Telephone system
Afghanistan
general assessment: limited landline telephone service;
an increasing number of Afghans utilize mobile-cellular phone
networks in major cities
domestic: aided by the presence of multiple providers,
mobile-cellular telephone service is improving rapidly
international: country code - 93; five VSAT's installed in Kabul,
Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif, Kandahar, and Jalalabad provide international
and domestic voice and data connectivity (2007)
Albania
general assessment: despite new investment in fixed lines,
the density of main lines remains low with roughly 10 lines per 100
people; cellular telephone use is widespread and generally
effective; combined fixed line and mobile telephone density is
approaching 100 telephones per 100 persons
domestic: offsetting the shortage of fixed line capacity, mobile
phone service has been available since 1996; by 2003, two companies
were providing mobile services at a greater density than some of
Albania's neighbors; Internet broadband services initiated in 2005;
Internet cafes are popular in Tirana and have started to spread
outside the capital
international: country code - 355; submarine cable provides
connectivity to Italy, Croatia, and Greece; the Trans-Balkan Line, a
combination submarine cable and land fiber-optic system, provides
additional connectivity to Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Turkey;
international traffic carried by fiber-optic cable and, when
necessary, by microwave radio relay from the Tirana exchange to
Italy and Greece (2008)
Algeria
general assessment: a weak network of fixed-main lines,
which remains at roughly 10 telephones per 100 persons, is offset by
the rapid increase in mobile cellular subscribership; in 2008,
combined fixed-line and mobile telephone density surpassed 100
telephones per 100 persons
domestic: privatization of Algeria's telecommunications sector began
in 2000; three mobile cellular licenses have been issued and, in
2005, a consortium led by Egypt's Orascom Telecom won a 15-year
license to build and operate a fixed-line network in Algeria; the
license will allow Orascom to develop high-speed data and other
specialized services and contribute to meeting the large unfulfilled
demand for basic residential telephony; Internet broadband services
began in 2003
international: country code - 213; landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-4
fiber-optic submarine cable system that provides links to Europe,
the Middle East, and Asia; microwave radio relay to Italy, France,
Spain, Morocco, and Tunisia; coaxial cable to Morocco and Tunisia;
participant in Medarabtel; satellite earth stations - 51 (Intelsat,
Intersputnik, and Arabsat) (2008)
American Samoa
general assessment: NA
domestic: good telex, telegraph, facsimile, and cellular telephone
services; domestic satellite system with 1 Comsat earth station
international: country code - 1-684; satellite earth station - 1
(Intelsat-Pacific Ocean)
Andorra
general assessment: NA
domestic: modern system with microwave radio relay connections
between exchanges
international: country code - 376; landline circuits to France and
Spain
Angola
general assessment: system inadequate; fewer than one
fixed-line per 100 persons; combined fixed line and mobile telephone
density exceeded 50 telephones per 100 persons in 2008
domestic: state-owned telecom had monopoly for fixed-lines until
2005; demand outstripped capacity, prices were high, and services
poor; Telecom Namibia, through an Angolan company, became the first
private licensed operator in Angola's fixed-line telephone network;
Angola Telecom established mobile-cellular service in Luanda in 1993
and the network has been extended to larger towns; a
privately-owned, mobile-cellular service provider began operations
in 2001
international: country code - 244; landing point for the SAT-3/WASC
fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and
Asia; satellite earth stations - 29 (2008)
Anguilla
general assessment: NA
domestic: modern internal telephone system
international: country code - 1-264; landing point for the East
Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) submarine cable with links to 13 other
islands in the eastern Caribbean extending from the British Virgin
Islands to Trinidad; microwave radio relay to island of Saint Martin
(Guadeloupe and Netherlands Antilles) (2007)
Antarctica
general assessment: local systems at some research
stations
domestic: commercial cellular networks operating in a small number
of locations
international: country code - none allocated; via satellite
(including mobile Inmarsat and Iridium systems) to and from all
research stations, ships, aircraft, and most field parties (2007)
Antigua and Barbuda
general assessment: NA
domestic: good automatic telephone system
international: country code - 1-268; landing point for the East
Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) submarine cable with links to 13 other
islands in the eastern Caribbean extending from the British Virgin
Islands to Trinidad; satellite earth stations - 2; tropospheric
scatter to Saba (Netherlands Antilles) and Guadeloupe (2007)