Argentina
general assessment: by opening the telecommunications
market to competition and foreign investment with the
"Telecommunications Liberalization Plan of 1998," Argentina
encouraged the growth of modern telecommunications technology;
fiber-optic cable trunk lines are being installed between all major
cities; major networks are entirely digital and the availability of
telephone service is improving; fixed-line telephone density is
gradually increasing reaching nearly 25 lines per 100 people in
2008; mobile telephone subscribership has been increasing rapidly
and has reached a level of 115 telephones per 100 persons
domestic: microwave radio relay, fiber-optic cable, and a domestic
satellite system with 40 earth stations serve the trunk network;
mobile telephone use is rapidly expanding; broadband services are
gaining ground
international: country code - 54; landing point for the Atlantis-2,
UNISUR, and South America-1 optical submarine cable systems that
provide links to Europe, Africa, South and Central America, and US;
satellite earth stations - 112; 2 international gateways near Buenos
Aires (2008)
Armenia
general assessment: telecommunications investments have made
major inroads in modernizing and upgrading the outdated
telecommunications network inherited from the Soviet era; now 100%
privately owned and undergoing modernization and expansion;
mobile-cellular services monopoly terminated in late 2004 and a
second provider began operations in mid-2005
domestic: reliable modern landline and mobile-cellular services are
available across Yerevan in major cities and towns; significant but
ever-shrinking gaps remain in mobile-cellular coverage in rural areas
international: country code - 374; Yerevan is connected to the
Trans-Asia-Europe fiber-optic cable through Iran; additional
international service is available by microwave radio relay and
landline connections to the other countries of the Commonwealth of
Independent States, through the Moscow international switch, and by
satellite to the rest of the world; satellite earth stations - 3
(2007)
Aruba
general assessment: modern fully automatic telecommunications
system
domestic: increased competition through privatization; 3 wireless
service providers are now licensed
international: country code - 297; landing site for the PAN-AM
submarine telecommunications cable system that extends from the US
Virgin Islands through Aruba to Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, and the
west coast of South America; extensive interisland microwave radio
relay links (2007)
Australia
general assessment: excellent domestic and international
service
domestic: domestic satellite system; significant use of
radiotelephone in areas of low population density; rapid growth of
mobile cellular telephones
international: country code - 61; landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-3
optical telecommunications submarine cable with links to Asia, the
Middle East, and Europe; the Southern Cross fiber optic submarine
cable provides links to New Zealand and the United States; satellite
earth stations - 19 (10 Intelsat - 4 Indian Ocean and 6 Pacific
Ocean, 2 Inmarsat - Indian and Pacific Ocean regions, 2 Globalstar,
5 other) (2007)
Austria
general assessment: highly developed and efficient
domestic: fixed-line subscribership has been in decline since the
mid-1990s with mobile-cellular subscribership eclipsing it by the
late 1990s; the fiber-optic net is very extensive; all telephone
applications and Internet services are available
international: country code - 43; satellite earth stations - 15; in
addition, there are about 600 VSATs (very small aperture terminals)
(2007)
Azerbaijan
general assessment: inadequate; requires considerable
expansion and modernization; teledensity of 15 main lines per 100
persons is low; mobile-cellular penetration has increased rapidly
and is currently about 80 telephones per 100 persons
domestic: fixed-line telephony and a broad range of other telecom
services are controlled by a state-owned telecommunications monopoly
and growth has been stagnant; more competition exists in the
mobile-cellular market with three providers in 2006; satellite
service connects Baku to a modern switch in its exclave of Naxcivan
international: country code - 994; the Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE)
fiber-optic link transits Azerbaijan providing international
connectivity to neighboring countries; the old Soviet system of
cable and microwave is still serviceable; satellite earth stations -
2 (2008)
Bahamas, The
general assessment: modern facilities
domestic: totally automatic system; highly developed; the Bahamas
Domestic Submarine Network links 14 of the islands and is designed
to satisfy increasing demand for voice and broadband internet
services
international: country code - 1-242; landing point for the Americas
Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) fiber-optic submarine cable
that provides links to South and Central America, parts of the
Caribbean, and the US; satellite earth stations - 2 (2007)
Bahrain
general assessment: modern system
domestic: modern fiber-optic integrated services; digital network
with rapidly growing use of mobile-cellular telephones
international: country code - 973; landing point for the Fiber-Optic
Link Around the Globe (FLAG) submarine cable network that provides
links to Asia, Middle East, Europe, and US; tropospheric scatter to
Qatar and UAE; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; satellite
earth station - 1 (2007)
Bangladesh
general assessment: inadequate for a modern country;
fixed-line telephone density remains less than 1 per 100 persons;
mobile-cellular telephone subscribership has been increasing rapidly
and has reached 30 per 100 persons
domestic: modernizing; introducing digital systems; trunk systems
include VHF and UHF microwave radio relay links, and some
fiber-optic cable in cities
international: country code - 880; landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-4
fiber-optic submarine cable system that provides links to Europe,
the Middle East, and Asia; satellite earth stations - 6;
international radiotelephone communications and landline service to
neighboring countries (2008)
Barbados
general assessment: fixed-line teledensity of roughly 50
per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone density approaching 150
per 100 persons
domestic: island-wide automatic telephone system
international: country code - 1-246; 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 - 1 (Intelsat
-Atlantic Ocean); tropospheric scatter to Trinidad and Saint Lucia
(2008)