Tonga
general assessment: competition between Tonga
Telecommunications Corporation (TCC) and Shoreline Communications
Tonga (SCT) is accelerating expansion of telecommunications; SCT
recently granted authority to develop high-speed digital service for
telephone, Internet, and television
domestic: combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity
roughly 40 telephones per 100 persons; fully automatic switched
network
international: country code - 676; satellite earth station - 1
Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) (2004)
Trinidad and Tobago
general assessment: excellent international
service; good local service
domestic: mobile-cellular teledensity exceeds 125 telephones per 100
persons
international: country code - 1-868; submarine cable systems provide
connectivity to US and parts of the Caribbean and South America;
satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric
scatter to Barbados and Guyana
Tunisia
general assessment: above the African average and continuing
to be upgraded; key centers are Sfax, Sousse, Bizerte, and Tunis;
Internet access available
domestic: in an effort jumpstart expansion of the fixed-line
network, the government has awarded a concession to build and
operate a VSAT network with international connectivity; competition
between the two mobile-cellular service providers has resulted in
lower activation and usage charges and a strong surge in
subscribership; expansion of mobile-cellular services to include
multimedia messaging and e-mail and Internet to mobile phone
services also leading to a surge in subscribership; overall
fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity is about 90 telephones
per 100 persons
international: country code - 216; a landing point for the
SEA-ME-WE-4 submarine cable system that provides links to Europe,
Middle East, and Asia; satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat
(Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; coaxial cable and microwave radio
relay to Algeria and Libya; participant in Medarabtel; 2
international gateway digital switches
Turkey
general assessment: undergoing rapid modernization and
expansion especially with cellular telephones
domestic: additional digital exchanges are permitting a rapid
increase in subscribers; the construction of a network of
technologically advanced intercity trunk lines, using both
fiber-optic cable and digital microwave radio relay, is facilitating
communication between urban centers; remote areas are reached by a
domestic satellite system; the number of subscribers to
mobile-cellular telephone service is growing rapidly
international: country code - 90; international service is provided
by the SEA-ME-WE-3 submarine cable and by submarine fiber-optic
cables in the Mediterranean and Black Seas that link Turkey with
Italy, Greece, Israel, Bulgaria, Romania, and Russia; satellite
earth stations - 12 Intelsat; mobile satellite terminals - 328 in
the Inmarsat and Eutelsat systems (2002)
Turkmenistan
general assessment: poorly developed
domestic: Turkmentelekom, in cooperation with foreign investors, is
planning to upgrade the country's telephone exchanges and install a
new digital switching system; mobile-cellular usage remains limited
international: country code - 993; linked by cable and microwave
radio relay to other CIS republics and to other countries by leased
connections to the Moscow international gateway switch; a new
telephone link from Ashgabat to Iran has been established; a new
exchange in Ashgabat switches international traffic through Turkey
via Intelsat; satellite earth stations - 1 Orbita and 1 Intelsat
(2006)
Turks and Caicos Islands
general assessment: fully digital system
with international direct dialing
domestic: full range of services available; GSM wireless service
available
international: country code - 1-649; the Americas Region Caribbean
Ring System (ARCOS-1) fiber optic telecommunications submarine cable
provides connectivity to South and Central America, parts of the
Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat
(Atlantic Ocean)
Tuvalu
general assessment: serves particular needs for internal
communications
domestic: radiotelephone communications between islands
international: country code - 688; international calls can be made
by satellite
Uganda
general assessment: seriously inadequate; mobile cellular
service is increasing rapidly, but the number of main lines is still
deficient; e-mail and Internet services are available
domestic: intercity traffic by wire, microwave radio relay, and
radiotelephone communication stations, fixed and mobile-cellular
systems for short-range traffic
international: country code - 256; satellite earth stations - 1
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat; analog links to Kenya and
Tanzania
Ukraine
general assessment: Ukraine's telecommunication development
plan emphasizes improving domestic trunk lines, international
connections, and the mobile-cellular system
domestic: at independence in December 1991, Ukraine inherited a
telephone system that was antiquated, inefficient, and in disrepair;
more than 3.5 million applications for telephones could not be
satisfied; telephone density is rising and the domestic trunk system
is being improved; about one-third of Ukraine's networks are digital
and a majority of regional centers now have digital switching
stations; improvements in local networks and local exchanges
continue to lag; the mobile-cellular telephone system is expanding
rapidly
international: country code - 380; 2 new domestic trunk lines are a
part of the fiber-optic Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) system and 3
Ukrainian links have been installed in the fiber-optic
Trans-European Lines (TEL) project that connects 18 countries;
additional international service is provided by the
Italy-Turkey-Ukraine-Russia (ITUR) fiber-optic submarine cable and
by an unknown number of earth stations in the Intelsat, Inmarsat,
and Intersputnik satellite systems
United Arab Emirates
general assessment: modern fiber-optic
integrated services; digital network with rapidly growing use of
mobile-cellular telephones; key centers are Abu Dhabi and Dubai
domestic: microwave radio relay, fiber optic and coaxial cable
international: country code - 971; linked to the international
submarine cable FLAG (Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe); landing
point for both the SEA-ME-WE-3 and SEA-ME-WE-4 submarine cable
networks; satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean
and 2 Indian Ocean) and 1 Arabsat; tropospheric scatter to Bahrain;
microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia