Telecommunication in Estonia

Development of telephone and internet connections

With an average download speed of 59.98 Mbit/second for fixed-network broadband internet, Estonia ranks 67th in an international comparison. The upload rate was only 44.13 Mbit/second (42nd place).
In mobile internet, i.e., on tablets and smartphones, Estonia comes 35th with a download speed of 56.26 Mbit/second. The upload speed of around 11 Mbit was only enough for 62nd place.

The Speedtest Global Index published regularly by Ookla is based on several million individual measurements in December 2022 from 178 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 percent mean that, on average, every inhabitant has more than one connection.

Access to the internet in Estonia from 1990 - 2021

Broadband internet in Estonia 2001 - 2021

The expansion of broadband internet in Estonia is roughly on a par with the USA. Around 91 percent of all residents have access to the internet. Around 37 percent have their own fast internet connection, which is at least faster than the former ISDN (more than 256 kbit/s). All fixed connections via DSL, cable or satellite were counted here, but not those connected to the internet via mobile communications. With around 2.1 people per household, this means that around 78.5 percent of all households are equipped with a high-speed internet connection.

The increasing prevalence of cell phones and the simultaneous decline in landline phones clearly indicate a change in Estonia. While the number of landlines has fallen significantly in recent years, the spread of cell phones has risen to 149 cell phone subscriptions per 100 people at last count. Such a clear shift does not occur in all countries, but the trend points in the same direction internationally.