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
Lesotho
general assessment: rudimentary system
domestic: consists of a modest but growing number of landlines, a
small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone
communication system; a cellular mobile telephone system is growing
international: country code - 266; satellite earth station - 1
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Liberia
general assessment: the limited services available are found
almost exclusively in the capital Monrovia
domestic: fully automatic system with very low density of .21 fixed
mainlines per 100 persons; limited wireless service available
international: country code - 231; 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: country code - 218; 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: country code - 423; 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: country code - 370; landline connections to Latvia
and Poland; major international connections to Denmark, Sweden, and
Norway by submarine cable for further transmission by satellite