Kazakhstan
general assessment: service is poor; equipment antiquated
domestic: intercity by landline and microwave radio relay; mobile
cellular systems are available in most of Kazakhstan
international: country code - 7; international traffic with other
former Soviet republics and China carried by landline and microwave
radio relay and with other countries by satellite and by the
Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic cable; satellite earth stations
- 2 Intelsat
Kenya
general assessment: unreliable; little attempt to modernize
except for service to business
domestic: trunks are primarily microwave radio relay; business data
commonly transferred by a very small aperture terminal (VSAT) system
international: country code - 254; satellite earth stations - 4
Intelsat
Kiribati
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA
international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
note: country code - 686; Kiribati is being linked to the Pacific
Ocean Cooperative Telecommunications Network, which should improve
telephone service
Korea, North
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA
international: country code - 850; satellite earth stations - 1
Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Russian (Indian Ocean region); other
international connections through Moscow and Beijing
Korea, South
general assessment: excellent domestic and
international services
domestic: NA
international: country code - 82; fiber-optic submarine cable to
China; the Russia-Korea-Japan submarine cable; satellite earth
stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) and 1
Inmarsat (Pacific Ocean region)
Kuwait
general assessment: the quality of service is excellent
domestic: new telephone exchanges provide a large capacity for new
subscribers; trunk traffic is carried by microwave radio relay,
coaxial cable, and open-wire and fiber-optic cable; a cellular
telephone system operates throughout Kuwait, and the country is well
supplied with pay telephones
international: country code - 965; coaxial cable and microwave radio
relay to Saudi Arabia; linked to Bahrain, Qatar, UAE via the
Fiber-Optic Gulf (FOG) cable; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat
(1 Atlantic Ocean, 2 Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean), and
2 Arabsat
Kyrgyzstan
general assessment: poorly developed; about 100,000
unsatisfied applications for household telephones
domestic: principally microwave radio relay; one cellular provider,
probably limited to Bishkek region
international: country code - 996; connections with other CIS
countries by landline or microwave radio relay and with other
countries by leased connections with Moscow international gateway
switch and by satellite; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik
and 1 Intelsat; connected internationally by the Trans-Asia-Europe
(TAE) fiber-optic line
Laos
general assessment: service to general public is poor but
improving with over 20,000 telephones currently in service and an
additional 48,000 expected by 2001; the government relies on a
radiotelephone network to communicate with remote areas
domestic: radiotelephone communications
international: country code - 856; satellite earth station - 1
Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region)
Latvia
general assessment: inadequate, but is being modernized to
provide an international capability independent of the Moscow
international switch; more facilities are being installed for
individual use
domestic: expansion underway in intercity trunk line connections,
rural exchanges, and mobile systems; still many unsatisfied
subscriber applications
international: country code - 371; international connections are now
available via cable and a satellite earth station at Riga, enabling
direct connections for most calls (1998)
Lebanon
general assessment: telecommunications system severely
damaged by civil war; rebuilding well underway
domestic: primarily microwave radio relay and cable
international: country code - 961; 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