SECTOR 2 It is used by the rich and poor alike, by the young and adults. Part of the reason is the easy availability of cheap handsets from china. Congo also has one of the lowest telephone rates in the sub-region, estimated at less than CFAF 50 (0,08 Euro) per minute. International calls can be as cheap as CFAF 100 (0,15 Euro) per minutes. Competition has helped bring down prices. With only four million people8, Congo has four mobile telephone operators9. Scores: Individual scores: 1 Country does not meet indicator 2 Country meets only a few aspects of indicator 3 Country meets some aspects of indicator 4 Country meets most aspects of indicator 5 Country meets all aspects of the indicator Average score: 2.5 2.2 Citizens’ access to domestic and international media sources is not restricted by state authorities. The country’s big cities are awash with national and international media outlets. Brazzaville, which has the city of Kinshasa just on the other side of the River Congo, receives signals from several radio and TV stations based in the Democratic Republic of Congo. RFI and BBC Afrique all have relay transmitters of Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire. International news magazines like Jeune Afrique are sold and widely read in the big cities, particularly by members of the ruling class. Even though authorities are evidently uneasy with the potential influence of a free media, they make no effort to legally limit access to these media. Instead, the state does not seem to be interested in increasing access with better backbone infrastructure. 8 9 88 Loi N° 15- 2001 du 31 Décembre 2001 relative au pluralisme dans l’Audiovisuel public Loi N° 021/89du 14 Novembre 1989 portant Refonte du statut Général de la Fonction Publique AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO 2013