Until 2011, the state-owned operator, Eswatini Posts and Telecommunications (EPTC), also acted as the industry regulator and had a stake in the country's sole mobile network, in partnership with South Africa's MTN Group.
In a bid to enter the mobile market independently, SPTC transferred its stake in MTN and the regulatory authority to the government.
ADSL was introduced in 2008 and 3G mobile broadband services in 2011, but development of the sector has been hampered by the limited fixed-line infrastructure and a lack of competition in the access and backbone network.
A reduction of the high cost of international bandwidth is expected from the several new submarine fibre optic cables that have reached the region recently.
[10] In March 2012, the Times of Swaziland reported that a number of senators asked that the government take legal action against individuals who criticized King Mswati III on social networking sites.