Lebanon
general assessment: telecommunications system severely
damaged by civil war; rebuilding well underway
domestic: primarily microwave radio relay and cable
international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean
and 1 Atlantic Ocean) (erratic operations); coaxial cable to Syria;
microwave radio relay to Syria but inoperable beyond Syria to
Jordan; 3 submarine coaxial cables
Lesotho
general assessment: rudimentary system
domestic: consists of a few landlines, a small microwave radio relay
system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system; a cellular
mobile telephone system is growing
international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Liberia
general assessment: telephone and telegraph service via
microwave radio relay network; main center is Monrovia
domestic: NA
international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Libya
general assessment: telecommunications system is being
modernized; mobile cellular telephone system became operational in
1996
domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, cellular,
tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth
stations
international: satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat, NA Arabsat,
and NA Intersputnik; submarine cables to France and Italy; microwave
radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt; tropospheric scatter to Greece;
participant in Medarabtel (1999)
Liechtenstein
general assessment: automatic telephone system
domestic: NA
international: linked to Swiss networks by cable and microwave radio
relay
Lithuania
general assessment: inadequate, but is being modernized to
provide an improved international capability and better residential
access
domestic: a national, fiber-optic cable, interurban, trunk system is
nearing completion; rural exchanges are being improved and expanded;
mobile cellular systems are being installed; access to the Internet
is available; still many unsatisfied telephone subscriber
applications
international: landline connections to Latvia and Poland; major
international connections to Denmark, Sweden, and Norway by
submarine cable for further transmission by satellite
Luxembourg
general assessment: highly developed, completely
automated and efficient system, mainly buried cables
domestic: nationwide cellular telephone system; buried cable
international: 3 channels leased on TAT-6 coaxial submarine cable
(Europe to North America)
Macau
general assessment: fairly modern communication facilities
maintained for domestic and international services
domestic: NA
international: HF radiotelephone communication facility; access to
international communications carriers provided via Hong Kong and
China; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA
international: NA
Madagascar
general assessment: system is above average for the region
domestic: open-wire lines, coaxial cables, microwave radio relay,
and tropospheric scatter links connect regions
international: submarine cable to Bahrain; satellite earth stations
- 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean
region)