Indonesia
general assessment: domestic service fair, international
service good
domestic: interisland microwave system and HF radio police net;
domestic satellite communications system; coverage provided by
existing network has been expanded by use of over 200,000 telephone
kiosks many located in remote areas; mobile cellular subscribership
growing rapidly
international: country code - 62; landing point for both the
SEA-ME-WE-3 and SEA-ME-WE-4 submarine cable networks that provide
links throughout Asia, the Middle East, and Europe; satellite earth
stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean)
Iran
general assessment: currently being modernized and expanded
with the goal of not only improving the efficiency and increasing
the volume of the urban service but also bringing telephone service
to several thousand villages, not presently connected
domestic: the addition of new fiber cables and modern switching and
exchange systems installed by Iran's state-owned telecom company
have improved and expanded the main line network greatly; main line
availability has more than doubled to nearly 25 million lines since
2000; additionally, mobile service has increased dramatically
serving 43 million subscribers in 2008; combined fixed and
mobile-cellular subscribership now exceeds 100 per 100 persons
international: country code - 98; submarine fiber-optic cable to UAE
with access to Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG);
Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line runs from Azerbaijan
through the northern portion of Iran to Turkmenistan with expansion
to Georgia and Azerbaijan; HF radio and microwave radio relay to
Turkey, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Syria,
Kuwait, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; satellite earth stations - 13 (9
Intelsat and 4 Inmarsat) (2007)
Iraq
general assessment: the 2003 liberation of Iraq severely
disrupted telecommunications throughout Iraq including international
connections; widespread government efforts to rebuild domestic and
international communications through fiber optic links are in
progress; the mobile cellular market has expanded rapidly and its
subscribership base approached 18 million in 2008
domestic: repairs to switches and lines destroyed during 2003
continue; additional switching capacity is improving access;
cellular service is available and centered on 3 GSM networks which
are being expanded beyond their regional roots, improving
country-wide connectivity; wireless local loop licenses have been
issued with the hope of overcoming the lack of fixed-line
infrastructure
international: country code - 964; satellite earth stations - 4 (2
Intelsat - 1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean, 1 Intersputnik -
Atlantic Ocean region, and 1 Arabsat (inoperative)); local microwave
radio relay connects border regions to Jordan, Kuwait, Syria, and
Turkey; planned international fiber-optic connections to Iran
(terrestrial) with a link to the Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe
(FLAG) submarine fiber-optic cable (2008)
Ireland
general assessment: modern digital system using cable and
microwave radio relay
domestic: system privatized but dominated by former state monopoly
operator; increasing levels of broadband access
international: country code - 353; landing point for the
Hibernia-Atlantic submarine cable with links to the US, Canada, and
UK; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Isle of Man
general assessment: NA
domestic: landline, telefax, mobile cellular telephone system
international: fiber-optic cable, microwave radio relay, satellite
earth station, submarine cable
Israel
general assessment: most highly developed system in the
Middle East although not the largest
domestic: good system of coaxial cable and microwave radio relay;
all systems are digital; four privately-owned mobile-cellular
service providers with countrywide coverage
international: country code - 972; submarine cables provide links to
Europe, Cyprus, and parts of the Middle East; satellite earth
stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) (2008)
Italy
general assessment: modern, well developed, fast; fully
automated telephone, telex, and data services
domestic: high-capacity cable and microwave radio relay trunks
international: country code - 39; a series of submarine cables
provide links to Asia, Middle East, Europe, North Africa, and US;
satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (with a total of 5 antennas -
3 for Atlantic Ocean and 2 for Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic
Ocean region), and NA Eutelsat
Jamaica
general assessment: fully automatic domestic telephone
network
domestic: the 1999 agreement to open the market for
telecommunications services resulted in rapid growth in
mobile-cellular telephone usage while the number of fixed-lines in
use has declined; combined mobile-cellular teledensity now roughly
100 per 100 persons
international: country code - 1-876; the Fibralink submarine cable
network provides enhanced delivery of business and broadband traffic
and is linked to the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1)
submarine cable in the Dominican Republic; the link to ARCOS-1
provides seamless connectivity to US, parts of the Caribbean,
Central America, and South America; satellite earth stations - 2
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2008)
Japan
general assessment: excellent domestic and international
service
domestic: high level of modern technology and excellent service of
every kind
international: country code - 81; numerous submarine cables provide
links throughout Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Europe, and US;
satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (4 Pacific Ocean and 1 Indian
Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region), and 1 Inmarsat
(Pacific and Indian Ocean regions
Jersey
general assessment: state owned, partially-competitive
market; increasingly modern, with some broadband access
domestic: digital telephone system launch announced in 2006 and
currently being implemented; fixed-line and mobile-cellular services
widely available; combined fixed and mobile-cellular density exceeds
100 per 100 persons
international: submarine cable connectivity to Guernsey, the UK, and
France (2008)