Telecommunications in Tierrador

The telecommunications in Tierrador are some of the most advanced telecommunications systems in the world. It provides modern and efficient service to both rural and urban areas throughout the country, which is served by an extensive system of automatic telephone exchanges. Since the mid-2000s, these exchanges have been mostly connected by a network of fiber-optic cables and a domestic satellite system. Communications are also connected by systems of microwave radio relay and coaxial cable. Tierrador's cellular service is among one of the most accessible in the world, expanding even to the most remote areas of the country, with recent extensive capital expenditures allowing for the areas to rapidly modernize with advanced technology.

Administrative duties for Tierradorian telecommunications is split between the HDB and IUC. It has one of the highest mobile phone usage rates in the world, and telecommunications as a whole is a key component in Tierrador's foreign influence, with many Tierradorian communications companies offering services to the country's immediate sphere of influence, along with some operations in Vallos and Audonia. Historically, Tierradorian telecommunications have been dominated by three main companies; Tierrador Telecom, TK Group, and more recently, Orixtal Communications. Today, there are five major telecommunications companies which operate in Tierrador; the three aforementioned companies plus PrairieLink and TerraTel. Platinum Telecom formerly operated in Tierrador starting in 2016 with majority data-only services for its customers, however the company would go bankrupt and would be bought out by Alstinian provider AT&C. As Tierradorian commerce laws disallow foreign ownership of more than a 20% stake in Tierradorian-based companies, Platinum Telecom will be moved to Alstin in order to comply with these laws.

History

Initial communications in Tierrador were believed to have begun in 1824, when the country's first telegraph line running from Taisgol to Qabór. Tierrador had recently seen a government change, with the House of Havqanoq restoring the Qabóri Woqalate after less than a century of the Takosenic era of the country. Following the end of the Takosenic Wars, the country began to resume its rapid industrialization, including running the aforementioned telegraph line down the country's Songun coast. In 1827, Tierrador Telecom was founded as the Tierrador Telegraph Company, and was the sole regulatory agency for the already established Qabór-Taisgol telegraph line. In 1851, TTC had overseen the establishment of several more telegraph lines throughout Tierrador, and most population centers throughout the country were connected via telegraph. In 1870, the first undersea telegraph connections were laid, which ran from Sačia, Aracadó to the Republic of Tawakee, connecting the mainland with the closely-related foreign country via telegraph.

While mainland Tierrador had developed advanced telegraphy infrastructure, which connected the country in a quick and easy manner, its overseas possessions were still lacking in necessary infrastructure. Sonaxa, despite it being relatively close to the mainland, had not seen much telegraph infrastructure until the late 1880s, due to its very low population being compacted in one major city, Oqaba. Despite this, residents of Sonaxa still wanted simple and efficient communications with the mainland, so another underseas line was laid from Oqaba to Portó Lôqela, Auqali, which in turn was connected with a major telegraph office in Ambaqwe. Recently-acquired colonies of Teschego and the Saukhin Islands were in a similar boat, however their combined population at the time was much lower than that of Sonaxa's, and they were quite further from the mainland. Therefore, an underseas telegraph line connecting both possessions was still considered impractical due to the deep Ocean of Cathay separating them from the mainland, at least until the 1890s, when a line connecting Oqaba with Tataía, Teschego was placed by TTC.

The introduction of the telephone in Tierrador would become the main catalyst behind the telegraph's downfall throughout South Crona. In 1939, during the Second Great War, the TTC began to run telephone lines in parallels to the already existing telegraph lines. The newly-advanced technology made it a lot easier for the telephone lines to be ran cross-country, and even to Teschego and the Saukhins, in just under a couple of years, as opposed to the decades-long telegraph operations during the 19th century. In 1941, TTC changed its name to Tierrador Telephone, and had divided Tierrador, along with Ceylonia and Porlos, into several Telephone Plan Areas, which would become the modern-day area codes of the South Cronan numbering plan.

Towards the mid-20th century, the telecommunications industry in Tierrador began to rapidly advance. Yedlin Telecom (now Orixtal Communications), was founded in 1964, and served as a main competitor to Tierrador Telephone's telecommunications monopoly. Orixtal began to expand telephone services to remote mountainous areas in both western and overseas Tierrador. Before the establishment of the HDB in 1971, telephones in Tierrador were mostly controlled by the Imperial Post Office and the IUC. When the HDB was established via Crown Order by Pedro Kintón in 1971, the Tierradorian numbering plan was officially transferred to its authority, while keeping some authority with the IUC.

In 1992, the first mobile phone operations were implemented throughout South Crona, beginning a new wave of telecommunications in the region. Orixtal, Tierrador Telecom, and the newly-created TK Group began to compete for mobile and internet services for the region. By the end of 1993, there were over 1.2 million combined customers using mobile plans with all three companies, with TK Group having the largest customer base since mobile plans were their specialty. In 1996, TK Group partnered with Palmtree Electronics in an attempt to develop the world's first 3G network. In 2001, they would accomplish this feat, beginning the first major 3G network in Tierrador, Porlos, Ceylonia, and Alstin.

On October 27, 2009, Orixtal Communications opened South Crona's first 4G network, and would later release LTE services that same year. By 2013, Tierrador's telecommunications advancements would also reach Istrenya and Malentina, whose infrastructure had been lacking throughout their histories. In 2019, Orixtal, TK Group, PrairieLink, and Tierrador Telecom launched 5G networks in South Crona. All four companies have also developed and released 6G networks, and the service currently covers all of Tierrador, at least 95% of both Ceylonia and Porlos, at least 40% of Istrenya, and at least 10% of Malentina. As of 2036, most mobile phone users are under a 6G plan with one of the aforementioned companies.

