All postal and telecommunications services are controlled by the government. There were 500,000 mainline telephones in use in 2000, with an additional 283,000 cellular phones in use throughout the country. In 1999, Bangladesh had 12 AM and 12 FM radio broadcasting stations and 15 television stations, which were accessible to about 90% of the population. Color television was introduced in 1980. In 2000, there were 49 radios and 7 television sets for every 1,000 people. The same year, there were ten Internet service providers serving about 30,000 subscribers.
The major Bengali daily newspapers (with 2002 circulations), all in Dhaka, are Ittefaq (200,000), Dainik Inqilab (180,000), Sangbad (71,050), Dainik Bangla (65,000), and Dainik Sangram (45,000). The largest English dailies, also in Dhaka, are the Bangladesh Observer (43,000), Bangladesh Times (35,000), and Daily Star (30,000).
The government is said, with some exceptions, to generally respect freedom of speech and press. On occasion, the government has censored criticism of Islam.
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