Botswana access to electricity needed for communication technologies. Charges of Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the country have gone down dramatically and this has further increased access to the Internet. The opening-up of the market also helped as the Botswana Telecommunications Corporation (BTC) no longer has the monopoly of access to the international gateways. ISPs can now offer their own services directly without going through BTC. Broadcasting has also been extended to more – and more remote - rural areas, even though there are still many parts of the country without good reception. But there is still no access to diverse broadcasting. Only the state broadcaster has extended its reach and most of the independent broadcasters are restricted to Greater Gaborone. State-owned Radio Botswana presently reaches 80 percent of the population, with RB2 standing at 65 percent. Botswana Television (BTV) reaches 40 percent of the people terrestrially and there is 100 percent accessibility by satellite. Access to TV is limited, though, because many people can not afford to buy TV sets. There are still no community-based newspapers or radio stations. As the introduction of community radio is currently a highly controversial issue, the NBB has so far not awarded any licences to this sector. The use of cellular phones has vastly increased and the network is reaching most parts of the country. It is estimated that the number of subscribers stands at over 600,000. SCORING: Individual scores: 3, 4, 2, 2, 2, 3, 4, 2, 3 Average score: 2.8 16 (2005 = 2.2) African Media Barometer - Botswana 2007