Telecommunications in Iceland

Iceland has a diversified communications market that consists of multiple ISP, NSP, and cellular companies. These companies provider Internet, telephony, and video services either unbundled or bundled in triple-play offerings via broadband and wireless networks.

Services

Telephones

Fixed telephones

In Iceland, there are 196,984 (2001) fixed line telephones in use. The trunk network consists of coaxial and fiber optic cables and microwave radio relay links. Iceland shares the Inmarsat earth station with the other Nordic countries, and is connected to two Intelsats in the Atlantic Ocean. Iceland is connected to the CANTAT-3 and FARICE-1 submarine cables.

Mobile telephones

There are 325,037 (308,160 GSM, 16,877 NMT) mobile phones in use (2007).

Broadband

There are 88,253 xDSL subscriber connections as of June 30 2007

Numbering

There are no area codes in Iceland, and all telephone numbers have seven digits. The international dialing code is +354. Due to the Icelandic naming system, people are listed by their first name in the telephone directory, and not by their last name (which is usually patronym, or, rarely, a matronym).

Television and radio

Radio

As of 1998 there are 3 AM, 70 FM (including repeaters), and 1 shortwave radio stations, and 260,000 radios.

Television

As of 1997, there are 14 (plus 156 low-power repeaters) television stations and 98,000 television sets.

Internet

As of 2001, there are 20 ISPs in Iceland, and 220,000 Internet users. The top-level domain is .is.

Internet Exchange

Iceland has an Internet Exhchange called the Reykjavik Internet Exchange or the http://www.rix.is/ RIX

Submarine Cables

There are three active submarine cable systems in Iceland. Tele Greenland and it's Greenland Connect system, eFarice and it's Farice1 system, and Tata Communications CANTAT-3 system. One system, DANICE, is currently under construction and slated for completion in the third quarter of 2009. The operational Farice-1 system has a design capacity of 720 Gb/s. The Danice system has a design capacity of 5.1 Tb/s. The operational Greenland Connect System has a design capacity of 1.9 Tb/s.

The CANTAT-3 system has a capacity of 5 Gb/s and is near the end of its useful life and considered mostly irrelevant in contrast to the Farice-1, Greenland Connect and DANICE systems.

Backhaul Providers

There are two backhaul providers in Iceland. One is named Míla (mi´la) and is a subsidiary of the LEC, Simminn. The other is an entity namedFjarski and is an entity of the Landsvirkjun Power Company. The Mila backhaul routes are north and south, while the Fjarski backhaul route mainly through the mid section of the country. The Mila routes offer transit to both cable landing stations. The Fjarski network offers access to the Farice1 station, and a route through the middle of the country. The middle route is significant because it offers a route around geological hazards related to the glaciers.

Data Centers

There are no credible data centers currently operating in Iceland. There are major initiatives to bring data centers to Iceland. Two operators, Greenstone and Verne Global, have announced plans to develop datacenters in Iceland.

References

• "New submarine cable". Invest in Iceland Agency. October 3, 2007. http://www.invest.is/news/352/default.aspx. Retrieved 2008-07-27. 

• Hannigan, Martin (2009-02-13). "Update on North Atlantic Networks". UKNOF. http://www.uknof.org.uk/uknof12/Hanningan-Undersea.pdf. Retrieved 2009-03-14. 

External links

• Post and Telecom Administration in Iceland