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 5.85 m connections in 2019. Among them were 4.36 m million mobile phones, which corresponds to an average of 0.61 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
With an average download speed of 42.98 Mbit/second for fixed-network broadband internet, Laos ranked 90th in an international comparison. The upload rate was only 41.29 Mbit/second (49th place). The quality of the Internet, consisting of signal fluctuations (jitter) and latency, is very far ahead at 20th place.In mobile internet, i.e. on tablets and smartphones, Laos comes 81st with a download speed of 30.33 Mbit/second. The upload speed of around 15 Mbit was only enough for 42nd place.
The "Speedtest Global Index" published regularly by Ookla is based on several million individual measurements in Mai 2021 from 180 countries.
The following diagrams show the development of the various 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 connection.
Access to the Internet in Laos from 1990 - 2019
Broadband internet in Laos 2003 - 2019
Landlines 1990 - 2019
Mobile phones 1990 - 2019
| Distribution in 2019 | Laos Total | Laos percent | EU Total | EU percent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internet users | 1.83 m | 25.51 % | 382.04 m | 85.43 % |
| Broadband users | 76,280.00 | 1.06 % | 158.30 m | 35.40 % |
| Landlines | 1.49 m | 20.79 % | 165.48 m | 37.00 % |
| Mobile cellulars | 4.36 m | 60.84 % | 542.60 m | 121.33 % |