Telecommunication in Laos

Compared to the European Union, Laos is massively lagging behind in the development of telecommunications. Under the country code +856, there were a total of 5.14 million connections in 2018. Among them were 3.66 million million mobile phones, which corresponds to an average of 0.52 per person. In the EU, this figure is 1.2 mobile phones per person.

In the expansion of broadband Internet connections, Laos is back. Around 26% of all residents have access to the Internet. Approximately 1% have their own fast Internet connection, which is at least faster than the previous ISDN (more than 2048 kbit/s).

With about 1,532 webhosts, Laos is below the world's average by population.


Back to overview: Laos

Development of telephone and internet connections

The following diagrams show the development of the different telephone and Internet connections as a percentage of the country's population. Values above 100% mean that on average every inhabitant has more than one subscription.


Spread of internet connections in Laos 1990 - 2017




Broadband internet in Laos 2003 - 2018




Landlines in the years 1990 - 2018




Mobile phones in Laos 1990 - 2018




Spreading in 2018 Laos
Total		 Laos
percent		 EU
Total		 EU
percent
Broadband users 45,379.00 0.64 % 152.50 m 34.13 %
Landlines 1.48 m 20.99 % 171.14 m 38.31 %
Mobile cellulars 3.66 m 51.86 % 545.16 m 122.02 %