SECTOR 2 A second (commercial) television station was launched in April 2012 and is to carry mainly programming (not news!) provided by the South African private TV company e.tv. Free-to-air channels available on satellite at a once off cost of US$60 for the decoder are a popular alternative to ZBC. Zimbabweans able to afford this preferably watch Botswana TV, religious channels and South African stations. Radio There is only one broadcasting operator on air: ZBC. It runs four stations on FM. Radio stations which work outside the country and beam their signals into Zimbabwe via short or medium wave are SW Radio Africa, Studio 7, Voice of the People (VOP) and Community Radio Zimbabwe. Internet The availability of internet has increased dramatically and the competition between 12 Internet Access Providers at present has pushed prices down. Dongles that allow access to the internet are available at a once off cost of US$50 to US$100 and a monthly subscription of US$18 to US$30. There are numerous internet cafes around the country which are extremely popular especially with the younger generation. The increase in internet access can also be linked to mobile phone usage. Cellphone coverage is still not adequate but the cost has gone down dramatically. Sim cards are now available at US$1 each, down from US$100 a few years ago. The cheapest phone made in China sells at US$15. There are 6 million registered users and mobile phone penetration stands at 60 per cent. People tend to access internet over their phones if these are internet capable. 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: 2.9 (2010: 2.1; 2008: 2.3; 2006:1.3) AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER ZIMBABWE 2012 27