SECTOR 2 that 3.9 million Malawians have mobile phones, which is about one quarter of the population. Mobile phones are relatively cheap in Malawi, around K4,000 (US$16). There are four mobile phone companies in Malawi: Airtel, Telecom Networks Malawi (TNM), Access and MTL.The ITU 2011 statistics show that 3.33 percent of the population have access to the internet, but just 0.06 percent of the population have fixed broadband subscriptions. The ITU has described Malawian internet access as one of the most expensive in the world. As of December 2011, there were 112,100 Facebook users in Malawi, a 0.7 percent penetration rate. Internet access is also provided through internet cafés in Malawi, and telecentres, which are operated by the state through the Ministry of Information in some selected rural areas, and elsewhere by the private sector and through mobile network providers, Airtel and TNM. The lack of recent audience research in Malawi makes comprehensive analysis of this sector difficult, as objective and comprehensive readership and viewership statistics are unknown. 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: 3.6 (2010 = 2.5; 2008 = 3.0; 2006 = 2.6) 2.2 Citizens’ access to domestic and international media sources is not restricted by state authorities. Generally, there are no state restrictions to domestic and international media sources. “In this technologically advanced era, with access to the internet, the authority of the Censorship and Classification Board is being diminished and the board is becoming irrelevant.” 28 AFRICAN MEDIA BAROMETER MALAWI 2012