Aruba
general assessment: NA
domestic: more than adequate
international: 1 submarine cable to Sint Maarten (Netherlands
Antilles); extensive interisland microwave radio relay links
Australia
general assessment: excellent domestic and international
service
domestic: domestic satellite system; much use of radiotelephone in
areas of low population density; rapid growth of mobile cellular
telephones
international: submarine cables to New Zealand, Papua New Guinea,
and Indonesia; satellite earth stations - 10 Intelsat (4 Indian
Ocean and 6 Pacific Ocean), 2 Inmarsat (Indian and Pacific Ocean
regions) (1998)
Austria
general assessment: highly developed and efficient
domestic: there are 48 main lines for every 100 persons; the fiber
optic net is very extensive; all telephone applications and Internet
services are available
international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic
Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Eutelsat; in addition, there are
about 600 VSAT (very small aperture terminals) (2002)
Azerbaijan
general assessment: inadequate; requires considerable
expansion and modernization; teledensity of 10 main lines per 100
persons is low (2002)
domestic: the majority of telephones are in Baku and other
industrial centers - about 700 villages still without public
telephone service; satellite service connects Baku to a modern
switch in its exclave of Naxcivan
international: the old Soviet system of cable and microwave is still
serviceable; a satellite connection to Turkey enables Baku to reach
about 200 additional countries, some of which are directly connected
to Baku by satellite providers other than Turkey (1997)
Bahamas, The
general assessment: modern facilities
domestic: totally automatic system; highly developed
international: tropospheric scatter and submarine cable to Florida;
3 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat
(Atlantic Ocean) (1997)
Bahrain
general assessment: modern system
domestic: modern fiber-optic integrated services; digital network
with rapidly growing use of mobile cellular telephones
international: tropospheric scatter to Qatar and UAE; microwave
radio relay to Saudi Arabia; submarine cable to Qatar, UAE, and
Saudi Arabia; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic
Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat (1997)
Bangladesh
general assessment: totally inadequate for a modern
country
domestic: modernizing; introducing digital systems; trunk systems
include VHF and UHF microwave radio relay links, and some
fiber-optic cable in cities
international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Indian Ocean);
international radiotelephone communications and landline service to
neighboring countries (2000)
Barbados
general assessment: NA
domestic: island-wide automatic telephone system
international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat (Atlantic
Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Trinidad and Saint Lucia
Belarus
general assessment: the Ministry of Telecommunications
controls all telecommunications through its carrier (a joint stock
company) Beltelcom which is a monopoly
domestic: local - Minsk has a digital metropolitan network and a
cellular NMT-450 network; waiting lists for telephones are long;
local service outside Minsk is neglected and poor; intercity -
Belarus has a partly developed fiber-optic backbone system presently
serving at least 13 major cities (1998); Belarus's fiber optics form
synchronous digital hierarchy rings through other countries'
systems; an inadequate analog system remains operational
international: Belarus is a member of the Trans-European Line (TEL),
Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line, and has access to the
Trans-Siberia Line (TSL); three fiber-optic segments provide
connectivity to Latvia, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine; worldwide
service is available to Belarus through this infrastructure;
additional analog lines to Russia; Intelsat, Eutelsat, and
Intersputnik earth stations
Belgium
general assessment: highly developed, technologically
advanced, and completely automated domestic and international
telephone and telegraph facilities
domestic: nationwide cellular telephone system; extensive cable
network; limited microwave radio relay network
international: 5 submarine cables; satellite earth stations - 2
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Eutelsat