Economy, Communications

The government telephone service owns and operates long-distance lines, but many of the local services in Denmark are operated by private companies. Radio and television programs are produced by the state-owned Radio Denmark, which operates three national radio channels and a national television network. Programs on these channels are commercial-free, and are supported by licensing fees from set owners. There is also a commercial television network, which began broadcasting in 1988. Denmark had 36 major daily newspapers in 1998, with a combined circulation of 1.6 million.