Eighty percent of Dominicans have a phone, whether mobile or a LAN line. According to the Dominican Telecommunications Institute (INDOTEL) in the year 2000 there were 1.6 million phone lines. Fast-forward to 2009 and this number has increased to more than 8 million. According to the INDOTEL the DR’s telecommunications sector grew by 21.4% during the first three months of 2009.