Regulations

Telecommunications in Tierrador have historically been controlled by the Heartland Development Board. However, the Imperial Utilities Commission has slowly begun to take full control while the HDB moves its main administrative operations to Tierrador's rural development, which had been its sole purpose since its creation. Several legislations by the Qangreč have been passed since the industry became a big deal throughout Tierrador, including the following:

• Touris Act of 1909, which outlined the first regulations for radio broadcasting.
• Imperial Utilities Act of 1937, which created the IUC as a regulatory body for radio, telegraph, and telephone services.
• Television Act of 1952, which placed the IUC as the regulatory body for television broadcasting
• Telecommunications Act of 1964, which eliminated Tierrador Telephone's monopoly over the industry and allowed for Yedlin Telecom to commence telephone operations. This act was passed in response to the ruling of the Tierrador Telephone v. The Commonwealth of Telohakee (1963) case in the Tribunal Court, which challenged Tierrador Telephone's monopoly over Telohakee's communications industry.
• Telephone Privacy Act of 1983, which outlined several new restrictions and limitations for telemarketers.
• Internet Privacy Act of 1998, which outlined restrictions for online collections of personal information of persons or entities under Tierradorian and Porlosi jurisdiction.
• Digital Copyright Act of 2001, which criminalized technologies meant to circumvent copyright laws outlined in the Copyright Act of 1962.
• Tierrador Online Act of 2002, which assigned Tierrador Online responsible for innovations in South Cronan internet, per the company's 2000 request.

Telephony

The telephony system in Tierrador features a large system of fiber-optic, coaxial, microwave-relay, and satellite systems which establish an extensive modern networks system across mainland and overseas Tierrador. In recent developments, the system had also been expanded to Ceylonia, Porlos, Istrenya, and Malentina, though in parallels with those countries' respective telephony systems. Historically, the country's telephony system was connected via several Central Operating Offices, where human operators would connect one individual's phone call with another. However, as the system became more advanced, it eventually switched to automated digital telephone exchanges. Currrently, Tierrador's fixed-line telecommunications market is dominated by Orixtal, Tierrador Telecom, TK Group, and PrairieLink, however.

As of 2036, Tierrador has 188 million mobile cellular units in use and 96 million main line telephone services, with 92% of users subscribed to the four aforementioned telecommunications providers.

Radio

Radio broadcasting has existed in Tierrador since the late 1910s, and was a rapidly-advancing industry throughout the country. In 1927, Qabór Radio (now the Qabóri Broadcasting Company) was established as the main nationwide radio broadcaster, and had propelled the radio industry as the main form of broadcasting in South Crona, though for a short time. The rise of television broadcasting in the 1950s and 1960s would eventually replace radio as the main form of communications within the region. Despite this, radio broadcasting still remained as a secondary communications method for a long time. Most frequencies are used by commercial radio stations, however, the lower frequencies (88.1–92.1 MHz) are reserved for government and non-profit stations. The Imperial Government subsidizes non-profit radio programming for domestic purposes, and also operates some radio stations overseas.

Internet

Internet in Tierrador has existed since the service had begun operations. The country was one of the first to develop broadband, or high-speed internet, and now, it is relatively easy to access throughout South Crona at an inexpensive price. Internet in Tierrador had always been somewhat provided by the private sector, as it became widespread shortly after the Walakee State's rollbacks of commerce laws, which allowed for private markets to operate without partial or total government intervention. However, some government regulations are put in place to ensure competition between the various Internet service providers of the country. Internet costs in Tierrador are regarded as some of the lowest in Crona, while also providing some of the highest internet connection speeds in the world. As of 2036, 208 million Tierradorians use the internet, via subscriptions to various ISPs, including Orixtal, Tierrador Telecom, TK Group, PrairieLink, and several other smaller providers.

In recent years, South Crona has seen a rise in 2-3Gbit/s connection speeds, meant to replace the 1.5Gbit/s connection speed services which were developed in the mid-2020s. Taisgol, Qabór, Ominasky, Ambaqwe, Naqili, and Santa Maria are some cities in South Crona that have average internet download speeds of 2.5Gbit/s, the highest in the region. Recently, advancements in broadband technology in Teschego and the Saukhin Islands have allowed for those areas to "catch up" with the mainland's internet speeds. Currently, 94.8% of Tierradorians own a smartphone. Internet top-level domains for Tierrador include .ti, however, most Tierradorian-based organizations use generic top-level domains, including .com, .net, .org, etc. Some sponsored TLDs, including .tol and .crona, are also used by Tierradorian-based organizations.

International ventures

The Tierradorian telecommunications industry is also very apparent in foreign countries, whether by light influence through corporate operations in foreign countries to foreign infrastructural funding, Tierrador has made itself known as a significant global telecommunications influencer. Most international infrastructure developments in Ceylonia, Istrenya, Malentina, Porlos, Umardwal, and Tapakdore are established with massive amounts of funding by the Teklan. In most other cases, Tierradorian ISPs and mobile providers, such as Orixtal and PrairieLink, commence operations in the aforementioned countries, along with most of Vallos and Timbia. VallTell, based in Piedratorres, Almadaria, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Orixtal, which offers cellular and internet services in the Vallos subcontinent. This is excluding Castadilla, however, as they are served Telebloques, a Castadillaan-based subsidiary of VallTell.