and teletype service is provided by the Bahamas Telecommunications Corp. In 1997, 96,000 mainline telephones were in service, with automatic equipment in use on the major islands. The same year, there were about 6,152 cellular phones in use. A submarine cable connects New Providence with Florida, and direct dialing to the US has been available since 1971.
In 2001, there were six radio stations, with only one owned and operated by the government. The only television station, which was established in 1996, is state-owned. In 1997 there were 215,000 radios and 67,000 television sets in use nationwide.
Three daily newspapers are published in the country. The Nassau Daily Tribune had a circulation of 12,000 in 2002 while the The Nassau Guardian had a circulation of 14,100. The daily Freeport News has a circulation of 4,000. All three papers are privately owned. There are also several weekly papers.
The government is said to respect the constitution's provisions for freedom of speech and press.
Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic: