Connecting São Tomé and Príncipe: Internet Access in 2025 – Infrastructure, Challenges, and Opportunities
As of January 2025, internet penetration stands at 61.5% of the population (about 146,000 online) with around 170,000 active mobile connections. The Africa Coast to Europe (ACE) submarine cable landed in São Tomé in 2012–2013, with its final southern segment completed in 2021, increasing international bandwidth from about 50 Mbps to over 4,500 Mbps. CST accounts for about 95% of internet subscriptions, and Unitel STP entered the market in 2014 after a unified license granted in 2013 for $1.62 million. Unitel STP launched the first 4G LTE service in May 2023, and by 2025 4G is available in the capital
