Historical Overview of Internet Development in Azerbaijan Azerbaijan connected to the global internet relatively early in the post-Soviet era, with the first internet connection established in 1994 and public access becoming available by 1996 az-netwatch.org. During the late 1990s and early 2000s, internet services were initially limited and expensive, dominated by dial-up connections and a…
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Historical Development of Internet Infrastructure and Policies Armenia’s journey to modern internet connectivity began in the 1990s with a single dominant telecom operator. After independence in 1991, the national operator ArmenTel (initially part-owned by Greece’s OTE, later by Russia’s VimpelCom) held a legal monopoly over telephony and internet services. This monopoly, granted in 1998, hindered…
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Algeria has seen steady growth in internet usage and infrastructure over the past decade. As of early 2024, the country had about 33.5 million internet users – roughly 72.9% of its population trade.gov. By January 2025, internet penetration reached ~76.9% developingtelecoms.com, indicating that roughly one-quarter of Algerians remain offline. Internet adoption is driven largely by…
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Introduction: Chile has experienced an internet access revolution over the past decade, becoming one of Latin America’s most connected countries. As of early 2024, an astonishing 96.5% of Chilean households have internet access – up from only about 70% in 2015 litoralpress.cl. This dramatic expansion has been fueled by nationwide infrastructure upgrades, aggressive broadband competition, and forward-looking government…
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Introduction Internet connectivity in Brazil has grown tremendously over the past decade, transforming how Brazilians communicate, learn, and do business. Yet, beneath impressive national statistics lies a nuanced digital divide – gaps between rich and poor, urban and rural, and between well-connected regions and those still struggling for basic access. This report provides a comprehensive overview of…
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Introduction and Current Internet Usage in CAR The Central African Republic (CAR) remains one of the least connected nations on earth. As of early 2024, only about 616,600 Central Africans were internet users, roughly 10.6% of the population datareportal.com. In other words, nearly 90% of the country’s ~5.8 million people are offline datareportal.com. Most users access the…
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Introduction Somalia’s internet landscape has evolved rapidly from near-isolation to growing connectivity. In the past, decades of civil conflict and minimal infrastructure left Somalia largely offline. Today, internet access is increasingly recognized as vital for economic recovery, social development, and security. Mobile networks and new fiber-optic links now connect millions of Somalis to the digital…
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Overview The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has transformed into one of the world’s most connected countries, boasting near-universal internet usage (about 99% of the population online) u.ae. Aggressive investments in telecommunications infrastructure – from extensive fiber optic networks to early 5G deployment – have yielded world-leading internet speeds. At the same time, the industry remains…
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General Internet Infrastructure and Major Service Providers Sudan’s internet infrastructure relies on a national fiber-optic backbone and international gateways centered at Port Sudan. The country is connected to several submarine cables, including the East Africa Submarine System (EASSy) and FLAG/FALCON networks, which land at the Red Sea coast en.wikipedia.org. Terrestrial fiber links extend to neighboring…
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Infrastructure and Major Service Providers Yemen’s internet infrastructure is limited and highly centralized. The backbone relies on a few aging international connections and an outdated domestic network. A single subsea cable – the FALCON/FLAG system landing at the Red Sea port of Hodeidah – carries most of Yemen’s bandwidth ukraine.wilsoncenter.org washingtoninstitute.org. In fact, almost all…
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