among the world’s lowest. The quality of service remains poor because of inadequate infrastructure, and poverty continues to limit citizens’ internet usage. Military conglomerates are still positioned to benefit from the system and manipulate the telecommunications market. Availability and Ease of Access The number of internet users has notably increased over the past three years, though reported penetration figures differ significantly. 3 The variation may depend on how different sources calculate mobile internet usage. The ITU cited 25 percent internet penetration and 90 percent mobile penetration, citing official figures (see Availability and Ease of Access: Key Indicators), but the majority of mobile handsets are capable of connecting to the internet, according to other reports. 4 Mobile penetration figures may also be inflated because many users own more than one SIM card. The speed and quality of service, however, is generally very poor. Users in most provincial towns have much poorer quality connections than those in major cities, let alone in rural villages. Chronic power outages, service interruptions, and infrastructure issues continue to impede efficient internet usage (see Restrictions on Connectivity). In May, the Ministry of Transport and Communications granted Telenor, Ooredoo and MPT additional spectrum in the 1.8Ghz band, 5 extra capacity that should allow them to provide customers with a “real” 4G experience. 6 Private fixed-line internet connections are prohibitively expensive, though there is significant regional variation. While prices are trending downwards, the cost of service during the coverage period remained comparable to the previous year. The one-time installation cost for a home broadband connection from MPT, the dominant stateowned provider, was US$50, plus an annual fee of US$50, with monthly rates from US$17 to US$80 for speeds from 512 Kpbs to 2.5 Mbps. For faster fiber connections, setup costs range from US$200 to US$1,000; in addition to an annual US$60 fee, monthly service, starting at US$100, can run to thousands of dollars per month for speeds up to 100 Mbps. 7 These costs keep personal internet access far out of reach for the majority. The price of mobile broadband access, by contrast, has plunged. MPT has offered mobile phones since the 1990s, but charged from US$2,000 to $5,000. The price dropped to $200 in 2012 after the political and economic liberalization in 2011. In 2013,