Telecommunications in the Dominican Republic include radio, television, fixed and mobile telephones, and the Internet.
Tricom, S.A, WIND Telecom, S.A., Viva (network operator), and Claro Codetel provide television services digitally, with channels from Latin America and elsewhere in the world.
Projects to extend Wi-Fi (wireless internet) hot spots have been undertaken in Santo Domingo.
Since 2015 the country has been actively extending its fiber optics network, to provide faster and more reliable internet to business and private users.
[1] The Instituto Dominicano De Telecomunicaciones (INDOTEL) regulates and supervises the development of the country's telecommunications market.
Also the ongoing installation of a Fiber-Optic network structure in the National District and the City of Santiago (second largest in the country) will force other competitors into upgrading theirs to be able to compete in the markets they now lead.
Individuals and groups are generally able to criticize the government publicly and privately without reprisal, although there have been incidents in which authorities intimidated journalists or other news professionals.
Local journalists engage in self-censorship, particularly when coverage could adversely affect the economic or political interests of media owners.