The communication system of New Zealand is on par with the rest of the world and quite advanced for an industrialized nation. The telephone industry is modern, with 1.92 million main lines and 3.6 million mobile cellular lines in use as of 2000 and 2005, respectively. There are several network operators, including CDMA, EV-DO, GSM, HSDPA, and UMTS systems.
The domestic telephone system is excellent, with individual lines easily available to 99% of residents. There are also many electronic exchanges, optical fiber, and microwave links connecting several cities. Additionally, there are many submarine optical fiber cables linking the North Island and South Island.
Radio broadcast stations include AM 124, FM 290, and shortwave 4, with approximately 3.75 million radios in use. Television broadcast stations comprise 41 stations that transmit four nationwide free-to-air networks and three nationwide UHF pay-TV networks. The stations also broadcast a few regional or local single-transmitter stations.
There are 36 internet service providers in New Zealand, and the total number of internet users was 2.11 million according to the 2002 count.